Eat Squirrel
Squirrel is a lean, fine-textured game meat used in traditional British and North American pies, stews and slow-cooked dishes. The small joints offer little margin for hurried cookery, so a moist preparation usually makes a better introduction than treating the animal like a miniature roast. Its mild game flavour is best understood within a properly made dish. Use a licensed game dealer, butcher or restaurant able to identify the species, legal source and handling chain. In Britain, grey squirrel may be supplied as managed wild game; never assume that permission to control an invasive species makes any garden animal food. Ask whether the carcass was inspected and whether lead-free ammunition was used. For a first taste, share a pie, ragù or casserole prepared by someone familiar with small game and its many bones. Never eat a squirrel found dead, killed by a vehicle, poisoned, visibly unwell or supplied without provenance. Keep legitimate meat chilled, separate it from ready-to-eat food and cook it thoroughly until steaming hot throughout. Wild game may carry pathogens, while shot or bullet fragments can remain after dressing. Official advice recommends minimising frequent consumption of lead-shot game, particularly for children, pregnant people and those trying to conceive. Check pastry, stock and sauces for allergens and eat slowly around small bones. Notice how long cooking draws flavour into the surrounding gravy and how little meat a wild animal actually provides. A responsible dish can illustrate local game management and economical cookery, but only when legality, welfare, food safety and full use of the carcass are more important than novelty.