You know when you’re just randomly walking through your local supermarket and you pull open a fridge to find a vacuum packed, skinned, gutted squirrel – ready to cook?

No, me neither.

But I did happen to read the other day that my local Budgens has been serving ready-to-cook squirrel for the last couple of years.
So I popped down to have a look.

And sure enough…

(Told you it was disgusting.)

But cooked – it was actually pretty nice.

There wasn’t an awful lot of meat on it.

And it tasted somewhere between lamb or duck.

But not as nice as lamb or duck.

There’s probably a reason why squirrel isn’t on the shelves of every supermarket in the UK.

But god am I glad it was in my local Budgens.

Squirrel Nutkin – you’re now crossed off the list.


UPDATE
1. Jellied Eels
2. Pig Cheeks
3. Sweet Meats
4. Bubble tea
5. Dried Insects
6. Quails egg
7. Creme de menthe
8. Frogs legs
9. Snails
10. Kangaroo
11. Nettle tea
12. Oysters
13. Steak Tartare
14. Dandelion Wine
15. Gazpacho
16. Pea Soup
17. Root beer float
18. Gnocchi
19. Ox Heart
20. Squirrel
21. Spotted Dick
22. Souffle
23. Kumquat

Creme de menthe – complete.

A constituent part of the cocktail ‘Dr Henderson’ – created by Fergus Henderson of St John.
The cocktail is supposedly a cure for any over indulgence.

2 parts Fernet Branca
1 part creme de menthe
Ice

Mix together and drink. Do not be put off by the colour.

Unfortunately I didn’t take heed of his advice – and shamefully let ‘the cure become the cause.’
Nonetheless – at least it is now crossed off the list.

UPDATE
1. Jellied Eels
2. Pig Cheeks
3. Sweet Meats
4. Bubble tea
5. Dried Insects
6. Quails egg
7. Creme de menthe
8. Frogs legs
9. Snails
10. Kangaroo
11. Nettle tea
12. Oysters
13. Steak Tartare
14. Dandelion Wine
15. Gazpacho
16. Pea Soup
17. Root beer float
18. Gnocchi
19. Ox Heart
20. Squirrel
21. Spotted Dick
22. Souffle
23. Kumquat

Dandelion wine is elusive.
I’ve been looking for it all year.
In wine stores, country pubs, farm shops…
All to no avail.

So what a lovely surprise to find it in one of my Christmas presents this year.

Alas it wasn’t as tasty as it was thoughtful.
It tasted like a cheap white wine, that had been left open for a week or two.
But well worth trying.

In the words of R.Sexsmith: Such sweet and simple days, though bitter tasted the wine.

Onwards…

UPDATE
1. Jellied Eels
2. Pig Cheeks
3. Sweet Meats
4. Bubble tea
5. Dried Insects
6. Quails egg
7. Creme de menthe
8. Frogs legs
9. Snails
10. Kangaroo
11. Nettle tea
12. Oysters
13. Steak Tartare
14. Dandelion Wine
15. Gazpacho
16. Pea Soup
17. Root beer float
18. Gnocchi
19. Ox Heart
20. Squirrel
21. Spotted Dick
22. Souffle
23. Kumquat

After writing and posting the 23:Eat list, I immediately regretting writing Foie Gras.