Odd Menu Today

[rodwha]

When I think of small game hunting I generally think of squirrels and rabbits, along with various smaller birds. But as a kid I’d hunt for snakes and when we got rattlers we cooked them just because we were teens and heard about it. Well, my father has also told me about eating cat and dog while stationed in Asia, which has always made me a little curious about things like mountain lion, bobcat, wolf, coyote and fox, but what of the other oddities like raccoon, opossum, porcupine, ground hog, nutria, whatever? I’d like to hear about eating what many might call weird. And what’s off limits? I mean I’ve read of people eating rats.

 

[Rubone]

It all tastes like chicken...

 

[Bama59]

My uncle born and raised in the hills in Missouri had BBQ Racoon , all I remember is a dark red meat with lots of pepper

 

[Armored farmer]

The most unusual thing I have had was BBQ raccoon. Like @Bama59 said, dark and stringy. It was edible, thats about it.

 

[LiveLife]

I’d like to hear about eating what many might call weird.

I like eel on sushi, daughter's favorite.

If you fish, instead of freezing extras, make fish cakes with them. They are delicious by themselves, floated on soups/ramen and even made into tacos - https://www.maangchi.com/recipe/eomuk

Boiled silkworm pupa eaten hot (street food/market) is a delicacy with richer taste than best steak I have had. Don't go "eeeeeew" until you tried it. Here's canned version but of course hot boiled is way better - https://www.hmart.com/8801063310011

And what’s off limits?

I have enjoyed Korean blood sausage/steamed organ meats (Lungs, liver, etc.) as street food and Menudo with pigs feet but draw the line at chicken feet.

I tried to like it, even with different braising and sauces but there are so many better things to eat.

And what's weird is I grew up with seafood, especially shellfish but don't care much for raw oysters. But I love fried oysters and we get monster oysters from Eureka ocean farms locally (2 hours south). Yummy!

While I like fresh brine shrimp (Essential for great Kimchi), don't care much for musty fermented shrimp paste.

 

[JCooperfan1911]

I’ve eaten petrified mammoth meat frozen in Siberian tundra.

Tasted better than a hot pocket.

 

[LoonWulf]

don't care much for musty fermented shrimp paste

Hamha smells pretty horrible while cooking but its a necessary ingredient in a number of dishes.....pork with watercress for instance...

Having eaten some pretty gnarly stuff that tasted great, I'll be pretty willing to try anything that wouldn't make me sick or poison me outright.
I've never eaten a cat... No matter how many Char Siu meow jokes i make.....

I would also look at the disease and parasites that are carried by one's intended ingredients. And I suppose the legalities of offing them..... But push come to shove you can eat almost anything If you do it right.....

 

[FL-NC]

I ate a armadillo once. It was pretty gross- won't do it again, since besides tasting like butt, I since heard they carry leprosy. I have also heard that predators like canines, felines, etc. all taste bad, same as scavengers. In Latin America, they have a thing for tripe (cow stomach). I ate it once- it looks and tastes disgusting. It is also common to find chicken feet in the soup in places like colombia. The soup is good until you find one in the bottom of the bowl, and they even eat it in the summer when its 100 degrees out. In africa I ate wildebeest, giraffe, and zebra. They were all grilled and weren't bad- wildebeest was the best. I have eaten my share of snakes- need lots of salt and pepper for them, and patience dealing with the bones. Pretty much everything in places like afg and pakistan will make you sick since they are not very hygienic in their practices. Generally speaking, the rice dishes and bread are pretty safe since they are cooked at such high temps. Just make sure you get your piece of bread before they do out of the plate, since they aren't very good at hand washing.

 

[Dunross]

Cooked and ate an armadillo once in Air Force survival training. Much like pork. I've had it a couple of times since. Need to take the usual precautions about cleaning them though as there is a remote chance of leprosy exposure. Raccoon can be good if you're careful in cleaning it, parboil it a bit, then roast it or whatnot. All of the snake I've eaten has been pretty chewy. Never been hungry enough to eat a possum.

