How to Clean and Cook Squirrel

Squirrel is one of the best-eating small game animals in the woods, and Illinois has one of the longest seasons around. The trick is cleaning them fast without getting hair on the meat, then cooking them low and slow. Older squirrels are tough if you rush them.

What you need

• A small sharp knife
• Game shears
• Gloves (optional)
• A bowl of cold water and a zip bag or cooler

How to skin and clean a squirrel

1. Cool it fast. Get squirrels out of your vest and into the shade. Clean them within a few hours, sooner on a warm day.
2. Cut under the tail. Lay the squirrel belly down. Lift the tail and cut through the tail bone from underneath, but don't cut through the skin on top of the tail. Then cut a short slit across the back, just below the tail.
3. Step and pull. Step on the tail, take the back legs in your hand, and pull up slowly and steadily. The skin peels toward the head and front legs. Work your fingers into the slit to start the bottom half and pull it off the back legs.
4. Cut off the feet, tail and head. Use shears or a knife at the wrists, ankles and neck.
5. Gut it. Make a shallow cut up the belly without cutting into the guts, open the ribcage, and pull out the insides.
6. Clean it up. Pick off any hair, cut away bloodshot meat, and remove the small glands under the front legs and inside the back legs if you find them. Rinse in cold water and get it in the fridge or on ice.

How to cook squirrel: simple braise

Young squirrels can be fried like chicken. Older ones (and anything you're not sure about) should be braised. This is the easy, all-purpose way.

1. Brown it. Cut 2 to 3 squirrels into pieces (front legs, back legs, saddle). Season with salt and pepper, dust with flour, and brown them in a couple tablespoons of oil in a heavy pot.
2. Add the aromatics. Take the meat out, cook a chopped onion and two cloves of garlic for a few minutes, then add about 2 cups of chicken broth and scrape up the browned bits.
3. Braise low and slow. Put the meat back, cover, and simmer on low for 1½ to 2 hours (or about 25 minutes in a pressure cooker), until the meat pulls off the bone.
4. Finish it. Pull the meat off the bones and serve it over rice, mashed potatoes or biscuits, or stir it into dumplings.

Cook squirrel to at least 160°F. Braising takes it well past that, which is what makes it tender.

Illinois squirrel season

• Gray and fox squirrels: Aug 1, 2026 to Feb 15, 2027
• 5 per day, 10 in possession (both species combined)
• Hours: half an hour before sunrise to half an hour after sunset
• Closed Nov 20–22 and Dec 3–6, 2026 in counties open to firearm deer hunting
• You need a hunting license and a habitat stamp, unless you're exempt. Air rifles are legal for squirrels and rabbits only. Squirrels can't be trapped.

This is a summary, not legal advice. Always read the current 2026–27 Illinois Hunting and Trapping Digest before you go.