Squirrelburgers!

by jordan | May 11, 2008 at 01:15 pm | 641 views | 11 comments

It would seem that a new food craze is afoot in Britain: squirrel meat. To what extent, though, is this a marketing thing? I don't know anyone in the UK who has tasted squirrel. At any rate, squirrels aren't factory-farmed, so they're a bit more "green" than your average supermarket fare.

The challenge is one of perception: squirrels are far cuter than cows (at least to most of us- just look at those little cheeks!), so we'd be less likely to chow down on them than, say, a chicken, which we're used to seeing as food. This is a different face of an age-old conundrum: when do animals stop being pets and start being menu items? Dogs are fair game in South Korea (though it's not considered haute cuisine), and cows are verboten in much of India. Here in the west, though, we're all about the cheeseburger and would not eat anything that would appear on icanhascheezburger.

At Ridley's Fish and Game shop in Corbridge, Northumberland, the owner David Ridley says he has sold 1,000 - at £3.50 a squirrel - since he tested the market at the beginning of the year. 'I wasn't sure at first, and wondered would people really eat it. Now I take every squirrel I can get my hands on. I've had days when I have managed to get 60 and they've all sold straight away.'
Simpson likens the taste to wild boar. Ridley thinks it is more a cross between duck and lamb. 'It's moist and sweet because, basically, its diet has been berries and nuts,' he said.

Both believe its new-found popularity is partly due to its green credentials. 'People like the fact it is wild meat, low in fat and local - so no food miles,' says Simpson. Ridley reckons that patriotism also plays a part: 'Eat a grey and save a red. That's the message.'

I don't follow that logic, actually: the alternative to eating grey squirrel isn't eating red squirrel-- the alternative would be eating a non-squirrel.

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cynthia yoo

at 21:19 on May 11th, 2008

good stuff:

jordan, to each its own...there's an albino squirrel in my neighbourhood, would it make it onto the list?

nurse_604

at 01:12 on May 12th, 2008

This little guy became so friendly that he starting coming into my livingroom to help himself to peanuts. He would sit still long enough for a few pics.

C. Dunlop, Vancouver, BC

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cynthia yoo

at 01:20 on May 12th, 2008

I wondered how you got those shots! Very cute!

BABW

at 02:06 on May 12th, 2008

Squirrels aren't bad eating - people in the southeast U.S. have been chowing down on the little blighters for generations. Just don't eat the brains; squirrel brains can harbor a disease related to "mad cow" called transmissible spongiform encephalopathy.

jdixonsd

at 08:59 on May 12th, 2008

It was amazing to watch this little guy run across the chainlink fench and keep its balance. This is one of the half a dozen that I took of it running across the fench.

jdixonsd has contributed a photo to this story.

danlayphotos

at 10:08 on May 12th, 2008

I think eating grey squirrel is fine. If you like it and can buy it, then do. Surely wild rabbits are in the same boat here. They are often a pest and a menace to the farming community so its good to control their numbers anyway. My only concern would be that people also think eating red squirrel is fine, which it clearly is not as it is a protected animal.

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Bulldog Mom

at 23:32 on May 12th, 2008

Just caught these guys playing around on top of the utility pole. They are so cute!

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stephanie.p

at 21:36 on May 13th, 2008

i can understand hunting/eating them if you have to, but i don't understand hunting as a sport. or as restaurant cuisine.

okay, honestly, i just think squirrels are way too cute to eat.

KATERINAX

at 22:41 on May 14th, 2008

These squirrels are a delight to watch, from never ending collections of seeds and nuts, and stealing shelled peanuts from the Blue Jays I put out to eating. Not sure which they do more! I had fun taking pictures of her, and she still comes back every day!

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McGun

at 21:54 on May 21st, 2008

Thanks for using my pic.

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nukemdomis

at 08:38 on May 24th, 2008

The people who depend on the income they generate from selling squirrels as snacks are probably pretty thankful for those mutant black squirrels since they are bigger and more prolific.