Umarex Airguns is excited to participate in the World Champion Squirrel Cook Off on Sept. 23.
Held at the Ozark Highlands Nature Center in Springdale, Ark., the cook off is a celebration of the Ozarks and the humble squirrel. Forty teams from around the nation are expected to compete for the championship. Each three-person team has three hours to prepare their squirrel dish and a side for the judges.
“We are really looking forward to the event and trying all the different ways the cooks prepare squirrel meat,” Justin Biddle, vice president of marketing, said. “Squirrel hunting is the gateway for a lot of people to get into hunting and into airgunning. It’s a perfect match. Umarex Airguns and hunting for food, in this case for squirrels, go hand-in-hand.”
Founder Joe Wilson began the event in 2012 on the Bentonville Square, but quickly outgrew that location. Teaming with the Arkansas Game & Fish Commission and moving to the nature center ensures chefs and spectators will have plenty of room to enjoy the day. He anticipates the 2023 edition to be the biggest one yet.
“We’ve had people from all over the world come to cook in the past,” Wilson said. “Two bankers from New York, a team from the Netherlands, Florida, you name it. But we’ve also had a few folks from right in the Ozarks come and show their chops with limb chicken.”
Live music, food trucks and vendors will keep spectators entertained between bites of squirrel meat.
For more information about the Cook Off, visit the event’s Facebook page at facebook.com/squirrelcookoff.
For information about Umarex Airguns, visit UmarexUSA.com.