Arkansas cook-off showcases squirrel meat

The World Champion Squirrel Cookoff in Springdale provided food and outdoor fun for all.

SPRINGDALE, Ark. — The Arkansas Game and Fish Commission’s annual World Champion Squirrel Cookoff brought together food, outdoor adventure, and plenty of creative recipes as teams competed to see who could make the best dish featuring squirrel.

About 3,000 people attended the event at the J.B. and Johnelle Hunt Family Ozark Highlands Nature Center, according to event host Trey Reid with the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission.

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Among the competitors was a team featuring Matt Storts from Storts Plumbing and Drain. The team prepared a birria squirrel street taco served with a squirrel jalapeño popper.

The dish drew plenty of praise from attendees.

“I was like, you know, just think about if you were stranded somewhere, and you had to eat squirrel, and you boiled it and ate it, that’s what you would have. And they really liked that,” Storts said.

The World Champion Squirrel Cookoff began in 2012 before taking a brief break during the COVID-19 pandemic. Since restarting four years ago, Arkansas Game and Fish spokesman Trey Reid said the event has attracted attention from national media outlets.

“We’ve had The Wall Street Journal here in the past, CBS Sunday Morning has covered this thing, MeatEater’s here this year, I believe Man v. Food is here, we’ve had Andrew Zimmern from Bizarre Foods America. So gets a lot of attention, and you know, from a Game and Fish standpoint, we’re happy to shine a light on our natural resources and Game and Fish opportunities in Arkansas,” Reid said.

Squirrel wasn’t the only small game featured at the cookoff. Attendees could also sample dishes made with venison, duck and other game.

For Reid, one of the highlights is seeing cooks use their creativity with ingredients that might not traditionally be considered gourmet.

“One of my favorites, a couple of our Game and Fish colleagues cooked squirrel tikka masala, or squikka masala. So, man, if you can dream it, you can do it with squirrel. It is a blank culinary palette,” Reid said.

Despite humid conditions and some rain, the cook-off offered attendees a chance to enjoy food, entertainment and the outdoors while highlighting Arkansas’ hunting and wildlife resources.