How to make a squirrel sandwich

Video of a cooking show host and her son hunting and killing a squirrel. Next, she shows how to make a tasty sandwich.

"I promised him a squirrel sandwich and that is what he's gonna get after school. You've heard of tuna melts or patty melts, well why not squirrel melts."

Saturday Night Live couldn't have done better than this.

(via Finkbuilt)

Mark Frauenfelder is the founder of Boing Boing and the editor-in-chief of MAKE and Cool Tools. Twitter: @frauenfelder. Come and hear Mark speak at the ALA conference in Chicago on July 1.

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SoulDaYondah

why do I get so emotional about the squirrel being dead?
dredgemortle

If you’ll notice, though, the boy actually missed the squirrel completely – and that is the way you do it. The shot next to ‘em just stuns and puts the squirrel within reach.

What they didn’t show is the coup de grÃ¢ce.

Bizarre video.
sonny p fontaine

when i get shot i want someone to dump my popularly imagined favorite food on me and mix everything together with miracle whipp. clean up’s snap with miracle whipp…
skatull

I cooked a squirrel and I liked it
the taste of hairy ckicken
I cooked a squirrel just to try it
I hope Rocket J don’t mind it
Flying Orca

33: “So why bother the squirrels? Just variety?”

The tails. Fly-tying of course (leading to other enjoyable hunter-gatherer activities), trim for clothing… and the rest of the skin can be made into coasters. You can get a lot of use out of a squirrel, at the price of a clean headshot with a .22.

As others have observed, not a lot of meat compared to, say, a caribou or whitetail, but hey, you use what you kill.
five

and somewhere jeff foxworthy concocts the ultimate joke…
Anonymous

Yah know, since squirrels are nothin’ more than a rodent with a fuzzy tail, after seein’ this toothless version of the barefoot contessa, I went right out into my ghetto and shot me up some rats. Don’t know what the $@#% an english muffin is, so got me some wonder bread and velveeta to make some tasty rat-melts. Me and the homies thought they was great, ’til my homies found out they was eatin’ rats and capped my @ss 3 or 4 times.
soupertrooper

@20- Good thing your ancestors had different ideas,huh?
dottedzebra

“But hey, I guess animal life doesnt count for much compared to our need to eat anything and everything we lay eyes upon, huh.”

Hope you don’t eat/drink any dairy. I grew up on farms and have seen what happens to male calves. To many farmers it’s not even worth their time to sell them for veal. They just get smacked on the head.
huzubu

@73
Bullets will also travel much, much further than bird shot.
GeekDadCanada

I wonder if her kids are Alvin, Theodore and Simon?
Gilbert Wham

I’m all for trying the food of other cultures and that, and will eat any kind of animal with glee, but that looks revolting.
FoetusNail

She has a creepy cold-blooded Stepford wife quality.
sonny p fontaine

jeez TALIA, i mean…jeez
Noelegy

I don’t believe this is a cooking show host. I believe this was shot as a parody of a cooking show. This video was aired on CMT (that’s Country Music Television, y’all), during the show “Country Fried Videos,” which is, well, a redneck version of “Funniest Home Videos.” And I’m Southern, so I’m allowed to say “redneck.” :)
Secret_Life_of_Plants

Wow, remember back in 2008 when we all laughed at that squirrel melt video?
minTphresh

growin up , my friend bruce’s granny used to make an awesome squirrel and dumplins! mmmm, mmmm!
stupidjerk

As a vegetarian who was raised in a rural area, I support this video.

An aside, a friend of mine swears that squirrel tastes like hot dog….
Anonymous

BRETTSPIEL, (If You can shoot.) Hunter-type Airguns with Scope and supressor may well be allowed in your neighbourhood. Ask the authorities and the neighbours before you do buy it. If possible make a hide and shoot before anybody is awake. They Are garden pests… :
themindfantastic

Ill stick with rabbit… more of them where I live than squirrel.
mgfarrelly

I’m sure a rural squirrel would be as fine as any critter. But in the city? First, you’d never catch one, second I’ve seen some pretty fat squirrels. Squirrel raised on the finest of the taco bell dumpster? No, thank you.
GeekMan

Mark, is this “gross-out week” for you?
pork musket

About 10 years ago I witnessed a squirrel hunting TV show presented by TNN (The Nashville Network). They claimed it was delicious when minced and mixed with ketchup.
mdh

Really puts the vim and vigor in your son, the local hockey star.
phillamb168

#36 While you’re definitely right about squirrel brains being a bad idea, the vid shows (at least I think it does) that when the lady dressed the squirrel, she removed the head. Therefore, it should be OK.

