Would YOU try it? MailOnline tastes roasted gray squirrel – as experts call on Brits to eat the meat to save the planet

By William On Jan 28, 2024

It is wonderfully fluffy and can often be seen running through the trees of British parks.

But the ‘invasive’ gray squirrel is widely regarded as a pest by British authorities because it outcompetes the red squirrel, Britain’s only native squirrel species.

Wildlife experts are even encouraging restaurants to serve ‘nutritious’ gray squirrels in a bid to control populations of the non-native creature.

Exmoor Squirrel Project says gray squirrel meat is good served in stews, pies and kebabs – even though there isn’t much meat on a single creature.

What exactly does gray squirrel taste like, and is it hearty enough for an evening meal? MailOnline finds out.

In Britain, the gray squirrel (pictured) is considered invasive because it outcompetes the native red squirrel for resources

Why are red squirrels endangered?

The main cause behind the red squirrel’s decline is the introduction of gray squirrels from the US in the 1870s.

There are three main reasons why gray tones threaten red tones:

– Gray squirrels carry the Parapox virus, which does not appear to affect their health but often kills red squirrels.

– Gray squirrels are more likely to eat green acorns, so they will decimate the food source before they are ripe and the red squirrels can make use of them.

– When red squirrels are pressured, they won’t breed as often – and this compounds the initial gray squirrel problem.

I had my squirrel delivered by The Wild Meat Company, a company from Suffolk that buys and sells special types of meat that are difficult to find in supermarkets, such as goat, boar and rabbit.

Robert Gooch, director of Wild Meat Company, described the gray squirrel as a ‘non-native alien’.

‘We should definitely eat the gray squirrels because they are being culled anyway and if they are not eaten they are thrown away,’ he told MailOnline.

For a few days, the shipment sat in a large box in my refrigerator, and I was greeted with a pang of dread every time I reached for the milk.

“There’s a dead squirrel in my refrigerator,” I kept telling myself.

I finally worked up the courage to take it out of the box – and it actually didn’t look that bad!

The “oven-ready squirrel” was skinned and vacuum-packed in plastic, much like any other piece of meat.

The Wild Meat Company gave me a simple recipe to try: roasted squirrel with pumpkin, sage, hazelnuts and garlic, all covered in olive oil and black pepper.

By the time I had gathered all the ingredients into a dish, it looked very attractive – almost autumnal, as if the creature had been peacefully buried in the woods.

However, after almost an hour of roasting, it was a different matter.

As the meat had tightened from the heat of the oven, one of the squirrel’s legs stuck up into the air.

Oven-Ready Squirrel: The Wild Meat Company buys and sells more unusual meats that are difficult to find in supermarkets

Beautiful piece of squirrel: By the time I got all the ingredients together in a roasting tin, it looked quite attractive – almost autumnal

As the meat tightened from the heat of the oven, one of the squirrel’s legs began to stick up

I also noticed the presence of small hairs, although I wasn’t too put off by that since my diet in my first semester of college consisted largely of pork scratchings.

I placed the squirrel on a cutting board and started cutting, but the meat was difficult to remove, even with a very sharp knife.

It’s not that the meat was tough, but that it didn’t come away from the carcass that easily.

Partly due to the great physical effort of cutting, and partly due to the lack of meat on the carcass, I could only get a few leftovers on my plate.

Another thing I noticed was how skinny the squirrel was; maybe I should have braised it, or at least basted it in red wine every five minutes?

Squirrel is often said to taste “wild, like rabbit” – meaning it has a stronger, earthy taste typical of hunted wild animals – but I didn’t get that.

To me, the texture was a bit like duck, while the flavor was most like lamb – not an unpleasant taste, but not spectacular either.

My verdict? Gray squirrel is certainly interesting, but I would probably cook it differently next time.

Difficult to cut: it’s not that the meat was tough, but that it didn’t come off the carcass that easily

Smart picking: A single gray squirrel doesn’t carry that much meat — at least compared to your more traditional roast

If the gray squirrel is going to be the next foodie craze, I’m sure it will be in top restaurants, not people’s home kitchens.

That’s because there isn’t enough meat on a single squirrel carcass to feed an adult, let alone an entire family.

The Wild Meat Company sells one oven-ready squirrel for £4.95, which is pretty good for a specialist meat product from an independent butcher.

But considering you can get a whole chicken for less at, say, Aldi, I’m afraid roast squirrel isn’t cheap enough to become a Sunday lunch staple.

So if you’re a top chef, maybe consider adding the gray squirrel to your menu as you can do your part to save an endangered native species.

Experts believe red squirrels, which have lived in Britain for around 10,000 years, could become extinct here within a decade because of the invasive gray, which was first brought over from the US in the 1870s.

In the photo a red squirrel. The species is native to Great Britain and is fully protected by law. Wildlife groups are closely monitoring squirrel populations and conducting targeted control of gray squirrels in areas where red squirrels are in danger of extinction

That’s why the government bans the release of gray squirrels into the wild. So you must kill them humanely if you catch them alive.

However, it is not entirely clear how the humane killing of gray squirrels is enforced, if at all.

The Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) told MailOnline that gray squirrels can be caught in deadly ‘spring traps’ as long as red squirrels are not present in the area.

DEFRA also suggests that a reputable pest controller who is trained to carry out trapping measures ‘legally and humanely’ is contacted.

Alternatively, gray squirrels can be shot, but only by ‘authorized persons’ and with ‘permission of the landowner’.

Tasty hazelnut spread with contraception is being used to reduce Britain’s gray squirrel population – with ‘hopeful results’, experts say

A plan to test an oral contraceptive pill on gray squirrels in Britain is yielding ‘hopeful results’, experts say.

It is estimated that there are currently around three million gray squirrels in the country, and they cause damage to young trees by stripping their bark.

They have also driven the native red squirrel to the brink of extinction in many parts of Britain because it is hardier than the red squirrel and carries a fatal disease.

It is hoped that providing birth control to the animals will humanely limit their population and allow red squirrels and tree populations to thrive.

There are an estimated only 160,000 red squirrels in Britain, of which only 15,000 are in England.

The gray squirrel is the main reason for the red squirrel’s decline.

Because they are larger and stronger, the grays can take and steal a greater share of available food from red squirrels’ food supplies.

Outside Britain, red squirrels are common in continental Europe and Asia, especially in areas where gray squirrels have not been introduced.