Alligator can be pretty good, but I much prefer it from a smaller animal - 6ft or less - as the big ones can be pretty tough. I'd say they don't really have much flavor thus the "tastes like chicken" thing. Frog legs do nothing for me as they are even more tasteless than alligator. Gopher tortoise is pretty good, but they have been a "species of special concern" for some time now so no longer legal for consumption. I have several living on my property now and leave them alone. Softshell turtle I have never cared for.

 

[buck460XVR]

I mean I’ve read of people eating rats.

...and what is a rat, but a squirrel with a bald tail? Biggest difference is what is in people's heads. Folks around here ain't hungry enough to Fido or Fluffy. Taboo here, a delicacy in other countries. Look at horse-meat. Illegal to sell for human consumption in the U.S., but you can ship the same horse to another country to be slaughtered and eaten, no problem. I have a hard time eating animals that feed on meat and carrion. I prefer prey animals that eat grains, grasses and vegetation. But iffin it came down to eatin' or starvin' to death, I'd personally eat most anything.

 

[LiveLife]

Alligator can be pretty good, but I much prefer it from a smaller animal - 6ft or less - as the big ones can be pretty tough. I'd say they don't really have much flavor thus the "tastes like chicken" thing.

When visiting Georgia, Sunday brunch had alligator sausage. I found it edible yet a bit chewy but once I found a pile of catfish deep fried in cornmeal batter, never went back.

Frog legs do nothing for me as they are even more tasteless than alligator.

In grade school, I was in ice speed skating camp and our coach decided to "treat" us by going to a BBQ house (For high protein intake) that specialized in farm raised monster frogs. When some of us gagged and asked if there was anything else we could eat, coach laughed and said they only served frogs.

After we got over the initial disgust, it was "pretty good" We returned the favor by pouring soy sauce and vinegar at the bottom of his Coca Cola while he used the bathroom ... When he took a big sip through the straw, it was hilarious (We did pay the price by entire team doing push ups on ice next morning). As part of our training, we had to suck raw egg in shell every morning for our run and to this day, I cannot stand raw egg white (Cooked egg white with runny yolk however is yummy).

Hamha smells pretty horrible while cooking but its a necessary ingredient in a number of dishes

Wife pinches her nose when I use fish sauce for cooking (I don't like the smell either) but it adds that "something" that cannot be substituted by anything else. I tell her it's similar to Worcestershire sauce with fermented anchovies that makes stews delicious ... She just looks at me and shakes her head saying, "Not even close".

 

[Rembrandt]

..... But push come to shove you can eat almost anything If you do it right.....

Get hungry enough you can eat almost anything......with enough Ketchup! Have eaten prepared insects and things I didn't bother to ask about out of courtesy to my third world hosts. They didn't have much and were sharing what little they had in an act of kindness.

Once read about the siege of Leningrad during WWII. How residents were on the verge of starvation, breaking up furniture and boiling the wood chips into a soup just to get something in their stomachs. No nutritional value in it, most cases did more harm than good.

 

[LiveLife]

Get hungry enough you can eat almost anything

So true.

During boot camp, many recruits grumbled about food they were fed and forced to eat fast.

After our first field exercise eating HORRIBLE first generation MREs cold (We didn't have MRE heaters), NOBODY complained about chow hall food, even when they fed us Menudo.

Day after we returned from the field, everyone thanked the cooks as they got hot breakfast.

 

[Captcurt]

My little Mexican buddy told me that dog was a delicacy in his home state. It is good to see that they are good for something. (Hounds, pointers and retrievers not included). We had an annual wild game dinner at church for many years and I got to try some pretty good stuff. BBQ beaver is one of my favorites, plus rattlesnake, coon, eel, groundhog and alligator. Back when I was a punk kid I ate sparrows, fried grasshoppers, and chocolate covered ants. Hey! Meat's meat.

 

[Arkansas Paul]

After our first field exercise eating HORRIBLE first generation MREs cold (We didn't have MRE heaters), NOBODY complained about chow hall food, even when they fed us Menudo.

My father was in the Army in 1966-67.
He tells horror stories about the ham and limas.
I think the fact that they actually included smokes in the rations eased the sting though. lol

 

[LiveLife]

Back when I was a punk kid I ate sparrows, fried grasshoppers, and chocolate covered ants. Hey! Meat's meat.

