Next time you pass a squirrel on your walk home, you might as well stop and catch them by their bushy tails. According to the UK’s Telegraph, squirrel is the trendy new ingredient that “stylish gastropub” patrons won’t stop ordering.Rodent stew originated in the American South, the Telegraph reports, but the UK has co-opted it for a certain “novelty factor.” The unique nature of eating a rodent has bumped squirrel to the number-one selling item on The Wild Meat Company‘s direct mail order catalog. Squirrel is also very lean (they’re mostly herbivores), so it’s a heart-healthy choice. Squirrel is also a greener option: Unlike steak or chicken which require special habitats or acres of farmland, wild squirrel can be scooped from your own backyard.With grey squirrels living everywhere in the U.S. and Canada, we could be the next frontier for this ubiquitous and healthy meat. And if you need a good recipe, VICE spoke with chef Robert Owen Brown, who recommends crispy Southern fried-style squirrel in his cookbook Crispy Squirrel and Vimto Trifle. He says it tastes like a slightly more nutty rabbit.Would you eat squirrel? And more importantly: how much would you pay for it at a restaurant?
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