# How many average size Gray Squirrels do I need for a stew that will feed four people? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 11, 2003, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-average-size-gray-squirrels-do-i-need-for-a-stew-that-will-feed-four-people/206874 "2003-10-11T18:19:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Peach](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/67e7ee/32.png) [@Peach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peach)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2003, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-average-size-gray-squirrels-do-i-need-for-a-stew-that-will-feed-four-people/206874/21 "2003-10-12T00:51:38Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Hombre \* > \*\*If served with ample side dishes a squirrel per person should be ok. Meager maybe but two would probably be too many. > I’ve eaten many urban squirrels with no side effects (that I know of). They are best when parboiled. \*\* Hard times, Hombre? ---
**Author:** ![AskNott](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asknott/32/5790_2.png) [@AskNott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AskNott)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2003, 3:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-average-size-gray-squirrels-do-i-need-for-a-stew-that-will-feed-four-people/206874/22 "2003-10-12T03:22:54Z")
I’m looking forward to squirrel stew this fall. I have never tried it. However, I’ll stick to rifle-shot squirrels. After I broke a filling on pheasant, I vowed never to eat shotshell-killed meat again. My teeth are worth more than exotic meat. ---
**Author:** ![Speaker\_for\_the\_Dead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c77e96/32.png) [@Speaker\_for\_the\_Dead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Speaker_for_the_Dead)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2003, 4:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-average-size-gray-squirrels-do-i-need-for-a-stew-that-will-feed-four-people/206874/23 "2003-10-12T04:23:32Z")
I want to try exotic meats. I’m not usually open to new things, but meat is one thing I’ll rarely turn down! ---
**Author:** ![An\_Arky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/87869e/32.png) [@An\_Arky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Arky)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2003, 1:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-average-size-gray-squirrels-do-i-need-for-a-stew-that-will-feed-four-people/206874/24 "2003-10-12T13:27:41Z")
Squirrel is good, but I wouldn’t trust urban squirrel meat. Another good way to eat it is this: Soak the (cleaned and cut in half) squirrel in buttermilk or regular milk in the fridge for a few hours to get the gamey taste out. Then just dip in flour, eggwash, then flour again, then fry it up just like chicken. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2003, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-average-size-gray-squirrels-do-i-need-for-a-stew-that-will-feed-four-people/206874/25 "2003-10-12T17:30:19Z")
I dunno about this… Whenever my mom cooked up squirrel meat for the cats (Grampap hunted them as vermin, and no sense letting the meat go to waste), my sister and I found that we needed to evacuate the house, and, often, the block, in order to escape the smell. If you’ve got your heart set on game meat, I would recommend groundhog, instead. ---
**Author:** ![notquitekarpov](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/71c47a/32.png) [@notquitekarpov](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/notquitekarpov)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2003, 10:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-average-size-gray-squirrels-do-i-need-for-a-stew-that-will-feed-four-people/206874/26 "2003-10-13T10:02:26Z")
I would recommend exactly none. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Tamerlane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tamerlane/32/7602_2.png) [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2003, 10:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-average-size-gray-squirrels-do-i-need-for-a-stew-that-will-feed-four-people/206874/27 "2003-10-13T10:48:01Z")
Depends on your squirrel, as well. The Western Gray Squirrel ( Sciurus griseus ), which is _mostly_ not seen in parks and suburbs, is quite a bit bulkier on average than the Eastern Gray Squirrel ( Sciurus carolinensis ), one of the two common “park squirrels” ( the other is the Fox Squirrel, which on average is intermediate in size between the two ). - Tamerlane ---
**Author:** ![Michael\_Ellis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/977dab/32.png) [@Michael\_Ellis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Michael_Ellis)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2003, 10:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-average-size-gray-squirrels-do-i-need-for-a-stew-that-will-feed-four-people/206874/28 "2003-10-13T10:56:49Z")
I like squirrels. ---
**Author:** ![notquitekarpov](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/71c47a/32.png) [@notquitekarpov](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/notquitekarpov)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2003, 11:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-average-size-gray-squirrels-do-i-need-for-a-stew-that-will-feed-four-people/206874/29 "2003-10-13T11:47:26Z")
That’s nice. Are there any squirrels around that like \*\*Michael Ellis? ---
**Author:** ![Zorro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/ad7895/32.png) [@Zorro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zorro)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2003, 12:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-average-size-gray-squirrels-do-i-need-for-a-stew-that-will-feed-four-people/206874/30 "2003-10-13T12:14:16Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Herge \* > \*\*Some people here in England eat Pidgeons. Now there’s a diseased animal for you. \*\* I doubt you’ll find anyone who eats urban pigeons though. There’s a world of difference between the scrawny, shabby flying rats that inhabit Trafalgar Square and survive on a diet of discarded hamburgers and fag-ends, and the woodpigeons that shot and ate a couple of weeks ago up in the middle of nowhere in Scotland. Pigeon are lovely and I thoroughly recommend them. Obviously they taste better if you shoot them yourself. ---
**Author:** ![Smeghead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f1d935/32.png) [@Smeghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smeghead)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2003, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-average-size-gray-squirrels-do-i-need-for-a-stew-that-will-feed-four-people/206874/31 "2003-10-13T18:10:32Z")
A significant percentage of people who have contracted bubonic plague in the last couple of decades got it from eating undercooked squirrel meat. Cook it well. ---
