Sawagani - Japanese river crab. They’re tiny; about the size of a US nickel and you eat them fried whole, shell and all. Apparently they aren’t exported any more, but I had them at a sushi restaurant in Austin around 2000. They were delicious, like extra-crunchy crab-flavored popcorn.
I had antelope tacos once. Tasted like taco meat
growing up in back country Montana I had a lot of things. hunting/trapping/fishing is still a way of life for folks, less so now but growing up I had bison, squirrel, gopher, wild turkey, grouse, beaver, bear, deer, elk, moose, antelope once when we visited the other side of the state, basically all species of fish, even snake a few times.
I think the most exotic of all of it was probably the beaver tail. it’s really fatty/oily. it wasnt bad but I wouldnt eat very often even if it was readily available. venison or bison is more my style, or smoked brook trout.
Squirrel is tasty and the bastards should be eaten more often
- Rattlesnake
- Sea Urchin
- Reindeer Hamburger
- Abalone
- Cricket
- Frog
- Alligator
It’s not really exotic here, as you just get it at the supermarket with the other meats, but people find it fascinating that Kangaroo meat is widely eaten in Australia. It’s a lovely and rich ted meat. Very lean.
Yep, tastes like venison. I eat kangaroo all the time too, but I suspect a lit of overseas people would find it peculiar.
It can be really good, though undeniably gamey.
What’s your favorite breed?🙂
I wonder if it’s because it’s a carnivore. Are there any other carnivores people generally eat? Hmm…
Chicken
Where dogs are eaten they are usually omnivores. Lots of scraps mixed with rice, at least in Southeast Asia.
Bear. I’ve never had it but I’m told it’s super greasy
Bears supposedly have very distinct tastes depending on whether they’ve been eating meat and fish or fruits and honey.
Think you meant to reply to the other guy.
lots of kinds of fish. most other carnivores are not cost effective to be eaten regularly.
Horse. A friend of mine brought some from Iceland and was kind enough to share. Its somewhere between pork and beef to me.
The fermented shark he brought back on the other hand, was the worst thing I have ever tasted. The smell alone cleared the room, and as one chef instructor said, “it smells like dirty pussy”.
I also ate horse in Japan and didn’t enjoy it
I had horse steak from the UK, it was superbly tender and a lovely mellow taste. I was quite surprised.
What is brennivin? To be honest I’d try it again if theres a better way to eat it
Ostrich is delicious. I’ve eaten it in a restaurant once and cooked it myself two or three times. It tastes like a red meat, but cooks like white meat, so you have to be careful because it can overlook in a snap.
I had a roommate who used to make ostrich chili all the time. It was pretty good. Still prefer beef though.
Years ago, we got a huge case of Slim Jim’s that said they were made with ostrich, instead of the usual beef and pork. Tasted like Slim Jim’s. So there’s that.
100% agree. I was at a festival, saw a stand selling “ostrich steak” sandwiches, which I’d never heard of before. I figured I’d try it. The meat, which was served on a hoagie roll, looked and tasted like London broil. Good stuff! I’m surprised it’s not more common!
Fresh fried Moose heart. It was drenched in butter and seasoning and was actually pretty good. Little chewy though.
Also, smoked turkey gizzard. Fucking disgusting.
Very low end: goat. There was an Indian restaurant near a museum we visited, and I saw it as an option and figured why not. Turns out it’s mostly like lamb. Quelle surprise.
Haven’t had it since. It’s hard enough finding anywhere that serves lamb, in the US. It’s just not on our radar. I think everywhere I’ve seen it is either some kind of ethnic cuisine (mostly Indian and Greek, since a few years in Bavaria had quite an impact on my palette) or some upscale restaurant treating it as exotic. Otherwise you have to buy a shoulder and slow-cook it yourself.
As an Indian myself, thinking of goat as exotic feels funny. I guess in a sense it’s true though.
Like I said, it’s not exactly bizarre. America’s just cow-pig-chicken country. We do turkey once a year. Duck only exists in east-Asian restaurants.
My dad’s fairly midwest parents had a beloved recipe for mock fried chicken. It includes veal.
As an American raised in West Virginia, thinking of goat as exotic feels funny as well lol. When I was a kid, my mom had a goat to eat the grass on the hill that was too steep to mow.
when I was a kid
Heh
Side note: I want to try goat mowing.
Now I’m mad that I didn’t even make that pun on purpose lol
And the secret to goat mowing is you gotta move the stake that the goat is tied to around the yard so the goat can get all the grass and not just one circle
I love lamb but every time I try goat I’m disappointed that it’s tougher and bonier.
It’s definitely ‘exotic’ in the US but I don’t see the appeal.
Moose and reindeer.
Rattlesnake. Not bad, but totally unremarkable - tasted like chicken. Still, I’d recommend it, because the best thing about it is getting to say you’ve eaten rattlesnake.
I think I had grilled blow snake once. I was camping with a bunch of other kids and somebody caught the thing. You’re right it tasted like chicken.
Not bad, but totally unremarkable
Pretty much sums up my experience with rattlesnake, as well. The novelty of it was the most interesting part, really.
Though that really applies to just about every “exotic” meat I’ve had. They all taste like a slightly worse version of other, more conventional meats, and it’s immediately made clear why it’s not more popular in the first place.
I don’t know if you are looking for meat analogues, but I got to eat hand made seitan once. Really great texture. It isn’t something I see anywhere in places I tend to be so it was exotic to me. It was pretty labor intensitto make, I thought. It took a lot of water!
Seitan is soooo good. I had it in a curry in London and loved it. Haven’t had anything as good since.
It’s essentially just pure Gluten right?
I think l so, the two people making it referred to “vital wheat gluten” and it was the primary ingredient by far. There were other ingredients, too. I think they used some nooch and tamari. Unsure on seasoning.
Indeed. I used to have friends who would make tempeh but I don’t remember ever having theirs and it is more available anyway.
That’s very interesting. I had no idea this existed.
I don’t use facebook anymore but iirc there is a group called the seitan society which tries the most ridiculous recipees with seitan. just the images alone were stunning.
If you can find this, it’s really good. I have never met someone who did not like it. Rinse it off, marinate it, throw it in curry, whatever. My ex used it, or real duck in fresh spring rolls. Available at many Asian markets.
It’s rooted in a Chinese Taoist vegetarian festival called ‘the Nine Emperor Gods’. It has become quite big in Thailand.
Alligator. Chewier than chicken. Tasted kinda like chicken. Would try again, I guess.
Also had ostrich burgers a couple of times. I’m told I was shitfaced and enjoyed them immensely, but I couldn’t tell you for sure, for I was shitfaced.
Is it just me or is this diet sounds extremely australian?
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Ostrich burgers are excellent. There used to be a sports store near here that served burgers (bison, elk, ostrich) and the ostrich was the best. Also deep fried alligator nuggets, but honestly once you bread and deep fry something they’re pretty much all the same.