Also of note, I grew up in the South, and the “gift-giving ritual” that the article talks about just sounds WEIRD. I don’t know anybody who’s ever done that.
Piedmont

Videos are blocked at work. So I’ll say this: even as a vegetarian, I’ll admit squirrels are damn tasty roasted on a spit, only thing that might add a little sumthin is BBQ sauce.
Bender

“it’s kinda cute! I’ll put his tender butt in there…”

And how does one tell a young and tender squirrel from an old and stringy one from 20 yards?
Unanimous Cowherd

I’m not a hunter, but I’ve spent quite a bit of time cutting up (and eating) deer that others in my family have killed. Doing so teaches you a lot about food, basic anatomy, and appreciating the process of acquiring food.
While this vid seems like a parody to some, I can’t say that I see that, really. I grew up where many folks did not get meat from the store — our freezer was always full of our own cows and pigs and chickens. And growing up, my wife’s family mostly ate wild game, either in season or not. It is not that uncommon in America. Even today.
Being close to the animals I am going to eat has also lead me to always give thanks to the animal — which is a ritual that I teach my children. Have you ever done that with meat you purchased from a supermarket? For most people, probably not.
By thanking the animal, I am trying to remember that I ended its life in order to live. I want my kids to know this fully, and understand it, so that they do not ignore the physical violence of eating other things. As human animals, that is very important.
Even if you don’t eat meat, please don’t disparage the food choices of others. And until you’ve done the hunting or processing of meat, your opinion about how this goes down is not really informed. Sorry. You are simply missing something very basic about how human life has worked since the beginning.
I also appreciate the “localvore” aspect of this story — we are trying to figure out how to start eating only foods grown within a 100 to 150 mile radius of our home. I’m not sure that I would try squirrel, but I’m open to the idea.
mice

This will come in handy when the apocalypse rolls around.
wurp

@#48, dbisping:
Riddled with shot!? You hunt squirrels and bunnies with a .22, not a shotgun!
guy_jin

@47: Doesn’t matter, so long as it comes in a box.
mikerbaker

Huntress!!! Wow! Well, that’s a culture alien to this California city-boy. But I don’t see anything wrong with this video. I don’t get hunting but I imagine the pleasure in providing your meat is similar to growing your own produce. And many hunters support the preservation of our environment, our open spaces and our wildlife – it is what they love, isn’t it? And, as a meat-eater, I feel it’s important to know where your meat comes from (hint: it’s not the supermarket).

That said, I love the comment made before dropping the skinned squirrel into the pot – “it’s kinda cute.”
Gort

LOL – that’s awesome. I grew up in South Georgia, where hunting squirrel was (and still is) common. Good to see the flame still burning. Andrew Zimmer of “Bizzare Foods” recently featured squirrel with dumplings (something I tried as a boy and would eat again – if hungry :-D )
Jake0748

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rfh4Mhp-a6U
badger

I prefer my squirrel fried, thank you. Just not in a popcorn popper.
Brettspiel

This makes me wish I didn’t live within city limits. I’d love to be able to shoot and eat some of the dozens of squirrels who dig up my garden and fatten up on my sunflowers and walnuts, and prevent my from keeping a bird feeder.
ill lich

I’ll stick with pigeon, thanks.
wurp

Roasted or fried squirrel can be yummy. Stewed squirrel is NASTY. The meat is so tender as to be mushy, and has no flavor other than a slight gaminess. Yuck!
Tovi

This is how you run for VP and take care of 5 kids. The Sarah Palin cooking guide!
Micah

She claims these are nutritious, but I can’t imagine these would fit into any doctor’s or nutritionist’s idea of healthy. I imagine the meat is reasonably lean and all. But other than that, you’re adding pecans, mayo, cheese and english muffins. So you essentially have fat, fat, fat and simple carbs. Other than a good chunk of protein, where’s the nutrition again?

Otherwise, good video.
Talia

Hunting makes me sick. Even hunting something as stupid and overpopulated as squirrels.

But hey, I guess animal life doesnt count for much compared to our need to eat anything and everything we lay eyes upon, huh.
Flying Orca

Mmmmm squirrel on toast, one of my little brother’s specialties when we were kids. Squirrel hunting when I was six prepared me for bigger and better things!
JonKimmel

“…..You know how squirrels like nuts” Ha!
Brettspiel

The kid in the video uses a shotgun, probably a 20 ga.
trr

Aren’t squirrels just rats with bushy tails that climb trees?
arkizzle

Talia, surely hunting-for-food, as opposed to the othe kinds (trophy, sport, etc) is only natural?

I would think, even to a vegetarian, that would be acceptable. Otherwise, you would have to be pissed at all the other carnivorous animals on the planet too.. (hopefully that’s not a strawman, I just wonder if you’ve considered this parallel).
FoetusNail

Don’t miss the Farting Chipmunk.
EZAT

sweet!
Beanolini

#53, Pewma:

A Northumberland game dealer has been doing a roaring trade in locally caught grey squirrel; they claim they will buy as much squirrel as they can get.

