 January 6th, 2012
11:15 AM ET
Kate Krader (@kkrader on Twitter) is Food & Wine's restaurant editor. When she tells us where to find our culinary heart's desire, we listen up. Now that we’re a week into the New Year, it’s time to stop talking about a 2012 diet. That moment is gone. Instead of giving up foods, wouldn’t it be great to bring some new things into your life: squirrel, fish bones, black water. Here’s a few things you should start eating immediately to be on the cutting edge of the food world. Chocolate-Covered Sprouts They’re also eating the gills from wild king yellowtail. First they dehydrate them, then they fry them, and serve them “just for fun,” says Blue Ribbon Manager Rich Ho. Unnaturally Black Foods There's also blk., the black health water that’s the brainchild of Albie and Chris Manzo, who you know from the Real Housewives of New Jersey. Like the Manzo brothers, you might not understand exactly what makes the water black, but is that really the point of this water? No, it’s not. Random Animals And "Bizarre Foods" hero Andrew Zimmern came back from a trip to Beijing energized by a 10-course donkey tasting. “Donkey should be on everyone’s plate in 2012,” he says. More from Food & Wine: Best Fried Chicken in the U.S. © 2011 American Express Publishing Corporation. All rights reserved. 
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Broiled Squirrel pg 59 of Justin Wilson Cook Book
squirrel is really good but nothing beats bringing home a friend for dinner and not warning them first. dad hit a deer with the car once and went back for the backstraps. that night when asked by my friend what he was cooking he replied "roadkill". no explanation. but for the rest of us that was pretty normal. plus frog's legs jump out of the pan when frying. you gotta catch them and throw them back in. it keeps the kids occupied:)
go to:::: Click here: Dehydrated squirrels so you can spend more time at home and less time hunting ( http://www.internet-grocer.net/squirrel.htm) It's already voque to use squirrel in a multitude of recipes, and finally you can get farmed raised ones. :)
Grew up hunting and fishing with my Dad – good times.
And we ate what we caught.
Have to say that squirrel is better than rabbit – but neither can hold a candle to frog.
I've had frog legs in expensive French restaurants – but it's not the same.
You have to gig them yourself from a local pond or lake.
Poor squirrels , too bad many people shoot them for fun . Wondering if HSUS has something to say about killing this animals. Squirels are part of nature , and hope we can save them , they're wonderful animals .
Every single thing you eat is "part of nature"...
Just sayin.
One of the reasons why people are talking about eating squirrels is because there are a couple of breeds that aren't originally native to North America which are displacing the indigenous type. Hunting a squirrel helps restore that balance a bit.
Just because it is marketed, hyped, and put on a plate, doesn't mean it is edible. Squirrel is nasty...not much meat; alot of bones and lets not forget...it IS a rodent. Foodies should get back to the basics and start consuming food that is nutitrious and appealing. The tastebuds of many have disappeared and now we eat anything.
People have been eating things like squirrel long before people have had the luxury of whining about what was available. Also, whether or not something is appealing to you has nothing to do with healthy eating.
Grandpa like to eat Squirrel and dumplings and Squirrel brains and eggs for breakfast. They are more like rats than rabbit but cleaner. They are pests and we need to get rid of them. They taste OK. How are we going to harvest them though? No use raising them since it would not help to reduce the wild population. People running around with .22 rifles is a good way to get people shot.
You should eat the squirrels in my yard. They are well fed, they get nut and oranges from my back porch in the winter. Surprisingly enough, they leave my tomatoes and herbs alone in the summer!
Hopefully all of you pigs will die of heart disease very soon!!!
VEGANS ARE HOT AND TOTALLY AWESOME!!!
THERE ISN'T AN OVERPOPULATION OF SQUIRRELS; HOWEVER, THERE IS AN OVERPOPULATION OF HUMANS – STERILIZE THE SOBS
There's also an overpopulation of people like animalsrule. We should eat them first, then the vegans.
Should have started with yo momma.
When I was in college, I dated someone who hunted. His mother would cook most anything except squirrel – she called them "rats with a bushy tail".
Donkey? Of course. It's election year.
Yeb your tinfoil Teabag hat just can’t help it. It’s a pea size brain, ugly stinky elephant butt, buddy! At least a donkey has class and self image which elephants don't other than destroying vegetations. Not only that, they don’t think of tomorrow. Its election year 2012, tinfoil Teabag buddy!
