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This is the first time I cleaned a skull without an expert at my side. I have only two other fresh skulls in my collection; the rest I found while hiking.

I wasn’t willing to bury this red squirrel skull and wait for the dung beetles. I knew that by boiling the skull, I would risk losing the teeth, so I tried an experiment, after consulting my experts and reading as much as I could on the subjects of cleaning skulls and cooking meat.

I typically carry meat tenderizer in my pocket survival kit. It works great to ease itchy insect bites. I’m going to add Beano to this kit, not only for those Blazing Saddles moments, but because it’s an enzyme and easier to carry than laundry detergent with enzymes.

Materials Used

• 4-cup saucepan
• Large spoon or ladle
• 1/2 tsp meat tenderizer
• Tweezers (I used the one on my Swiss Army knife)
• Small knife blade (I used the one on my Swiss Army knife)
• Q-tips
• Paper towels

Procedure

1. Fill saucepan with 2-3 cups of tepid or cool water.
2. Immerse frozen uncleaned skull in water and cook on medium-high heat for about 5 minutes.
3. Add meat tenderizer and continue cooking for another 15 minutes or when you see brains begin to emerge.
4. Test skull by removing from water, making a slice in cheek meat, and probing brain cavity. I was looking for meat cooked medium-well to well-done and for brains to be easy to stir.
5. Continue cooking for another 15 minutes, then remove saucepan from heat.
6. Let cool, then remove skull with fingers and begin to massage meat from bones.
7. Use tweezers to remove brains and to pull material from cavities, including eyes and tongue.
8. Drain water from saucepan, but save solids to check for bones or teeth.
9. Rinse saucepan and add 5 drops of Beano to 2 cups of water.
10. Rinse skull in cool water and add to saucepan, making sure skull is immersed.
11. Let skull soak for 30-40 minutes, then remove from the water.
12. Use fingers and tweezers to remove all matter from the bones.
13. Use moistened Q-Tips to clean brain cavity and surface of the skull.

I was tempted to name this red squirrel Einstein. I thought the brains would cook enough for me to grab a spongy chunk and remove it. I alternately poked, shook and rinsed all through the process.

I knew I was in the home stretch when I could finally remove the nose. That bit of cartilage was really tough. My tweezers were a perfect tool. I used the knife blade sparingly to gently scrape at tough tissue.

These photos illustrate my progress:

Frozen skull:

Partially cleaned skull:

Continued progress and tools:

Final product: