[sheila]

I thought you might be interested in a recipe in todays Telegraph..

BRAISED SQUIRREL

1 Squirrel per person
1 tablespoon duck fat
5 shallots, peeled and left whole
4 rashers bacon cubed
Porchini (or ordinary )mushrooms
1 glass white wine
garlic
chicken stock
salt & Pepper etc


1) put the duck fat in a large casserole dish, brown the shallots,add the squirrel, whole or jointed and the bacon
2)brown the meat and mix in a glass of white wine
3)Reduce
4) add the mushrooms
5)reduce
6) add the stock, cover and cook in a low oven.
7) check after an hour and add more water if it's drying out
after 2 and a half hours test the meat with a sharp knife. If the juices run clear it is ready to serve ( with mash and chestnuts?)


Personally I think it is a waste of a glass of wine, What do you think?

[Roxy]

I will see what my cat says about braised squirrel, although she seems to prefer hers raw

[woodlandproductsfife]

that spanish chesnuts? and where do you get them?
 Craig

[Womble]

Okaaay, So another recipe for beating the credit crunch is it?

Simply go down to Hyde Park and shoot a squirrel, then the other ingredients will only cost you about a tenner.  Like since when has austerity cooking included Porchini and white wine?!? (oh sorry, forgot this was the Telegraph!  )

[JulieS]

If only I could catch the pesky so and so's who seem to have found a night job in my barn.......They appear to be partial to pig food!

[jameslindsay]

I guess if people are happy eating rabbit or pigeon why not squirrel? Yuck

[Roxy]

James, I am quite partial to rabbit stew ........so long as its not Leo and co my pet rabbits that is.

[jameslindsay]

Apparantly Roxy the top restaurants in London struggle to cope with the demand for rabbit! I know it is poplular and to be fair I have never even tried it.

[Roxy]

Well, I got away with it once with my very fussy OH, and said it was chicken.  I say got away with it, he did question the colour of the "chicken" as it was rather brown compared to chicken.  Never told him what it was, so he is none the wiser.  Did not tell him the other bit either, that one of our dogs caught the rabbit, and I grabbed it off her

I have seen rabbits ready to use in the shops and they are expensive!!

[jameslindsay]

You will never go to heaven 

[Roxy]

    I am the picture of innocence.  No one would believe I would do such a thing ........

[woodlandproductsfife]

Have to say I saw HFW cooking the old squirel and thought it looked delishous!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[WinslowPorker]

i watched some programme last year think it may of been countryfile, anyway they were follwoing some bloke in the North East of England who was licensed to go round and shoot grey squirrels. I think the main reason was because of the them encroahing some of the last of our native red squirrel areas, anyway this guy was shooting 2-3000 a month!! he was coveing a really big area and they had actually noticed that reds had started to re-populate which was great.

The best bit was when asked what he did with all the greys, he said that they were sold to local butchers at i think £2 each or £3 a brace i cannot remember which, anyway that works out at around £4000 a month and demand was really high for squirrel meat. Now i think he pays a lot for his fuel and pellets, and his guns were not cheap and chearful but even so what a great job not just financially, but also how rewarding to clear out tree rats and let our own native squirels re-populate.

[Hilarysmum]

In the land of if it moves shoot it and if it doesnt move put it in the pot anyway - they kill and eat red squirrels (never seen a grey one here) woodpecker, all sorts.

[WinslowPorker]

Anyone see The One Show last night? the food critic man whose name i cannot remember had a plate of squirrel for everyone to try, Boris Johnson had a good old mouthful!!

and no comments about cannibalism with politicians being vermin..........................................