World squirrel cook off 2025

Test your campfire cooking skills at the 2025 World Champion Squirrel Cook Off Sept. 13

SPRINGDALE — In just over a month, the best 40 cooking teams to crawl out of a tent and fire up a Coleman stove will be flexing their campfire cooking muscle as they prepare the most versatile wild-game meat available in Arkansas. The World Champion Squirrel Prepare Off will take over the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission’s J.B. and Johnelle Hunt Family Ozark Highlands Nature Center in Springdale beginning at 9 a.m. Sept. 13, and there’s still space to join in the fun.

The family-friendly, free event has found a fantastic home at the nature center, and this year’s competition looks to be even better than last year’s.

Joe Wilson, who competes in and organizes a variety of cooking contests, is the brains behind this nationally known tribute to bushytails.

“Squirrel is about as biological and free-range as it gets,” Wilson said. “Anyone who’s cooked it knows it is nearly the perfect protein for just about any cooking style. We’ve had Mexican dishes, Southern-fried concoctions, Asian and Middle Eastern cuisine, and even some dishes cooked up by two Jewish ladies for the event. I don’t think it was

Our TALE OF THE SQUIRREL is just the thing for anyone tired of turkey leftovers. Luke Burbank serves it up:

Weekend cooking competitions are a attractive common sight south of the Mason Dixon Line. But there was something very uncommon about the one held on a recent Saturday in Bentonville, Arkansas: the food itself.

Welcome to the 2015 World Champion Squirrel Cook-Off.

That's right. Squirrel! Whether you find them adorable, or consider them rats with cuter tails, you've probably never considered eating them. That is, unless you're from the South.

"You don't have to promote that it's organic, that it's grass-fed, anything of that nature. It just IS," said Joe Wilson, the guy behind the cook-off. "I mean, this is tree-to-table."

He says cooking squirrel is a tradition that goes back generations.

"It's extremely crucial that we hold onto the culture and the heritage of our community," Wilson said. "I started this thing about five years ago to promote the sustainable use of wild game as a dinner, as a table fare."

In the cook-off, 36 colorfully-named teams had two hours to produce a dish and a side dish. All the squirrel being served must be caught by the ch

Squirrel cook-off set for Springdale

The Arkansas Game and Fish Commission will keep the third annual World Champion Squirrel Cook-Off on Sept. 13 at Arkansas Game and Fish Commission's J.B. and Johnelle Chase Family Ozark Highlands Nature Center in Springdale.

Up to 40 three-person cooking teams will fire up grills, smokers and other cooking implements beginning at 9 a.m. and will present their dishes to a panel of judges beginning at noon. Complete rules and instructions to nab one of the few remaining cooking team spots are available at facebook.com/squirrelcookoff.

Also, the World Champion Squirrel Skinning Contest and the World's Hottest Squirrel Eating Competition will be part of the festivities. The AGFC will host the World Squirrel Shoot-Off in the marksmanship center, allowing people to test their air-gunning ability and get some helpful aiming tips heading into the peak of squirrel season.

Joe Wilson, who competes in and organizes a variety of cooking contests, is the brains behind this nationally recognizable tribute to bushytails.

"Squirrel is about as organic and free-range as it gets," Wilson said. "Anyone who's cooked it knows it

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World Champion Squirrel Cook Off coming Sept. 7

That’s just a short sampling of the fun in store for folks who craft the trek to Northwest Arkansas to enjoy the event firsthand. There’s even talk of a special cookbook being sold that’s full of past winning recipes and other sources of a squirrel-centric nature. Proceeds from the sale of the book will go to the local 4-H club, which is volunteering to help wrangle parking at this year’s event.

Visit www.facebook.com/squirrelcookoff for the latest developments on what’s sure to be something to chatter about for years to come.

Note for ingredient gatherers: Arkansas squirrel season runs May 15-Feb. 28, and hunters may take up to 12 squirrels per day. Focus on hickory trees as we get closer to September, as hickory nuts are some of the squirrel’s favorite foods this time of year.

Visit www.agfc.com for more information on the J.B. and Johnelle Hunt Family Ozark Highlands Nature Center and squirrel hunting in The Spontaneous State.

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CUTLINES:

SQUIRREL GIRLS
The World Champion Squirrel Cook Off will be held Sept. 7 at the J.B. and Johnelle Hunt Family Ozark Highlands Nature Center.

YOUTH WITH CHICKEN WINGS
Squirrel isn