Preparation – Your squirrel must be fresh or freshly frozen until they’re thawed. They’ll need to be skinned and the meat should be prepped. As any other cook-off rules insist, make sure your squirrel is free from buckshot. If you need help there are plenty of helpers who can skin it for you.

Cooking – There are no specific rules but it must be with a passion to include at least 80% squirrel in your recipe. The rest needs to include 20% worth of a side dish of your choice. If you decide to make samples available to the public, expect there’s going to be more people than you expected. Just save enough for the judging panel!

Presentation – Standard rules for all food competition apply with a prepared dish inside a Styrofoam clamshell. This includes both the main dish and side dish arranged as you like. These will be supplied to the judging panel, but any samples you give-out are your responsibility.