Obama wins hands down 2012. Get your tissues ready and order them in bulk for there’s going to be a lot of emotionally disturbed elephants wailing from morning-to-sunset for the next 5-yrs.
Where's Eddie, doesn't he usually eat these things?!?
2012?? Cousin Eddie from National Lampoon's "Christmas Vacation" was eating squirrels back in 1988, according to his wife, Catherine. Apparently, he was way ahead of everyone on discovering this latest "delicacy"!
The holy grail is man eating man. I think, this is where its all headed.
Boy are these people behind times. i have eaten squirells for years. the brains and tounge are good also. the other foods i was raised with are fish, turtles, robins, quail, doves, blackbirds, eels, racoons, armadilos. rabbits, bull frog legs, and during the world war 2 we ate a lot of horse meat. i have allways had a saying, meat is meat.
Soylent Green FTW!
I used to hunt squirrels, rabbits, quail, anything edible, with my grandfather. He talked about growing up poor and having one baseball that they played with throughout their childhood. They kept wearing out the cover on it and would tan a squirrel hide to sew a new cover on the ball.
I grew up in the south as well, and probably have eaten my own weight in squirrel though I have not had any in many years. People are now so disconnected from where there food comes from that it seems like a novelty or an exotic indulgence to eat something that doesn't come shrink-wrapped to a styrofoam plate. There's something lost there, and a little sad.
This is the best post on the page. People think meat is something that comes in little plastic packages. Our produce comes from somewhere – who knows where or what has been done to it. The main source of calories in the US is CORN SYRUP. We eat like idiots, don't care about what we put in our body and have high rates of disease and poor educational performance.
When I was young my grandfather loved to hunt squirrels. I remember watching him nail them to the barn then start near the rear legs and slowly pull the skin down over the head like taking off a shirt. Once it was completely down he would cut the head and skin from the meat. We frequently had squirrel meat at their house. The only negative like other wild game is the occasional pellet.
One of the things people forget is that there is a big difference between squirrels. We moved south and lived there for many years, After some time I started looking at the tiny southern squirrels, and wonder how one squirrel could feed two or three people. It took a move back north to get reoriented to the huge size difference between the grays and the fox squirrel.
Where's Dahmer when you need him?
why would you eat a donkey or a horse? people have been eating squirrels and rabbits for years in the south.
Dogs?
Wow. Now my redneck FIL is gonna have to get a pair of black rimmed glasses and some tight jeans so he can be a chic as his menu. He's eaten squirrel for years.
This has to tick off peta...
One can hope anyways. Anything that annoys those psychos is a good thing.
Let's get started on the dogs and cats! NOMNOMNOM
It kind of depends on where and when you grow up.
I grew up in the Midwest, and had an uncle that trapped for pelts.
Occasionally we went to visit him and his family, and depending on what was in the traps that day, we had "critter de jour".
Besides squirrel, I got real fond of muskrat. It was lean and tasted a lot like pork to me. Makes a good stew too.
I have Rock Squirrels living in my ceiling(there is NO crawl space) you can have the whole lot of them. They have two litters a year, so I get broken sleep, they follow me around the house, there is always one scratching around. COME and GET them(Tucson,AZ)!!!
Some years ago i had a 'pet' squirrel, a wild one who would sit on our laps and eat peanuts. she was the sweetest thing. i would no sooner eat a squirrel than eat a puppy!
I'd eat a squirrel.
I'd eat a puppy.
So would I. They aren't pets.
Wow, I've always been a bit embarrassed that I ate squirrel growing up. Just a bit too 'Beverly Hillbillies' for me. Squirrel, pheasant, wild rabbit, ducks, venison & fresh-caught fish all made it onto the menu when I was a kid. Pretty darn good, actually, and low in fat.
Wild squirrel is great! If you're grossed out, you should know that they're much cleaner than a chicken.
Used to hunt tree rats with a .338 Win Mag. Had to stop though. Kept ruining too much meat.
Although raised in the city, my family had its roots in rural life. My dad spent summers in Grayson county, KY when he was a kid, on his uncles farm during WWII. He learned to hunt with his brothers and cousins. Growing up, he passed what he knew to me and my brothers. I was the only one that really enjoyed being in the woods, and walking through the pastures and fields hunting with my dad. Although I have not been hunting in years, I enjoyed squirrel, quail, rabbit, and even an occasional ground hog growing up. Never got around to deer. Actually, all of the above game is healthier than the meat you get from slaughter houses and meat packing plants. You can also be assured the animals didnt live in misery until they are killed, hopefully humanely by the hunter.
