How Experimental Are Your Meat Tastes?
January 27th, 2012
We all like to think of ourselves as being a little experimental when it comes to food. When a new course appears on the menu, you’re the first to give it a go. But when it comes down to it, how experimental are your food tastes really?
For instance, would you be prepared to sample a cut of horsemeat if someone was to offer you some? Would you?
Most of us probably wouldn’t. And we can’t really blame you. After all, could you really eat a character from one of your favourite children stories?
However, this request is not so strange…
You see, even as we are writing this, the US is currently debating whether or not to allow ‘horses to be butchered for human consumption’. And this got us thinking…
When it comes to meat, how experimental are your tastes?
Now we are not talking about eating pork, beef or veal in a new sauce. No…
What we are actually talking about are exotic meats such as ostrich, crocodile, kangaroo or zebra – are you open to eating a little bit of ostrich?
Surely, they taste weird?
Okay, it’s hard to imagine sitting down to a kangaroo steak and thinking ‘this looks yummy’, but these meats are not as weird or as ‘exotic’ as you think:
- Ostrich – you would think that an ostrich would taste more like chicken; however most people describe ostrich as being closer in colour and taste to beef, but with less fat, little marbling and no option to have breast.
- Crocodile – a white meat, crocodile has got quite a unique taste (a mixture between chicken and frog legs), but generally can be treated and served the same way as pork and chicken.
- Kangaroo – lean, low in fat and more tender than beef; foodies describe kangaroo as being a mixture between beef and venison in taste.
- Bison – you could say a bison is like a big cow and supposedly it tastes a lot like one too, but of a higher cut and quality than lean beef.
- Camel – unlike some of the other meats we’ve mentioned, camel meat is believed to be quite tough and dry – the older the camel gets – and as such is usually prepared with beef to improve its flavour.
Too adventurous for your taste buds?
We don’t blame you. Eating exotic meat isn’t for everyone…
But what about cuts, taken from much closer to home? You know, those rarer cuts of beef, pork or lamb that you wouldn’t normally think about buying?
Well, we have had a little think around the office, and have come up with the following suggestions which we feel you might enjoy trying:
- Mutton – lamb is proof that we don’t know much about how our meats are prepared. For instance, did you know that the lamb in your freezer is probably younger than 1 year old? It’s horrible to think that lambs rarely make it past the age of 1 before they end up as chops on your plate, but the younger the lamb, the more tender the taste.
Now mutton, is what you would class as a sheep that makes it past 1, and generally tastes less sweet and a lot tougher than lamb. - Scrag end (lamb and mutton) – this can only be described as the neck/shoulder part of the lamb. Now whilst it is less common than other cuts of lamb – and a lot cheaper – scrag end is a primal cut and is normally used to make soups and stews.
- Oxtail – a lot fattier than traditional beef, oxtail is great for making stocks and stews, but can be eaten on its own after it has been slow cooked (this helps to make them tender).
- Brisket (beef) – usually used to make corned beef, brisket tastes wonderful in stews or slowly barbequed.
- Skirt steak – located under the ribs, skirt steaks are commonly used in fajitas and can be quite chewy.
- Pork head – you don’t have to be living in medieval times to sample pork head. In fact, they make great stocks and soups.
- Fatback (pork) – this is essentially the fat and skin on the back of the pig which is used to make pork rinds and variety of cured meats including lardons.
Now we think you’d agree that these cuts are proof that you don’t have to spend a lot to benefit from succulent cuts of meat, so if you are feeling a little adventurous why not give some of these a try and let us know what you think?
Related posts:
- Forgotten How Good Lamb Tastes?
- Best Vegetable Medley’s To Accompany Meat
- Medieval Meat Mayhem
- Top 12 Meat Cookery Books
- Meet the Meat Superstars
16 Responses to “How Experimental Are Your Meat Tastes?”
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Tags: bison, camel, crocodile, exotic meats, meats, ostrich
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I love trying new tastes and encourage my son to as well. I had horsemeat when I was in Italy and love it – much to my sister’s disgust as she keeps horses! We’ve both had oxtail as I love slow cooked meat and indeed using bones left over to make soups and stew bases.
A local speciality shop near us does crocodile etc but I guess I’m nervous of cooking it properly – any good recipes?
One thing we won’t be having again is chocolate covered scorpion – not v tasty at all!
hiya
I pretty much always cook with what you class as “unusual” cuts. Neck of lamb, home made faggots and haggis, blood sausages and the like are all made here at home. In fact, i have even had a series of monthly articles published in Homefarmer Magazine (www.homefarmer.co.uk) on making the most of cheaper cuts. (i also write regular monthly food articles for them throughout the year – the next issue is on curry making whihc does make extensive use of cheaper cuts!)
I find that some of these cheaper cuts, whilst being a bit tougher if cooked in a normal way, when made into soups, stews, casseroles and the like, impart a much much better flavour. For instance, a shoulder of mutton, is very nice to serve if you put it into a deep roasting tray on a layer of sliced onions, sprigs of rosemary and a bottle of red wine, then slow roasted over night at gas 2 for about 18 hours, cover the first 17 hours with foil, and remove to brown the last hour when you would turn the oven up to gas 5 to brown it off.. Sounds exorbitant, but you really dont notice it on, put it on during Saturday night TV slots, then it will be ready for Sunday lunch. Use the onions and red wine in the pan to make the gravy with the meat juices. Serve with roasties and mash and you’re on a winner. The meat just falls away from the bone and melts in the mouth.
