Processing Small Game (Squirrel)

Small game processing; honoring, processing, cooking, and using all parts of a squirrel 

To survive, something must die for us to live. In our modern world, we tend to stay disconnected from the death our lives create. Processing your own meat is about reconnecting and remembering what it takes to sustain us. This is an opportunity to connect with the food we eat, the lives that nourish us, and the land that provides for us.

We will discuss how other cultures honor the death of an animal. Then decide how we want to honor the lives of these squirrels through giving thanks, singing a song, or giving a gift with gratitude. Then we will process them with your choice of a knife or stone tool. We will learn about mammal anatomy, how to break a small animal down into usable cuts, and use as much of the animal as we can including saving the skin and sinew and using the organ meat and bones.

Our day will end in a wild food feast, cooked over fire, that includes the squirrels we processed as well as the wild edible plants and mushrooms growing around us. This is a chance to cook together as a community, remember the hard work that goes into every meal, and learn about the animals and plants around us.

You will walk away having learned about animal processing, fire tending, cooking over fire, some basic foraging, and hopefully, feeling more connected to the land through food.

Beginner class. Ages: 16+