During Army boot camp survival training, they told us to observe the local birds and everything the birds ate were safe to eat.

 

[buck460XVR]

Growing up with parents and grandparents that lived thru the Depression, not much of anything on the farm went to waste. Head Cheese, Blood Sausage, pig brains, tongue, and chicken feet all were regular menu items. To those that never ate them, it sounds disgusting. Growing up with it, it seemed normal.

 

[Spats McGee]

"Off limits" is defined by how hungry I am. I consider myself fairly adventurous, but I'm not a huge fan of sea urchin. It's slimy.

 

[Dunross]

Ugh, sea urchin. One of the few types of sushi I cannot abide. Smoked eel as well.

 

[usaral63]

My father was in the Army in 1966-67.
He tells horror stories about the ham and limas.
I think the fact that they actually included smokes in the rations eased the sting though. lol

I'll add one to the H&LB's ! I was stationed in central Alaska in the early '60's and I can honestly proclaim the worst meal I have EVER eaten was a C can of FROZEN H&LB's.............only thing I had, pried open that stinking thing with a bayonet.......temp was in the minus 50's as I recall, memorable, that one!

 

[Speedo66]

During the cicada pestilence a couple of months ago, some chefs were serving them. NY Times warned of some allergic reactions in people with shellfish allergies as they have similar protein.

 

[Random 8]

I've eaten some strange things, including some mystery goulashes and stews overseas in a couple of war torn countries. Those all pretty much tasted like fire or curry or fennel, probably to mask the mystery meat. Pretty sure whatever was in the traps that morning went in the pot!

On purpose: I've eaten Beaver tail and hind quarters: I highly recommend the latter, similar to a turkey leg, the former not so much.
Raccoon: Pretty good actually. Tasted kind of like bear or tender goose, and you need to cook it so the grease renders off.
Muskrat hind quarters: Indistinguishable from rabbit.
Snowshoe hare: Like antelope tenderloin. I hunt them with a passion in the winter for this reason.
RW black bird: I think the statute of limitations has run out on this one. Grandma wanted me to try "depression food." I do not recommend. Like really tough and gamy duck.
Crow: Not too bad, a little gamy. I'd use some strong spices next time, maybe curry.
Trumpeter swan (the Anishinabe get to legally harvest some and I was invited to a feast when I was the designated hunter for an elder with a moose tag): Amazing on a bed of wild rice and spiced with labrador tea, pepper and a maple glaze. Better than any goose. Easy to see why they were endangered for awhile.
Sandhill Crane: Filet mignon of the sky.
Whale meat: I can recommend this. Don't know what type of whale, but it was tasty. Kind of pork like.
Mergansers: Most people throw these away or feed them to the dogs. If you stew them with onions and celery, they taste like onions and celery. Ditto for coots.

 

[LiveLife]

I've eaten some strange things, including some mystery goulashes and stews overseas in a couple of war torn countries.

You sure are "enjoying" life.

... all pretty much tasted like fire or curry or fennel, probably to mask the mystery meat.

Shhhhhh ... It's a known secret among cooks

 

[LiveLife]

"Off limits" is defined by how hungry I am. I consider myself fairly adventurous, but I'm not a huge fan of sea urchin. It's slimy.

LOL, same here.

I grew up forced fed liver and onions and while I pretended to like it, not so much anymore. But if I was hungry and liver and onion was on the menu, YUM YUM I won't have to "pretend" to like it and will enjoy it.

I still do like liverwurst/pate, something I picked up from my stepfather growing up. Spread on nice piece of toast or cracker and perhaps with some mustard ... Mmmmm good (My wife however gags ).

 

[Random 8]

You sure are "enjoying" life.

That was an interesting time in my life after I dropped out of college when I got paid to travel, translate American slang English and English English and sometimes Indian or Pakistani English into broken German while taking sniper or mortar fire. Got to play with a lot of cool guns, vehicles, and DDs too. Between that and the local entertainment, what was in the stew pot when offered was the least of our worries.