Cycling UK Forum

Two birds with one stone..?. https://www.theguardian.com/food/shortc ... e_btn_link

Curb the greys and save tbe planet a little bit.

I remember Kernis Duval my hosts gardener teasing mine host with a suggestion to solve the squirrel problem on their Lafayette Louisina lot by consuming grilled squirrels on a stick. And, in Oh Brother the escaped convicts were doing the same thing with gophers.

When I was young greys were a shilling a tail...

Anyone up for it?

Al

There was a pub between Keswick, Penrith and Pooley Bridge that used to serve a game pie with squirrel in it. Not sure if it's still doing that. Obviously greys because nearby was a grey squirrel control area so there was a good local source.

We're still red around here (Nb. Though I started seeing grey roadkill 17 miles South, approx 4-5 years ago). Don't know how reds compare in terms of taste, though there's definately a lot less meat on them ! That said, I believe they may be protected.

(Nb. Reminds me that I must take more care My innocent question yesterday to a pig owner whilst I was on a ride, wasn't appreciated. All I asked "Are they for food? " Turns out Geoffrey wasn't expected to provide the filling for a bacon sandwich - though his cousin at lunch today was great )

There have been cases of people contracting CJD in the USA from eating squirrel. But they were eating the brains.

Many creatures have similar tastes/textures, so what is squirrel like?

al_yrpal wrote:When I was young greys were a shilling a tail...

20p per tail from the local woodland owner when I were a lad(1970s).

foxyrider wrote:Many creatures have similar tastes/textures, so what is squirrel like?

Similar texture to Rabbit.Not particularly bad but not particularly nice.
To put it another way if you had to eat it you would but you wouldn't choose to eat it (on it's own)
I'm a member on a couple of Air Gun Forums and there's recipes on there for Squizz.

A slight tangent I know, whilst we have veritable armies of immigrant squirrels hereabouts the bigger problem is the herd of @ 300 Red Deer on the local moors. Somehow the local management scheme is failing, (they are supposed to keep numbers at @ half that), no doubt influenced by the 'local' wildlife groups. Guess we could have venison and squirrel pie?

foxyrider wrote:A slight tangent I know, whilst we have veritable armies of immigrant squirrels hereabouts the bigger problem is the herd of @ 300 Red Deer on the local moors. Somehow the local management scheme is failing, (they are supposed to keep numbers at @ half that), no doubt influenced by the 'local' wildlife groups. Guess we could have venison and squirrel pie?

A work colleague shoots deer in Wharncliffe Woods(with permission).He reckons there's well over 1000 in there at any one time.I've MTBed in there for years and never seen one!

20p thats four shillings! The 1970s was a time of rampant inflation. We have hunters from Holland here in the Autumn culling the deer and they pay for the privilege. There is often all sorts of local game on the menu in the local pubs.
I hate rabbit it reminds me of my childhood just after the War when it was the only meat you could get off ration so I think I'll avoid squirrel. Down in Louisiana we used to go out for deep fried Gator with fries, Gumbo and a few long knecked Buds....

Al

foxyrider wrote:Many creatures have similar tastes/textures, so what is squirrel like?

My memory of squirrel pie from a childhood in North Carolina is that the meat is darkish and there are lots of small bones.

Nutty!.
I'll get my hat......
Its fiddly. Best skinned, rough gutted and a stick shoved up its bum. Open fire with various spices etc added. Pick the meat off to the limit of your patience.
A mate reckoned that the way to tell if a squirrel was good to eat was to twist its tail around your finger and pull. If the tail came out with some spinal cord it was tender and now dead. If you got bitten it was a tough old bugger and you dropped it sharpish.

Get cooking

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3IaSNjur25s

foxyrider wrote:A slight tangent I know, whilst we have veritable armies of immigrant squirrels hereabouts the bigger problem is the herd of @ 300 Red Deer on the local moors. Somehow the local management scheme is failing, (they are supposed to keep numbers at @ half that), no doubt influenced by the 'local' wildlife groups. Guess we could have venison and squirrel pie?

I doubt it's the wildlife groups - most are painfully aware of the effect of overgrazing. It's generally 'animal lovers'. In the New Forest the Hampshire WT told me that ideally there should be ideally around 1000 deer, not the current 2000+. OF course the issue is the lack of predators is the issue.