Squirrel stew

Okay. Now before you get all grossed out, I'd like to explain a few things. 1) People DO eat squirrel. 2) I have a long standing vendetta with squirrels. 3) According to the CDC they're not all that bad.

I first got this idea into my head after watching this episode of The Perennial Plate. Didn't look so gross. Shortly after, a friend mentioned to me that they saw an episode of Anthony Bourdain hunting and eating squirrel pot pie in the Ozarks. Sure, that guy eats some gnarly stuff, but heck he's still alive... so why not? Apparently it's a delicacy in the UK too? Watch out peoples, Heston Blumenthal might just open up The Fat Squirrel.

 

This vendetta I have towards these furry critters is deep-seeded back to my days of attempted gardening where the neighborhood squirrels would spite me by ravaging all my vegetables and throwing half-eaten figs on the ground. Nutty bastards.

I had a few people voice their concerns of my potentially consuming a rabid rat with good PR, but after doing some digging around, according to the CDC, they generally check out ok. In fact, you can only get rabies if an infected animal bites you. I highly doubt a rabid squirrel would come within 10 feet of someone with an air rifle. Interestingly enough, the most frequently reported cases of rodents with rabies are of groundhogs. So folks, I wouldn't be so quick as to pull Punxsutawney Phil from his burrow to ask him about Spring.

I've also heard the argument that squirrels are just too cute to kill. Then again, I think goats, pigs and chickens can be cute too and most people wouldn't bat an eye before chowing down on one of them. Also, no baby squirrels were harmed because baby-anything is just adorable (except for baby spiders), and not worth shooting because they're so small.

Luckily for me, I didn't have to skin and gut the little beast. Instead, I prepped a mirapoix and let the hindquarters stew for a couple hours. The verdict? Quite tasty actually. The meat was a bit nutty and stringy and I'd say it was a cross between rabbit and chicken. What I found really amusing is that most people thought the stew looked really good... before I told them what went in it.