Posted on 08/26/2023 3:24:43 PM PDT by nickcarraway
The TV farmer and YouTube star say he has been 'deluged' with supply offers for his squirrel burgers - but others have called the plan 'horrendous'
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A farmer has defended himself after suffering a fierce backlash over his plan to serve squirrel burgers.
Farmer and influencer Gareth Wyn Jones, who has a million followers on social media including 750,000 subscribers to his YouTube channel, has been on the end of abuse online since he went public with an appeal for supplies of freshly killed grey squirrel to make the patties.
Gareth, who has previously appeared on BBC TV series the Family Farm, will be running the pop-up restaurant Cwtch Kitchen at the Welsh Game Fair on September 9 and 10. He plans to put the burgers on the menu at the event and is also suggesting serving them in a calzone.
Gareth, who farms in the foothills of the Carneddau Range above Llanfairfechan, in Conwy, said: “I’ve eaten it that way in Majorca cooked by Chris ‘Flamebaster’ Roberts for S4C and it would be perfect washed down with a glass of red Rondo from the Gwinllan Conwy vineyard. I’ve been deluged with offers of grey squirrel but I’ve had a fair bit of abuse from uneducated people with full bellies too. They’re nuts.”
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That included loopy44 who posted: “I think that's a horrendous idea for burgers - next you will be suggesting seagulls. You are only doing it for notoriety. I definitely prefer to see my squirrels happy in trees."
Hawkeye responded: “You can stick them where squirrels stuff their nuts! Why not rat burgers, same thing but no bushy tail!!!” while imageezer blasted: “The man is sick in the head.”
But Gareth has his supporters too, North Wales Live reports, and indigodebz said: “Makes total sense to me, we import and transport far too much food. Eat local, eat seasonal. I’m up for trying a squirrel burger if they’re genuinely having to be culled and would go to waste otherwise.”
Jonesey added: “I killed, gutted, cooked and ate a couple of grey squirrels many, many years ago … part of a survival course thing. As I remember they didn’t taste particularly good or particularly bad. As the bloke says, a bit like chicken.”
Gareth’s response was: “We should be supporting our native red squirrels. It’s all about getting that message out there. Every single grey that’s culled is protecting our native red population so let’s do it. Grey squirrels are an invasive species so the more we shoot the better and if we can add value by turning them into tasty food that’s even better. Even in the USA they’re a pest. They have Douglas red squirrels in Washington state and they’re being affected by the greys so people are encouraged to shoot them.”
Same here. Same place granny’s cast iron pan is right now.
What’s wrong with squirrel? Had it growing up along with rattlesnake, frog legs, gator, goat, venison, reindeer and once armadillo (no pearl clutching, please), all the organ meats including brains, heart, tongue, sweetbreads, mountain oysters, sautéed up a bunch of minnow eggs a few times and forgotten a few other unusual meats but no horse that I know of. Meat is meat.
Well, those food snobs are missing out on some good eating.
The late Anthony Bourdain came to our area and did a show where he learned how to make squirrel pot pie.
He found it pretty tasty.
My Grandma always fried them for breakfast with eggs.
My Mom usually cooked them in the pressure cooker and it produced very tender meat with gravy.
One time the pressure cooker blew its lid, which made a dent in the ceiling and it was years before we were able to get the squirrel gravy stains off of the plaster ceiling.
“One squirrel is hardly enough for one person.”
That’s true.
When I was eating them regularly, I would pressure cook 5 of them at a time. After 35 minutes of the regulator rocking, I was able to remove the meat from the bones - I mean all of the meat from all of the bones - cheek meat, backstraps, neck meat, everything including rib meat. It just falls off. 5 squirrels would net me about 2.5 cups of meat which I could shred or grind or just mix up with bbq sauce or whatever. Always enough for a meal for three and have leftovers.
Squirrel stew is underrated, especially here in the 1st world.
Enjoying a steaming bowl of borscht are you?
L
Your granny slept with soldiers for rubles.
L
At least I have a Mrs.
L
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