http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_3065035.html
| Quote: |
A Devon restaurant is doing its bit to protect red squirrels - by putting grey squirrels on the menu.
Ed Chester, chef of Otterton Mill, near Budleigh Salterton, says squirrel meat is delicious.
The restaurant is selling gray squirrel kebabs, pates and fricassees, reports the Daily Telegraph.
Mr Chester said: "Some people will turn their noses up but one of the things I am committed to is education. I am never going to put anything horrible on the menu.
"Squirrel is great meat. It is genuinely good and this is not a gimmick."
Grey squirrels, introduced from America in the 19th century, carry the squirrel pox virus but are immune to it, so when they come into contact with their cousins, the red squirrels are killed by the disease.
Earlier this month the campaign to save red squirrels from extinction was lifted by the discovery that some of the animals have developed immunity to the deadly virus. |
This restaurant is actually not far from my home town so quite an interesting story for me. A lot of people who I've spoken to have said they could never eat Squirrel meat because for some reason they seem to think the cuter and more fluffy an animal the greater it's right to life!
I don't get it, the only meat/flesh I actually eat I kill myself (through sea fishing) but if you do eat animals/fish/birds etc should it matter how cute the thing is?! I've eaten squirrel. It's actually not bad at all. The meat is very lean so it can either be cooked very quickly (flash fried) or slow-cooked in a stew with plenty of other flavourings. The taste is quite distinctive - quite 'gamey' but not at all unpleasant...
That's awesome, it's too bad more restaurants don't have it instead of the unhealthy factory farmed steroid and antibiotic pumped beef, and chicken. I try not to eat any meat unless I have killed it myself or know where it has come from. I absolutely love squirrel pot pie, broiled squirrel, squirrel soup, and tons of other delicious dishes.
Sounds tasty, although I'd be feel really bad eating such a small cuddly and huggable thing if I weren't starving and desperate.
On the other hand, it can't be that different from guinea pig or cuis meat, both of which are awesomeness incarnated
Last edited by PMK-Bear on Thu Oct 30, 2008 6:16 pm; edited 1 time in total
Just a thought.......... Could you get rabies from eating squirrel?
| bellebello wrote: |
| Just a thought.......... Could you get rabies from eating squirrel? |
No.
a) Rabies is very uncommon in rodents (including squirrels). It is much more common in cattle and other domestic animals.
b) The Rabies virus does not survive in the gut - it is killed by gastric juices
c) Cooking would kill the virus
I don't think there are any recorded cases of rabies caused by eating an infected animal of any sort.Plenty people eat squirrels around here... I've only had it once, when I was a little kid -- my babysitter had just shot and cleaned it like the day before. I remember it being kinda chewy?
squirrels are too nice to eat 
cant ever imagine eating them.. I was reading Travels in Georgia by John McPhee and this strongly reminds me of the book. In the story, he goes with a biologist who drives around looking for dead squirrels and other roadkill to eat. It's quite an interesting read, and it's made me want to try this squirrel meat. Sounds delicious.
I didn't know people eat squirrels.
Nobody here seems to be eating them.
Even in the villages.
Maybe the adivasis who eat rats and mice. Many who have eaten it have said it's delicious.
I have lots of squirrels around .....
Maybe someday.... squirel kebab? I wonder how many squirrels are needed just to fit into the whole 'stick' of kebab used for grilling. Probably need hundreds of them and also one squirrel per kebab. We'll probably run out of squirrels in no time and when the squirrel kebabs become a hot dish.. soon they will be serving red squirrels as well to meet the demand for squirrel kebabs.
| Kelvin wrote: |
| squirel kebab? I wonder how many squirrels are needed just to fit into the whole 'stick' of kebab used for grilling. Probably need hundreds of them and also one squirrel per kebab. We'll probably run out of squirrels in no time and when the squirrel kebabs become a hot dish.. soon they will be serving red squirrels as well to meet the demand for squirrel kebabs. |
Nonsense. You can get a perfectly good kebab from a pair of squirrels. Here in the UK the grey squirrel is classified as vermin - there is certainly no shortage.
