Tastiest ‘Merica Squirrel Species

On the east coast the fox squirrel is much bigger than the grey squirrel. So, if you are making a meal it doesn’t take a lot of them to put meat on your plate. But some people prefer the flavor of the grey squirrels. I don’t see much of a difference and cook up both types together. 

Also something the old timers would say that I’ve found to be true in my experience as well, is that you need several (that’s what’s known as cooking up “a mess“ of squirrels) to cook up together to get the most flavor. Cooking up just one squirrel by itself does seem to me to have less flavor.
I cook them down til the meat comes off the bones and add it to a pepper gravy for breakfast poured over biscuits. It’s mighty good and just talking about it now is making me hungry. 
They are good cooked down and breaded with half cornmeal and half flour and then fried up also.
And they are good also cooked down with potatoes and carrots like you would a roast. 

The ones closest to the walnut trees!

In the Deep South US we have Fox (redish orange) and Cat (grey) tree rats. While the Fox are much larger they can be much tougher and gamy than the Cats that I much prefer. Fox squirrels will hide out on you where as Cats will always run and act like they are on crystal meth. Best tasting of all are the juvenile Cats that I marinate in seasoned buttermilk and fry whole. We call them tenderonies. I do my serious squirrel hunting with my match grade Ruger 10/22 but I am considering maxing out the power on my 25 Marauder and using slugs. I will need at least sixty foot pounds and MOA to do the job as shots run from 20 to 80 yards. Longest rimfire kill is 119 yards.

Seems like here in Indiana the Greys are taking over. Used to be mainly fox squirrels, but last couple times I was out hunting only seeing greys. They are a bit smaller, but usually more tender. But they never set still.

For Dan25, not sure why you would need to crank up the power on the 25 Marauder. Although with the long ranges I can understand needing more power. I don't usually get anything further than about 30 yards, and it is normally straight up in the hickories. Started using a Wiehrach 97K in .20 cal this year. Only 15 ft-lbs, but always a solid "thunk" when the pellet connects with the head. I think my longest shot was maybe 25 yards, and two were less than 10. The woods are so thick you really can't see them any further away.

As far as taste, never really noticed much difference between the two. Usually fry them up and steam them in the over for 1-2 hours. Meat falls off the bone and drippings make a great flavored gravy. Yum.

The tastiest squirrels, in my opinion, are young greys. Fox are a bit tougher but also good.

From my understanding, Western squirrels carry the plague and are considered vermin. 

my buddy brought some over one day that he had soaking in some type of wine. griled them till done not my favorite thing but would eat them again, prefer to let the hawkes eat them 

Wife took that picture - some white wine, butter, garlic, the usual suspects.

She likes the way they smell when cooking, but she won't try any - kind of like me & liver w/onions.

This thread is making me really hungry! I really need to get out and get me some acorn fed squirrels before the season ends. 

The only squirrels i have access to here in the Midwest are the fox and gray. Both are tasty but you need to be creative on the old ones of both species. Did a little hunt yesterday on a local conservation area. Recently bought a .30 barrel kit for my crown. Time to test it out. Only running the 130 bar on regulator that came set up for the ..25 set up. I am not much of a tinker and don't want to mess up something. Darned accurate. Shots averaged 30 yards. Shot window on all four were short. Very brushy and trees still full of foliage. The things would not set still. Constantly on the move. I about got run over by a couple. four shots taken and only lost one front leg. Shooting the hades. Youngest one a dusting of seasoned flour and quick fry in Canada goose fat. The three old ones will be braised as old ones would be tough as a boot otherwise. 

Do you guys age your squirrels? I read somewhere that squirrel flavor improves vastly with aging for a week in the fridge. I just bought a vacuum sealer for the explicit purpose of aging a few of these guys. I missed out on a ginormous fox a few weeks ago, so I got some work to do to get my under 20 accuracy up to snuff.