As the greys have only recently arrived in Northumberland, and are already negatively affecting the reds, this can only be a good thing…
gigamugged

I’ve watched the squirrels in our back yard eat all of our peaches, persimmons, tomatoes and eggplants. On top of that, the stupid alpha-male squirrel likes to sit atop the power pole in the back yard and wake everyone up at 5am with his loud, obnoxious cries. I’ve had quite enough, thank you! Squirrel is now on the menu!
Nylund

If Sarah Palin became president, I fear that instead of food stamps, she’d just email a link of this video to the needy, look over a John in his hospital bed and say, “There, problem solved!” One point for the Hockey mom!”
Gainclone

“I seen one eat a rockin’ chair once…”
Scuba SM

Squirrel is actually pretty good. One of the more interesting recipes I’ve tried had you quarter the squirrel, and prepare the quarters just like buffalo wings.
trr

Saturday Night Live couldn’t have done better than this.

Probably could not do AS well. SNL ain’t what it used to be.
pewma

ahhh. TV Carnage at it’s best! I proudly own all the videos…
I think the squirel melts are on ‘A SORE FOR SIGHTED EYES’

“this is for the molokai cops!!!”
http://www.tvcarnage.com/

youtube page:
http://www.youtube.com/user/tvcarnage
Little John

Noelegy (and others):

I can’t agree with your parody suggestion; my sense is that she was performing in earnest. The woman is Heidi Wilson, and this was apparently a segment from a show called The Huntress, a program on The Outdoor Channel around 1999. According to the (old) blurb from SkyREPORT.Com News:

Lydia Lohrer and Heidi Wilson, two Michigan moms who are also hunters, anglers and wildlife cooks, will host a new show on The Outdoor Channel. “Huntress” will be a be 30-minute weekly adventure, entertainment and how-to program geared toward women.

Apart from that, I like the way that, immediately after the son has been reminded about using his head for increased hunting safety, he turns toward his mom with the rifle pointing at her feet.
kpkpkp

Production Values Peeve:
*W* *T* *F* was with that dried floral arrangement?
I wanted to bat the thing out of the way.

http://images.wikia.com/muppet/images/7/70/Arte1.jpg
Hal

I’m all for trapping and eating the squirrel population of Chicago but there have to be better recipes than this.
Meat, Mayo & Cheese = Revolting
SamF

I think Karl Malone (or at least Jimmy Kimmel) would approve.
wurp

@#67 Brettspiel, @#48, dbisping:
Oops, sorry! I didn’t WTFV. I’m posting from work, which blocks video.

I’m just commenting based on my vast experience hunting squirrel (three times!).
eap

I agree with the other posters regarding the unfortunate use of a shotgun to hunt squirrel in this video.

Not only does it pepper the meat with shot pellets, but it requires little in the way of marksmanship.

Hunting wild squirrels with a rifle means knowing in advance where they hide, and where they feed. These are two different places.

Once you know the feeding location, you have two choices for time of day to hunt: early morning or afternoon.

Wild squirrels are wary, and scare easily with humans around.

If you want to catch a shot with a rifle, you have to be in place, with a dark colored hat on, before they arrive.

When one gets in range, you must be still and ready to pull the trigger. If you hit one, it is usually a clean, instant kill. No writhing on the ground in pain, and no gritty shot in your meat.
xian

#22: That posthumous last meal really added insult to injury.
RJ

As a young boy, I went squirrel hunting a couple times. The flavor was a little bit like rabbit and somewhat gamy, like venison sometimes is. Overall, not bad. But the diminutive size of the animal makes preparation almost more work than it’s worth, especially when we already have specialized breeds of food-source animals and a sophisticated processing system to get them from the farms to our tables. So why bother the squirrels? Just variety?

From time to time, I’ll throw out corn or seed mix for the birds, chipmunks and squirrels in my back yard. I find it rewarding in a way, that I can so easily obtain huge amounts of such stuff and the animals are so excited and happy to have it. It’s more enriching than hunting or trapping without need.
gonzilla

this was sent to me yesterday

a “flying” squirrel

http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=2fd_1220835852
Xeni Jardin

YAWN. Wake me up when there’s a “possum hot pockets” recipe on youtube, frauenfelder.
Anonymous

For some reason, while watching this I kept thinking of Sandra Lee before her Food Network days.
angusm

Mmm, tasty squirrels. Mmmm, tasty spongiform encephalopathy risk …

http://bit.ly/squirrelbrains
royaltrux

What, no garlic? Onion? Slat and pepper?
Jerril

#33: when my mother was teaching in semi-rural Ontario, there were poor families who couldn’t afford store-bought-meat. They hunted instead, and often caught squirrels (which don’t require a licence to hunt, and don’t have a legal “in” season).