How about eating dog, cat, and hamsters? With a little hot sauce meat of any kind will taste OK.
What ever color it comes out of the ground as is how I will eat it. Black Beans yes! No worries if you are a vegetarian.
Check your facts. Your article is factually incorrect. Regarding Blk Water, it's not the "brainchild" of Albie and Chris Manzo, they are merely promoting it in the US. It is a Canadian invention backed by a Canadian company that approached them to market it. However, the Manzo boys, along with their uncle Chris, are now being sued by another Canadian company that says that the Manzo's stole the idea from them. Who said that the Real Housewives of New Jersey weren't petty thieves and wanna-be mobsters LOL
I've been hunting and eating squirrel all my life. Didn't know it was that new.
Thank you Jed...do you also walk about 20 yards to the outhouse?
Only to take a crap on ignorant city-folk.
I pefer to eat #ussy.It smells like fish and taste like chicken, most of the time.
You 're so classy, you probably don't get it very often.
Not enough calories unless you've got a squirter.
I'm guessing you don't have it that often....(why you have to remind the world) haha.
Thanks, but I think I'll stick with my PETA-disapproved, thoroughly abused chicken, beef and pork!!
We are suppose to be advancing in our culture not eating squirrel that is sooooooooo Chinese like eating cats, what is wrong with people lately.
Dumbest. Comment. Ever.
Next, please.
Been eating Squirrel for years. Nothing new there. Make a helluva gravy.
this article was retarded
God, before I even saw your comment I swear my thought was, "these people are retarded."
Why the cultural arrogance?
Whaaaaaaaaaat was that?
American Education at its best. Education! Education! Education! This is what Pres. Obama has been talking about. You're making Pres. Obama's job very hard though.
Ohoooooops, my bad!
Mitt Romney and retarded Repukecans say you don't need it so that they can control ya.
Why not eat #ussy? It's tasty and nutritious.
Another classy comment. I'm truly surprised anyone would lower their standards enough to let you try it.
Please don't feed the trolls.
OK, yes I am from Arkansas. We ate scrambled eggs and squirrel brains. Fried squirrel. Rabbit stew. Muskrats or 'Possoms in gravy. Deer. Duck. Goose. Rattlesnake. Crawdads. Dove. Pigeons. Catfish. Turtle. Mussels. Domestic chicken. Wild turkey. Beaver. Bull frogs. ...must not forget duck eggs, goose eggs, wild berries, wild mushrooms, wild onion / garlic, trout, crappie, gar, gator, goat, sheep, and beef. But, I have never wanted to eat fish eggs:)
All that and you never had fried fish roe? Good eats. LOL.
I believe that squirrels are scientifically considered to be rodents. If so, why in the world would anyone want to each a rodent?
They're actually pretty good eating.
Because they are tasty. Rabbit is a rodent, too, but they are common fare. Have you ever seen a lobster? Why would someone want to eat that? It's like an underwater spider.
Rabbits are Lagomorphs, NOT rodents.
Many in Europe would love for Americans to be eating rodents and fish spines and other garbage. I'll have a nice tender steak thank you.
Now that Congress is allowing the killing of horses again, if you eat meat you'll probably die, because you have no idea what you're eating. Rat, skunk, snake comes to mind. Eating donkey, squirrel, and horses is just sick.
Technically, squirrel is one of the few foods where you know EXACTLY what you're eating. The junk meat they sell in the store that's either been processed to the point its hardly even meat, the various factory-farmed animals that are so full of steroids and antibiotics – that stuff is slowly killing us as it's so full of chemicals our body really doesn't need. Squirrel, on the other hand, lives in trees (read: free-range), eats tree nuts for the most part, and doesn't have a bit of chemical additives on it or in it (unless you count the egg, flour, salt and pepper generally used to fry it in the skillet). I would vouch for the purity of squirrel meat every day and have eaten it since I was a kid. I am in my 40s, have a BMI in the teens, excellent cholesterol, and exercise clean living. Squirrel is on my menu.
I don't know Eric, Bob (see http://www.bobthesquirrel.com) eats Doritos and drinks diet Coke so he has additives and preservatives. Now that I've come to know and love Bob how could I possibly eat any of his fellow squirrels.
