As a child, I wasn't a fan of squirrel gravy to be honest but as an adult, I've come to acquire a taste for it. It could possibly be that it reminds me of days gone by or maybe it's because I know that squirrel gravy is a extremely economic dish that will quite possibly be one of a few things that can be counted on to be put on the table. Either way, I now appreciate the humble meal of squirrel gravy. Note that some people enjoy the brains of the squirrel but our family has never cared for them as part of the dish so I have left them out of the family recipe that I'm passing on here.
Squirrel Gravy
1 or more dressed and extremely clean squirrels, cut up
salt
water
3 Tablespoons of flour
Put the squirrel pieces in a heavy kettle. Cover then with water and add some salt…the salt will differ according to taste…probably a couple of teaspoons will suffice…this was just eyeballed in our home. Bring the water to a boil, and then turn down the heat to simmer, cover the kettle with a lid and cook for about an hour. You can tell if the meat is done because it will come easily away from the bone. Remove the meat from the water and pull the meat away from the bones, save the meat and discard the bones. Mix 3 Tablespoons or so of flour into a cup of water. Bring the water that you cooked the squirrel in back to a boil and slowly mix in the water-flour mixture. Stir the gravy until it thickens. Turn the heat to very low and add the squirrel meat that you pulled from the bone earlier. Squirrel gravy is good on top of mashed potatoes or corn bread.
To clean the squirrel, cut the middle of the back right in the center, take fingers and spread until you can tear the skin off the squirrel crossways on the back. Make sure to get all the skin off while stripping and make sure that no hair touches the meat because it becomes imbedded in the meat. After the squirrel is skinned, cut the head and feet off. Gut after this process and look for bloody spots or black spots on the meat. If you see this, then this is where the buckshot or bullet has entered. Make sure to get this out of the meat since this can contain lead. Wash a few times with cold water and changing the water often. Use lots of salt to get the game out of the meat. Make sure when gutting that you do not puncture the bowels nor that you get any of this on the meat. Try to use .22 calibers instead of buckshot because hard nose (not hollow point) bullets are easier on the game and doesn't tear up the meat bad.
Note: You can use the same method above for rabbits. I prefer the rabbit meat over the squirrel.
Squirrel Gravy
1 or more dressed and extremely clean squirrels, cut up
salt
water
3 Tablespoons of flour
Put the squirrel pieces in a heavy kettle. Cover then with water and add some salt…the salt will differ according to taste…probably a couple of teaspoons will suffice…this was just eyeballed in our home. Bring the water to a boil, and then turn down the heat to simmer, cover the kettle with a lid and cook for about an hour. You can tell if the meat is done because it will come easily away from the bone. Remove the meat from the water and pull the meat away from the bones, save the meat and discard the bones. Mix 3 Tablespoons or so of flour into a cup of water. Bring the water that you cooked the squirrel in back to a boil and slowly mix in the water-flour mixture. Stir the gravy until it thickens. Turn the heat to very low and add the squirrel meat that you pulled from the bone earlier. Squirrel gravy is good on top of mashed potatoes or corn bread.
To clean the squirrel, cut the middle of the back right in the center, take fingers and spread until you can tear the skin off the squirrel crossways on the back. Make sure to get all the skin off while stripping and make sure that no hair touches the meat because it becomes imbedded in the meat. After the squirrel is skinned, cut the head and feet off. Gut after this process and look for bloody spots or black spots on the meat. If you see this, then this is where the buckshot or bullet has entered. Make sure to get this out of the meat since this can contain lead. Wash a few times with cold water and changing the water often. Use lots of salt to get the game out of the meat. Make sure when gutting that you do not puncture the bowels nor that you get any of this on the meat. Try to use .22 calibers instead of buckshot because hard nose (not hollow point) bullets are easier on the game and doesn't tear up the meat bad.
Note: You can use the same method above for rabbits. I prefer the rabbit meat over the squirrel.