The very-old copy of Irma’s “Joy of Cooking” that I have has instructions for skinning, gutting, and cooking squirrels, along with more “normal” small game like rabbits. I’m amazed how straight-faced she is while addressing the subject.
Bitgod

Tip of my hat, you kill it, you eat it.
cmuwriter

I’m a hunter and everything, and have killed and eaten squirrel, but for some reason this lady just creeped me out.
Dewi Morgan

So I check for the unicorn: no unicorn. OK, that, plus the reference to SNL, makes it pretty obvious this isn’t gonna be a gross-out movie: it’s gonna be some mom pranking her kid, or the two of them pranking the internet: someone having a laugh, right? Nobody eats squirrels, any more than they eat pigeons, or rats, or voles, or…

Ho hum. So you got me. And I get to see its writhing last moments, thinking “heh, they cut away, that thing on the ground isn’t really a squirrel”. Lovely. Glad I already ate.
wylkyn

#20: Just curious, but why is “animal life” of any more value than plant life? Is the life of a plant of less value because it doesn’t look or live like we do?

At least these people are facing their food, and taking responsibility for the death. I don’t hunt, but I can respect someone who eats what they kill…be it animal or plant. While I can sympathize with your compassion for furry critters, I don’t think your loathing for food hunters is well thought through.

Trophy hunters, on the other hand…
Lauren O

I am simultaneously horrified and hilaritized by the family-friendly, blond-haired-blue-eyed, good healthy American vibes we’re supposed to get as the squirrel writhes in agony on the ground.
RJ

@38
Subsistence hunting is fine; we all need to be able to have a nutritious meal.

I was thinking more in terms of us who are able to be here on BoingBoing today; that is, us who are well-off enough to get online in the first place. Excuse my vagueness there, in that first comment.
Chevan

It’s hard to tell with the youtube quality, but from the looks of it the kid needs some trigger discipline. Doesn’t matter if the safety’s on, he needs to keep his finger off the trigger.

I’ve never tried squirrel, but I have to say it’s not something I would expect to taste good. But from what people here are saying I think I need to try it someday.
eggman

Im a hunter,

But to see a squirrell flail around and reply ‘REALLY GOOD SHOT” – is just not right in the head….

and while cooking to say ” REALLY CUTE BUTT” in refering to the meatyour cooking or

“Squirrels like nuts” – IM SORRY, Pure as the driven snow Sadie, probably rock her husbands world!
peter x

Red or white wine with squirrel?
Anonymous

What is that song?! I get it stuck alllll the time in my head since it’s the hold music for conference calls…
dmann

Looks like the flagship show for the Nugent Channel.
GauchoAmigo

Re: #71
I’ll take it a step further and say there shouldn’t be gun powder involved at all. If you can’t kill a squirrel with a slingshot or a pellet gun, you don’t deserve to eat one.
Daemon

Next week, we’re going to have hamburgers. Time for a trip to the local abbatoir.
dbisping

julia childs she is not. that being said, small game meat is some seriously classy stuff if you know how to cook it.

if you aren’t a hunter then purchasing a properly dressed squirrel can be quite expensive. unfortunately, most of the critters that i’ve had the opportunity to cook have been riddled with shot.

not too long ago in the north suburbs of chicago, there was a 70 something man who was trapping squirrels and then forgetting about them. this isn’t something that was too popular with his neighbors, but the tribune article seemed to suggest that he was doing his trapping in a rather systematic way. i think he either had a garden, a grudge or a taste for the little bastards.

in any case, if you get the chance to try some squirrel, i highly recommend it. although, i have to say squirrel melt is a bit de classe.
Enochrewt

I live in an urban neighborhood with a squirrel problem. Damn things are everywhere. Sure they’re cute, but then they dig up and eat everything in the garden. After they’re full and ready to hibernate they find their way into the walls of buildings, chew through them, and nest in your cupboards.

Looks like I might be saving money on my grocery bills this month, and taking care of the squirrel problem. Thanks Sadie!
WaitWhat

“You know how squirrels like nuts.”

Best video I’ve ever seen, today.
Alfie

The next governor of Alaska.
Skokie

#71 & 73: Agreed.
Anyone who would like to hunt squirrels but feel they can’t because they live within city limits and therefore can’t legally shoot firearms shouldn’t be discouraged. Today’s modern spring piston air rifles have more than enough knock-down power to quickly kill squirrels, and since they’re not classified as firearms, they can be legally used within MOST but not all cities. (Some restrictions apply, see dealer for details, etc…)

Just don’t piss off your neighbors… or shoot your eye out, kid.
pewma

I saw this one on bbc the other day about the infestation of grey squirrels in the UK. maybe the ones trying to quell the problem there should pick up some recipes from this lady.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/4635330.stm