Even if you don't eat meat you'll probably die. Death is just part of living.
I think they should start eating rats in Denmark.
oh hell yeah
If Obama gets re-elected we will surely be eating squirrels from our backyards and fish bones. there will be no money for anything else. All the money in America will be siphoned off to the "poor" nations of the world and O's cronies in the SEUI.
The Republican Wars and Corporate Welfare will have left us nothing to eat.....
Wow. Well, you won't have to worry. I'm sure the mother ship will be back for you any day now.
I am not Obama's biggest fan, but.....
Come on, man. A cool food blog about diversifying one's palate. Take it outside.....
Gotta love these hateful statements that have no basis in reality. The economy was RUINED by the last Republican administration. Please name one thing, just ONE thing that Bush did that was good for the US. Please! Just one. And look at all the destruction his admin caused, all the deaths and poverty. The incredible increase in health care costs. The huge jump in gas prices. The loss of civil liberties. And Obama, who really has done practically nothing, gets the blame for these problems.
What is food? It is consumable and used as nourishment by the people of Earth. What on Earth can not be considered food? Rocks and Sand. Everything else is negotiable.
I saw a forwarded E-mail a few years back people eating aborted fetuses in china. Apparently, the partially formed heart and brain were supposed to be tasty, go google it you might find the pictures.
In a place called Goa in India, some christians slaughter a fully pregnant cow that is about to deliver her calf. Then remove the calf from the mother's womb and then (kill it if it is not dead already and) eat it. Supposed to be a delicacy. I saw this in a TV show, again a few years back.
As for me, I am a vegetarian and am against eating anything that has had a mother.
What is a 'mother"? Plant seeds had to come from somewhere. Let's call it the "mother" plant.
Even that fly in your soup?
It must be true; it's on the Internet! BTW, I'm trying to move a gazillion dollars out of the country. If you help me, I'll give you 110% of it.
Techincally even plants have a mother.
Vinegar is made from a base referred to as a "mother."
Your options are rapidly dwindling.
I was worried about our cat Jack eating the the attending neighbors at our bird feeder, but after watching the results of a couple of successful stake outs, I stopped worrying. He just whacks them on the butt with his claws retracted paw and watches for their reaction. The squirrel just ran 3 feet up the tree and turned to look at Jack. Clearly, "Tag, you're it"
Dad and I hunted and ate squirrels when I was a kid. They are much more fun to watch
Cat, the other white meat.
No, cat is dark meat and virtually indistinguishable from rabbit.
Rabbit is white meat.
For a number of years I had hunted squirrel. Farmers had problems with them eating from their corn bins. They were happy to allow me to hunt their property. I have eaten more squirrel than you could ever imagine. I love them. Eventually, I moved to the city and no longer hunt. I do miss eating squirrel. Fortunately, a local restaurant serves rabbit, also something I hunted, so I am happy. Now, for the animal lovers and protectors . . . I am one of you, however, I understand the need to control populations of certain animals. Only hunt what you will eat and only hunt what is not low in population.
well said
You did what you had to do to survive. In a dire situation, I'd probably eat humans.
I'm a vegetarian so, no, squirrel won't be on my menu. In fact, I feed the squirrels in our back yard. Now if someone wants to start dining on feral cats, I would have no problem with that . . .
If you lived in California, your feral cat problem would be solved Ken. Read between the lines...LOL
Squirrel?
You guys still have squirrels?
All my neighbors ate those last year.
We're starting on the possums now.
.
Only eat the cross-eyed possums !
There are alot of strange foods in the world. I've heard kangaroo is delicious. I met a guy once, claimed he had eaten tiger shark. Even haggis. Look it up. Just cause something's strange, don't discount it.
I'll pass on the haggis, thanks, but shark is delish!
So is Kangaroo ...
And those are strange foods?
WHY NOT JUST ADD HUMANS TO THE LIST!! LEAVE THE POOR SQUIRREL'S ALONE. STUPID PEOPLE!!
Much too fatty, especially the ones from the middle of our country. Of course we can start breeding thin ones.
I don't mind trying exotic meat every now and then, but I would hate to have the squirrel population decimated just because some yahoo wrote an article about it. Either she's really out there, or her tongue is planted firmly in cheek to see just how many people she can fool. Fish spines?! C'mon, man!
Hunters especially in the South have been eating squirrels for hundred of years. Their population still has not been decimated becaouse of it. Keep in mind if it has 4 legs and fur you can eat it there are no poisonous mamals.