**Author:** ![Padeye](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a9a28c/32.png) [@Padeye](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Padeye)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2003, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-average-size-gray-squirrels-do-i-need-for-a-stew-that-will-feed-four-people/206874/32 "2003-10-13T21:51:50Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by astro \* > **How many average size Gray Squirrels do I need for a stew that will feed four people?** I realize this would have been funnier if I posted earlier but always wait for a few serious replies before hijacking… It’s a trick question; squirrels lack the physical strength to lift the pots and pans and don’t have the opposable thumbs necessary to manipulate utensils. ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2003, 3:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-average-size-gray-squirrels-do-i-need-for-a-stew-that-will-feed-four-people/206874/33 "2003-10-14T03:26:23Z")
> [@](#): > > A significant percentage of people who have contracted bubonic plague in the last couple of decades got it from eating undercooked squirrel meat. Where would I go to find out that fact? ---
**Author:** ![Smeghead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f1d935/32.png) [@Smeghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smeghead)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2003, 4:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-average-size-gray-squirrels-do-i-need-for-a-stew-that-will-feed-four-people/206874/34 "2003-10-14T04:30:50Z")
The CDC releases summaries of certain diseases it keeps track of. I was in a medical microbiology class one day when we were discussing the plague. Our prof read aloud a recent CDC report detailing how someone had eaten a squirrel while camping and caught the plague. I remember that particularly, because the plague-ridden guy in question happened to be a friend of a member of the class. ---
**Author:** ![justwannano](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/7ab992/32.png) [@justwannano](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/justwannano)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2003, 4:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-average-size-gray-squirrels-do-i-need-for-a-stew-that-will-feed-four-people/206874/35 "2003-10-14T04:46:02Z")
Just type Squirrel stew into your browser. Hey Smeghead. Are you sure those wern’t prairie dogs. They are well known plague carriers. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2003, 7:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-average-size-gray-squirrels-do-i-need-for-a-stew-that-will-feed-four-people/206874/36 "2003-10-14T07:36:59Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Zorro \* > **I doubt you’ll find anyone who eats urban pigeons though. There’s a world of difference between the scrawny, shabby flying rats that inhabit Trafalgar Square and survive on a diet of discarded hamburgers and fag-ends, and the woodpigeons that shot and ate a couple of weeks ago up in the middle of nowhere in Scotland.** I’ll see if I can dig up the story, but a few years back, there was a guy in London who was collecting them in a sack to be cooked and served at his restaurant; he was (IIRC) arrested, but there was no crime to charge him with - city pigeons are considered vermin. Apparently, all the police could do in the end was to ask him nicely to be discreet about how he collects them. If you’re just filletting out the breast meat and disposing of the rest (quite a common method of preparing pigeon), and the bird in question is a young one, I expect there’s nothing wrong with city pigeon meat. ---
**Author:** ![Zorro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/ad7895/32.png) [@Zorro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zorro)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2003, 9:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-average-size-gray-squirrels-do-i-need-for-a-stew-that-will-feed-four-people/206874/37 "2003-10-14T09:32:45Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Mangetout \* > \*\*I’ll see if I can dig up the story, but a few years back, there was a guy in London who was collecting them in a sack to be cooked and served at his restaurant; he was (IIRC) arrested, but there was no crime to charge him with - city pigeons are considered vermin. Apparently, all the police could do in the end was to ask him nicely to be discreet about how he collects them. > > If you’re just filletting out the breast meat and disposing of the rest (quite a common method of preparing pigeon), and the bird in question is a young one, I expect there’s nothing wrong with city pigeon meat. \*\* Well it’s certainly not a crime to kill feral pigeons, but you could be in trouble once you start serving them in a restaurant. I suppose you could avoid the problem of not having a Game Dealer’s Licence by never having bought the pigeons in the first place. There’s a Food Safety angle to the problem, but then I think you’re probably right in saying that there’s nothing wrong with urban pigeon breast fillets (there’s bugger-all else to eat on a pigeon anyway). Finally, there’s the matter of what you call it on the menu. If it just said _Pigeon_, you’d be OK. If you decided to be more specific and say _woodpigeon_ you’d have to be careful as most urban pigeons are the result of long term hybridisation between woodpigeons and pigeons escaped from live-pigeon shooting throughout the 19th century and up to around the first world war. But I can see how you could get away with it. It’s actually an intelligent use of an abundant natural resource. ---
**Author:** ![CnoteChris](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/278dde/32.png) [@CnoteChris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CnoteChris)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2003, 1:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-average-size-gray-squirrels-do-i-need-for-a-stew-that-will-feed-four-people/206874/38 "2003-10-14T13:34:25Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Inky- \* > **Here’s a pic of the recipe Quothz mentioned in the 1962 edition of ‘The Joy of Cooking’, and worth posting for the taste-tempting illustration alone!** I particularly like the roaring twenties outfit they have the guy in. ‘Hey, we all ready to go out?’ ‘Not yet honey. I need to pull apart this squirrel here first’. ---
**Author:** ![ccwaterback](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/df705f/32.png) [@ccwaterback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ccwaterback)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2003, 2:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-average-size-gray-squirrels-do-i-need-for-a-stew-that-will-feed-four-people/206874/39 "2003-10-14T14:02:26Z")
You might want to just drive along the nearest rural roads and scrape roadkill carcuses off the pavement. They may not be squirrel, but if you cook them up real quick your quests will never know the difference. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2003, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-average-size-gray-squirrels-do-i-need-for-a-stew-that-will-feed-four-people/206874/40 "2003-10-14T14:20:31Z")
If squirrel is anything like Guinea Pig (a tasty item themselves) the meat to bone ratio is probably pretty low. However, squirrels are generally larger than Guinea Pigs. I would say that for four people 5 or 6 squirrels would be plenty. Just out of curiosity, how do you plan on cooking them? Are you just going to let the meat cook in the stew, or are you going to grill or roast them first? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-average-size-gray-squirrels-do-i-need-for-a-stew-that-will-feed-four-people/206874.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-average-size-gray-squirrels-do-i-need-for-a-stew-that-will-feed-four-people/206874.md?page=3)