Is it safe to eat squirrel meat?

[tjm]

Even fried potatoes got a shot of water and a lid. Frying in lard was for the browned flavor, and to have a base for gravy, the steam made it edible without grinding. When fork tender  the lid comes off and any remaining steam/water  dissipates quickly, most of the crisp comes back, but none of the tough. And my folks never used but about half a cup of water in the first go.  How you can ever get chicken tender without a lid baffles me, unless it's a store bought baby bird.

[Maverickpro201]

Tough old squirrel's are for dumplings.  

[BilletHead]

On 11/4/2024 at 4:28 PM, tjm said:

 

Do those canned meats count as part of the "possession limit"? I've been told that frozen game counts, but never was sure.

         Good question,

   Frozen game does. That is why you are supposed to put date, contents, day of take, name and or conservation number. I do this to everything we take. So now we come to processed. State and federal law can be different I think. These canned squirrel are processed and ready to eat.  I don't think that should count. Since waterfowl are federal makes me wonder about canning geese which many do. 

[BilletHead]

On 11/4/2024 at 4:28 PM, tjm said:

 

Do those canned meats count as part of the "possession limit"? I've been told that frozen game counts, but never was sure.

         Good question,

   Frozen game does. That is why you are supposed to put date, contents, day of take, name and or conservation number. I do this to everything we take. So now we come to processed. State and federal law can be different I think. These canned squirrel are processed and ready to eat.  I don't think that should count. Since waterfowl are federal makes me wonder about canning geese which many do. 

[BilletHead]

  Well 18 squirrel were canned yesterday in half pints. Had a problem getting a cut up big old Fox squirrel in that sized jar. Will rethink that deal and go with pints or larger jars next time. Another deal, we have a couple different canners. I found this one at a garage sale this summer. First time using on with a pressure gauge. It still uses the weight but I liked just adjusting the burner for adjusting the pressure. 

  We had two jars that didn't seal. Not a problem just put in fridge and eat within a few days. This one was easy to pick and really tasty. We didn't add any salt and some canning books said to put a little in. We thought that the addition of chicken broth would make it too salty. Nope needs just a bit.

    Some of you are going to find this humorous and silly. I say look at the contents label on what you eat that is processed and bought commercially. We are eating good in the BilletHood. 

[tjm]

Mom used to can deer meat  in a water bath and it kept for months, teaspoon of salt in a quart, just in the top after the meat was all packed in. She also made a mincemeat recipe that she canned that way.  My aunt used to pressure can hundreds of trout in Idaho and that came mind is why I asked if you knew how Mo. counted possession limits on canning. Of course REA was still a work in progress back then and with no electricity frozen wasn't a consideration for them. It was salt, cold smoke or can.

To me cut up wrapped and frozen is processed.