Pie lovers are going nuts for a new delicacy. And the company making squirrel pies can’t keep up with demand.
Heather Nash and John Thornton, 42, set up Pots ‘n’ Pies in Ramsbottom two years ago.
The pair are committed to producing quality pies made from a wide variety of traditional recipe fillings - including squirrels. John, 42, said: “Squirrel pie seems to have caught on. We didn’t really think anybody would like it, but they just keep selling out.”
But he admits that squirrels aren’t the easiest animals to work with. He said: “It’s a struggle to get two pies out of one squirrel. They’re fiddly and there’s not a lot of meat on them.”
Heather, 44, and John use old fashioned recipes and locally sourced ingredients to make a wide range of pies at their premises in Stubbins.
Wild boar and chestnut, pheasant, leek and mushroom and pigeon and pea are among the many other gourmet fillings available.
John said that it is this willingness to experiment that helps Pots ‘n’ Pies stand out from the crowd.
The pair bake their pies on Fridays and Saturdays and spend the rest of the week visiting farmers’ markets and country fairs all over the north.
They currently have a punishing schedule of 22 markets a month in Lancashire, Yorkshire, Cheshire and Derbyshire.
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Excellent use of squirrel.
I've ate squirrel before, rather like new lamb depending on how its cooked. Not my taste really, maybe because I see the little critters everyday out the window, unlike cows, sheep or pigs. Some of the pies mentioned above sound mouth watering! Wild boar and chestnut pie with a side salad of pickle and fresh red onion! Nearly lunch time!!
Looking at Mr Harvey... he'd be better off with a light salad.
Love
Slim Jim x
If you've ever eaten a sausage or burger from a mobile street vendor then you've probably already eaten squirrel.
Must be off their nuts.
Monty Python:
We've got strawberry tart. That's not got much rat in it.
How many?
Two, rather a lot really.
I'll have strawberry tart with not so much rat in it then.
(Er, that's how I would view squirrel pie).
Guten Tag, Manchester
Your pulling our legs mate. Everybody knows that everything tastes like chicken.
Yay - had squirrels in the attic once, what pests, and I believe they have a nasty bite too... now where IS that trap???
"They currently have a punishing schedule of 22 markets a month in Lancashire, Yorkshire, Cheshire and Derbyshire."
Good grief, then there's the business of catching/cooking the squirrels as well??
Trust they make their lives somewhat easier (er, less 'fiddly'); by making sure they aren't still live, eh - or I'm guessing they would have a real fight on their hands, haha!
Is there a nut in every bite?
Think I might have a trip to Rammy and try one...
Poise and Penn - Country squirrels live on a diet of sweet things like berries, unlike their urban cousins who will eat mostly anything found thrown on the streets. This diet can make their meat taste sweet, and if cooked right can have a taste between duck and lamb (without the greasy fat usually produced by both cooked animals). The squirrel I ate had a sweetish taste although not much meat for a feast!
Like all meats, there is a difference in taste and this is down to quaility. Buy a cheap pre-packed chicken fillet in a supermarket and slightly more expensive fillet from a quaility butcher and you'll most likely tell the difference from preparation, cooking and eating. There is a massive taste difference between intensive raised meat to free range, free running organic meat. Unfortunately there is also a big cost difference too!
Now I must try one of these. They sound delicious.
Not suitable for people with a nut allergy... cos squirrel's may contain nuts!
I trust they are only using grey or black squirrels and not the now rare indigenous reds. Perhaps they could start doing 'mink pies' and 'Signal Crayfish pies' as well. These are two other alien species wiping out voles, native crayfish and other indigenous creature from the British countryside.