So i would welcome more “exotic” meats in the supermarket to try, i often get game from the local shoot – considering the problem we have with an overpopulation of rabbits, why aren’t we exploiting this free range, low fat high protein source, instead going for the mass produced broiler chicken hell??
I could go on about people using EVERY part of the pig for bath chaps, rillettes etc, but not everyone has the time or devotion to do this, i suppose i am lucky. I would be interested to see however if a commercial outlet for these older foods would become possible? for the consumer, a greater choice and ability to connect with our food heritage, for the producer, a chance to get a good value and margin for what would normally be classed as a scrap product?
Anyways, i am getting off my soap box, but if you want me to discuss this any further with you, please feel free to email me and i am happy to chat.
Kindest Regards
Mike Rutland
Freelance Food Article Writer / Gastrovoyager/ Home Charcuterie Maker
I’ve tried most of the above – with the exception of camel. I’ve also tried pigs’ cheeks (delicious!), trotters, ears and tails! (the last three, I could take or leave!) I will try virtually anything once…..although please don’t offer me pets, like cats or dogs!
Mutton makes excellent curries, as does goat. The pigs’ trotters, ears and tails are made into caribbean “souse”, with lots of lemon and chillies. Ostrich, kangaroo and bison can be cooked in the same way as beef/steak, depending on the cut.
Here in Tenerife, there is excellent cured hams and chorizo and the Tapas are great.
Looking forward to my W.G. meat on my return next week !
Interesting article. My eyes lit up when I read the summary of this article in the email you sent me. I have often spoken to my son about eating horse and have not yet been able to find it available in the UK so for a minute I thought you were now going to be stocking it.
It is a shame traditional meats like Hogget are not available any more in the UK.
As for exotic meats, I’ve tried Shark abroad, but in the UK when living in London I did buy Goat on a regular basis. That is great for cooking, and I am sure would appeal to those who love Lamb or Mutton.
I live in the welsh valleys, not far from Elan Reservoir and there, is a small lamb producer called Elan Valley Mutton. They specialise (as teh name suggests) in muton but they can easily get you hogget if you ask. Most of the butchers around here if you ask, can get it for you – i suppose thats one of the joys of living in the “source” area for lamb!
We, as a family have enjoyed brisket in stews, or slow cooked for years. As more people have realized how good it tastes the price seems to have increased. As for “exotic meats” like Crocodile, Bison, Kangaroo, Ostrich and the ilk, I’ve tried them but was disappointed as to how much the saying, “It tastes like chicken/beef” was true.
I celebrated my 50th birthday in Brussels munching on a horse steak! I’ve eaten ostrich, including cooking it myself, on a number of occasions and I’ve also sampled crocodile (tastes like smoked chicken!) I haven’t had the opportunity to try any of the others, at least not knowingly, but I would if given a chance.
Have eaten horse meat in France; love mutton
Years ago I cooked mutton a lot,it has a rich taste and if cooked slower than
lamb it is very tender and tasty.
The same thing applies to brisket beef,it has a very rich taste and as there
is usually a layer of fat it is a moist tender roast meat.
Problem now is these cuts of meat are never seen in most butchers.
I had a lot of times horse it is a really tasty meat, its quite like beef..
There is a butcher in Berlin who is selling horse meat but only from horses who would die anyway because of age, illness etc…. So there are not produced to be eaten in the first place like pork, beef, chicken….!!!
I’m very open to try every meat, I’ve tried kangeroo and ostrich, and i’d have been willing to try all the others if I’d had a large enough stomach to eat them all. I always feel like you only live once, and I want to try anything there is to offer.
I have also tried beef testicles pate, lamb testicles meatballs, and pork testicles and penis sausages. Our head chef brought them into work for us all to try.
Well we had Brisket today. Cooked in a pressure cooker so it was good and tender! Mutton!!! Oh memories! Far more taste than lamb. Where are all the cheap cuts gone? As a parent on a low budget I scoar the shops for these budget cuts, but a rolled “value” breast of lamb at £4??? they were pennies not so long back. Howa about casseroled lambs heart? Stuffed with sage and onion stuffing and cooked with carrots and onion, rich warming and so tasty. My family love them!
As for the exotic meats, I’d love to try them!
Oh I would love it if regulars butchers started stocking rabbit it’s yummy When I cooked a turkey over the holidays I used the neck & giblets to improve the taste & everyone was raving about it. I always try to make stock when I can & often freeze any left over gravy from roasts to pop into the next one
I love rare steak but it needs to be v good so I find a good flavoured slow stew of cheaper cuts help me afford wee treats! I do actually find the same problems with fish & seafood – perhaps it’s the decline of the small independent butchers/fishmongers
Are WG thinking of doing other meats? I vote Rabbit, Boar & Horse
& goat as I haven’t tried it
@ clare broom
Goat meat is very very nice. Its a bit like strong lamb / mutton / beef mix. It’s also very lean and actually has less cholesterol than lean chicken!
Due to the low fat levels, you do need to either slow cook it, baste it, marinade it or else it will tend to be dry. This is why a lot of ethnic groups go for goat curry etc as it cooks for ages on the back of the hob, getting better ever hour.
This was the main reason we bought some baby goats for our field and now have a dairy goat, pregnant by a meat goat father so if the baby is a girl we can milk her when she is old enough and has kids of her own, or if its a boy, we can raise it and send it to slaughter for the freezer.
During the war I remember eating Horse and also Whale.. I have also eaten pickled Sparrow ,Sea Urchin, Hedgehog. Snake Sheeps eyes, Fish eyes and home reared Garden Snails
Bob Tidy mentioned Hedgehog, another countryside meat with a lot of flavour is Squirel, tastes great as a stew or hotpot.