Farmers Foe Christmas Fayre No 9: Starling Stew with Olives.

Please do not read if :-


1) You do not have a sense of humour
2) Think all wild animals wear country gent costumes and talk to each other when we ‘humans’ aren’t watching
3) Are a vegetarian person

You may find it offensive.

Ok so it’s Christmas and a credit crunch one at that. In the next 12 blog entries, in fact each day leading up to Christmas I will give you an idea how you can control the vermin on your land and cook up a tasty dish… for free!! Please enjoy, share your own recipes of your ‘Farmers Foe Fayre’. Feel free to send in pictures of your finished dishes.

Farmers Foe Christmas Fayre No 9:


European Starlings:

Admired by many ‘twitters’ for their amazing dusk displays where thousands combine to produce aerial ballets, for the stock farmer these flying rats are a nightmare! Imagine 6000 birds in a feed passage, yard, eating and defecating in, on top of and around feed troughs. Gates and machinery, rooves, all coated by a thick layer of excrement. Fortunately they are only here in the winter, but make life for farmers affected a nightmare at this time. Most would dearly see them eradicated from their farms especially as they carry E.Coli and other bacteria that can cause ‘Starling flu’ in affected herds. For a graphic representation of this problem, look at this video I made recently! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dSrwKw7scpM

Here’s a tasty recipe for those wanting to help reduce the problem, whilst not wasting a worth source of food. Remember my philosophy is waste not want not.....

A recipe from Calvin Schwabe's "Unmentionable Cuisine" , Starling Stew with Olives.

This one comes from Turkey where it's known as "Karatavuk yahnisi."


Fry some chopped turnips and carrots. Add a little stock and a glass of red wine. Place some starlings which have been properly prepared  in the pan. Add a thin purée of boiled potatoes mashed with beaten eggs, dry mustard, and some stock and a little beer. Cover with stock and cook for about 30 minutes, adding some ripe olives near the end. Delicious.

Disclaimer

The views in this blog post are my own. I have not tried any of these recipes, so don’t blame me if it all goes wrong. I have included links and credits where applicable.

Some of the animals mentioned in the blog are protected species so please refer to www.defra.gov.uk before turning the gas on.

We take no responsibility what so ever for indigestion or law suits which may arise if you do not take heed!!!

Bon appétit