Squirrel meat is apparently not only sweet and nutty, but also very lean. Source: AP
MOVE over, grass-fed, dry-aged, antibiotic free, sun-ripened, Angus beef: there’s a new ‘ethical’ meat in town.
It’s squirrel.
That’s according to US-based magazine Modern Farmer, which has just made one of the most bizarre New Year’s resolutions for 2015.
“Limb chicken”, as it’s sometimes called in hunting circles, is apparently better for the enviroment than grass-fed pork or beef, and tastes delicious.
“Would it be trite to say it tastes like chicken? Because it does taste a bit like chicken: the darkest of juicy, dark thigh meat, with some nuttiness and gamey flavors added to the mix,” writes Modern Farmer’s Elka Karl.
“It’s good. Believe me: I wouldn’t be telling you to eat it if it wasn’t delicious.”
Karl does make one clarification: We’re talking about “acorn-fattened squirrel” here. NOT the “trash-can-and-peanuts-fattened squirrel” variety.
Squirrel soup? Could you eat this furry little guy? Source: Supplied
That’s not to suggest squirrels shouldn’t be eaten instead of beef, but rather in tandem, she says, adding that plenty of small beef and dairy farms are positioned to create a squirrel-friendly habitat. Livestock grazes and tramples the undergrowth to create a “park-like” environment perfectly suited to squirrel populations.
“So enjoy your free range hamburger, but try it with a side of squirrel pie.”
Eating squirrel is nothing new though. Chefs have been experimenting with the rodent dish for a few years now. Last year, television chef Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall added fresh squirrel to the menu of one of his UK-based restaurant, River Cottage Canteen, as part of his belief in promoting wild food from sustainable sources. “Squirrel has been on the menu at River Cottage for over a decade now,” Fearnley-Whittingstall said earlier this year, “and I have been seen killing and cooking them on my television programmes on two occasions. So I think it is obvious I am comfortable making them part of my diet.”
The lean meat is also becoming very popular in some of the southern US states and you can now even buy grey squirrel online.
With our overseas counterparts bravely experimenting with the new cuisine, should Aussies be more openminded when it comes to our staple meats? Possum is already on ther menu in some upmarket restaurants, so what next?
Fancy a slice of Possum pie? Source: Supplied
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