Since I hunt and eat gray squirrels (with relish), I would almost prefer they remain an outer-limit kind of food for most people, because I wouldn't want their population to decline as a result of being the next "new" food. But frankly, I doubt it will ever catch on until our food supply is so depleted we're practically chewing shoe leather. Most people just don't have a sense of culinary adventure.
You need to do you some readin', bubba – several poisonous mammals on this here Earth: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Venomous_mammals
Don't go suckin' no platypus toes.
CNN should try to promote a novel idea like not eating any animals.
Is this your first time on this blog?
Just think of the major job loss this would cause, including Yours. Where would All the little Fat kids get their Drugs?
Pharm Doc, you missed the big dust up that went on for the last couple of days between vegans and meat-eaters. That argument is yesterday's news.
Get over it. Don't knock it until you "sopped up" squirrel gravy with a biscuit. Personally I like a little vinegar in my gravy with hot cayenne pepper. Gives it a little kick.
Thank you for one of the rare, intelligent comments here. What a world we live in.
"Tree rats" – pass.
It's not totally unusual to eat squirrel in certain rural parts of the country. I've had squirrel spaghetti, squirrel stew. Normally, wild game needs to be cooked for a long time to get the wild taste out of it. Well, the spaghetti was yummy. Don't knock it til you try it.
When I was a lil girl my Dad hunted squirell to supplement our meat larder (we didn't have much $). He was a great chef too so it was delicious. I just got kinda squirmy about the skinning & dressing part but no worse than deer. But I felt that way about the laying hens that stopped laying and became Sunday dinner at Grandma's too, lol.
I'm assuming you mean a gamey taste. Not only is there nothing wrong with a "wild" taste, it's preferrable. And the gamey taste is from not taking care of the game the day it's taken. Wild game, other than bear and pig, should never be cooked long. It's leaner than most meat meaning it cooks faster. Cooking longer does not rid it of any flavor. It only dries it and makes it tough.
They should add crow to the menu. A lot of people will be eating it in November.
Boo! Go to the political section with this tripe. Leave us food folks alone to serve up real comments.
lmao +1
How do you like your tripe, sauteed with mushrooms and onions or deep fried?
I have a nice recipe for crow pie. – for all my regressive "friends"
I used to eat squirrel as a child. My grandmother would fry it up like chicken.
I'm not eating any squirrel.
Then you can eat me instead.
Squirrel is delicious, especially fried like chicken, and braised in gravy, tastes like rabbit, a little darker meat. I ate it as a child when my dad would hunt them, the large red squirrels were like 2 lbs of meat, so they can be very substantial and I would love to see it in meat market along with rabbit. Very lean meat.
I think it's weird that this article was written as if eating some of these things is taboo. It's all about perspective. Having grown up in a small town in the Midwest, and having been a hunter in my youth, I have eaten more 4-legged animals than not. Squirrel is excellent. Pulled coon is also very tasty. Snapping turtle, breaded and deep fried, with garlic butter and a squirt of lemon is simply divine. Opossum is also tasty when prepared well – usually slow cooked and pulled, like racoon. And still, people will call me a redneck or get sqeamish. These are the same people who don't think twice about eating shrimp or crab, which is little more than a giant marine insect that eats scraps of sludge and dead things from the sea floor.
Quite right! sOUNDS To me like you've had some real GOOD cooking done for you.
There's been a lot of talk on CNN about squirrel lately. I'd give it a try. Why not chipmunks too? I have tons of both in my neighborhood. The chipmunks tend to do a little more damage so I'd like to see them cooking on the grill.
You can't catch chipmunks. They have those speed stripes, y'see.
I'm not eating squirrel.
Dave......You would be very surprised to see what is actually in the foods you will eat. Very surprised.
Why not?
Because tr0jan doesn't make small enough c0nd0ms.
Me either.
Chips on a stick!
Brunswick stew? *eyeroll* Did this guy get scared by the Rocky and Bullwinkel Show as a kid or something?
Nope. The original Brunswick Stew recipe was made with squirrel meat. Today most use chicken, but try the squirrel version. It is much better.
No thank you. I did my time tasting weird foods when I was 12. I don't plan on cooking squirrels or wasting chocolate icing brussel sprouts because some hack at a foodie rag says so.
Order Up!!!
http://www.break.com/pictures/that-squirrel-is-packin-2024892