Re: Squab ( was Re: fatty meats)

[Guest guest]

In a message dated 6/7/03 8:42:32 PM Eastern Daylight Time,

stephen@... writes:

> Anyone know a source for Squab?

>

You're lucky pigeon's don't sing-- you could hunt them. My rebellious friend

hunted some robins a few weeks ago, which, being songbirds, are illegal to

hunt in these parts. Not endangered to my knowledge, but apparently too cute to

kill.

-chris

p.s. you could go to a city and probably stomp on a bunch of them

[Guest guest]

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>the

>highest fat content (percentage of calories from fat) listed among the top

>is Squab (Pigeon)

Unfortunately, only 35% of the fat is saturated, which strikes me as too

low, and especially given than low amount of saturated fat, the 13% of the

fat which is PUFA seems dangerous. I don't mean this would be a problem if

you intermittently eat squab, but I do think it would be a bad idea to use

it to replace ruminant meat as a staple meat.

Then again, goose fat is only 29% saturated, and it's 11% PUFA, so who knows.

>This place has a whole squab 1 lb for $11

>http://www.exoticmeats.com/Merchant2/merchant.mv?Screen=CTGY & Category_Code=SQUA\

B

Unfortunately a 1# squab probably has very, very little meat. As far as

birds go, ducks and geese are probably much more efficient food sources,

and they seem to be cheaper. I guess since just about nobody eats pigeon,

it's a niche item and is priced accordingly.

I bet it's a delicious occasional treat, though.

Do you have any idea what a pigeon's natural (IOW healthy for us) diet is,

though?

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[Guest guest]

>Anyone know a source for Squab?

In the older cookbooks they recommend raising some in a little hutch -- let

them loose every day to find their own food, and even the poorest person

can have meat! Our neighbors had them in LA, every morning they would go

wheeling up ... but of course, if you let them loose, you have NO IDEA what

they are eating!

-- Heidi

[Guest guest]

>Do you have any idea what a pigeon's natural (IOW healthy for us) diet

>is?

Probably don't want to know They are scavangers. I'd eat a wild one in

a pinch though, kinda ironic it's found in high-end restaurants.

Apparantly the taste is one of the best of all the fowl according to some

chefs.

[Guest guest]

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>Probably don't want to know They are scavangers.

What, they eat road kill, stuff like that? I'd have thought they would be

bug and seed eaters, mostly.

>Apparantly the taste is one of the best of all the fowl according to some

>chefs.

I'm awfully curious to try some. I think I've seen squab in some of the

tonier markets in town, but as you say, it's very expensive, and you just

don't get that much meat on a 1# bird, so it seems like an unwarranted

extravagance. Raising your own might be something else again, though.

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[Guest guest]

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>Does anyone ever eat guineas? I know a couple of rural folks who are

>raising them as tick-control species.

Guineas as in guinea pigs? Maybe they taste like nutria? I think guinea

pigs are related to capybaras, and nutria are supposed to be some kind of

capybara offshoot. I have no idea what nutria tastes like, though, never

having been to Louisiana.

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[Guest guest]

>Guineas as in guinea pigs? Maybe they taste like nutria? I think guinea

>pigs are related to capybaras, and nutria are supposed to be some kind of

>capybara offshoot. I have no idea what nutria tastes like, though, never

>having been to Louisiana.

I think she means guinea hens. They are kind of semi-wild I think -- in my

chicken book it says to let them loose on your property, and shoot them

when you are hungry. I've seen them around on occasion. Not a bad idea to

control ticks -- I'm guessing the chickens do too!

-- Heidi

[Guest guest]

Heidi-

>I think she means guinea hens.

Oh, duh! Big smack on the forehead for me.

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[Guest guest]

>Oh, duh! Big smack on the forehead for me.

>

> -

Well, not really a " smack " given this group. Guinea pigs were bred

originally for eating. The Peruvians let them run around the house and eat

leftovers, and then had them for dinner as needed. The " pig " part of the

name is thought to have originated from the Europeans -- " pig " in the sense

of " pork " !

-- Heidi

[Guest guest]

At 01:46 AM 6/9/03 +0000, you wrote:

>Does anyone ever eat guineas?  I know a couple of rural folks who are

>raising them as tick-control species.

>

>

We never got to eat our guinea hens before they were a predator's dinner or

decided not to come home. They liked to stay in the woods around our open land

rather than lawn and pasture like all the other free rangers. Had them mainly

for bug control, feathers, color and bird predator protection to our chickens.

Dad said when he was young and his grandmother raised them that he'd seen one

keep a hawk from killing a chicken. Every night at dusk one would fly to the

barn peak, call " buckwheat " , the rest would come in, join the call and when

they were all in they'd go inside to sleep. Found out after they were all gone

from someone else that raised them that they keep snakes away somehow. When I

thought about it I'd never seen a snake here when we had them but have seen

plenty since.

Wanita

[Guest guest]

Heidi-

Huh, interesting. By chance I noticed guinea hens for sale today when I

went out to get some scallops for dinner, but I didn't buy any to try --

they were tiny and extremely expensive. So were the squabs.

>The Peruvians let them run around the house and eat

>leftovers, and then had them for dinner as needed. The " pig " part of the

>name is thought to have originated from the Europeans -- " pig " in the sense

>of " pork " !

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