Anyone for Squirrel?

I've not blogged very much lately because there always seems to be a lull in the amount of road kill at this time of year but today I came across a recently runover male squirrel.  Normally I've not given squirrels a second look but a game warden friend of mine recommended I try it, so as it was pretty fresh and in one piece I scooped it up and brought it home.  I initially tried skinning it the way I would a rabbit but after cutting around one ankle and trying to cut a slit down the leg I quickly realised that squirrels are very attached to their pelts.  I decided to ask the fountain of all knowledge, Mr Google.  Sure enough, there was plenty of advice to be found there so I clicked on the first video I came to https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4c8OyexZ10E posted by someone in the US.  He made it look so simple.  I suggest you watch it before reading on.

Right, so you've watched it?  Simple isn't it?  I took my sharp knife and cut under the tail and created my flap of skin.  I then put it on the floor, stood on the tail, took hold of the back legs and pulled.  It needed a bit more effort than I expected and I had to reposition my heel but eventually, the skin started to come away nice and cleanly. . . until. . .

Now, the squirrels in the video had all been shot.  Not run over.  If I had applied a little more logic I might have expected what happened next but basically a car had driven over the back of my squirrel and I can only assume, broke its back.   Now, I suspect, you are ahead of me.  

. . . I got stuck around the middle and I needed to get a better grip so I could pull a bit harder.  I pulled until I heard a sort of squishy sucking noise as the squirrel's rear end detached from its shoulders.  So now I have two pieces of half skinned squirrel and I have to revert to doing the best I can to peel the skin away with nothing but a mushy end to grab hold of and hairs going all over the place.

2 minutes, he said.  LOL.  I almost felt like chucking it all in the bin, but no, I wasn't quite ready to quit as I was keen to taste squirrel and wasn't sure when I would find another suitable candidate.  I did get it skinned and gutted eventually but not sure I'm going to make a habit of it.

Now for a good recipe.  This one looks delicious https://honest-food.net/squirrel-stew-recipe-paprika/ but only having 1 squirrel I'll have to cut it down.