Granted, many of these recipes are not seen as “unusual” in their home towns, but to the average Westerner, there is something awful about each and every one. Having said that, who are we to judge without trying? I just don’t want to go first! If you have had experience eating any of these dishes, please tell us about it in the comments.
Caterpillars of skipper butterflies, which live on the maguey cactus, are toasted or fried and eaten with mescal. Since the maguey is the source of pulque and tequila, ‘caterpillar pretzels’ are a favorite in Mexico, even available canned.
Marinate larvae, sliced onions and lime leaves in coconut cream with some pepper. Wrap in pieces of linen and steam; serve over rice.
Collect ants in leaf cups, put directly into the hot ashes of a fire for just a few minutes. Remove ants and make into a paste. Add salt and ground chili, then bake. This chutney is said to have ‘a sharp, clean taste’ and is eaten with cocktails and curries.
Soak a calf’s mesentary with the udder of a young beef in cold water, blanch for 30 minutes in boiling water. Dry and cut into small pieces. Saute a generous amount of chopped mushrooms and some chopped parsley and shallots. Add salt, pepper, nutmeg, and a glass of white wine. Remove from heat, and thicken with five egg yolks. Stir in the meat and stuff the mixture into the pig rectum. Tie off both ends, poach sausage for 45 minutes in stock mixed with white wine. Allow to cool in pot.
Spread unsweetened crepes with a mixture of chopped fish sperm and mushrooms bound with fish-based béchamel sauce. Roll crepes and set in a buttered dish, sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and melted butter; heat dish in a 350 degree oven until top browns.
Prepare a stuffing of dormouse meat or pork, pepper and pine nuts, a tasty broth, asafetida (a spice still commonly used in Indian cooking), and some garum. Stuff the dormice and sew them up. Bake in oven on a tile.
Stuff a pig uterus with cumin, leeks, pepper, garum (fish sauce), pounded pork meat and pine nuts. Cook sausage in water and oil with some garum, dill and leeks.
Trim beef or pork heart, cut into one-eighth inches. Julienne. Marinate with sections of scallions in a mix of cornstarch, water, soy sauce, sherry, sugar, salt and minced ginger. Drain vegetables and stir fry medium hot. Pork heart must be thoroughly cooked.
This popular dish is not only a temptation for frustrated parents. Rub a skinned, eviscerated kid inside and out with: chopped nuts, parsley or coriander, chopped fresh ginger, salt and pepper. Stuff the kid with cooked rice, mixed nuts, sultana raisins or seedless grapes, plus residue of kid rubbing mix. Sew up opening, paint with melted butter, roast on a spit over charcoal (or in a 270-300 degree oven) until brown and tender. Serve on a mound of the stuffing. Guests sit on the floor and dig in.
Put olive oil in earthenware casserole. Add halved, parboiled, lambs’ brains, turn over and coat with oil, add salt and pepper, capers, crushed garlic, pitted ripe olives and bread crumbs. Bake in 400 degree oven for 10-15 minutes. Brain Casserole – Algeria – is an alternative. In Turkey, Brain Salad is commonly eaten.
Contributor: Vanilla_Sky3267
Most of these recipes sound a little off to me. Esp the brain.
A tip of the hat should have been given to Haggis.
There is nothing unusual about Haggis! And what is so incredibly unusual about Heart? Offal is a very commonly served dish all over the world. If fact I ate pigs heart in a rich red wine sauce only last week.
First comment?
Yum. I want some pig rectum sausage
I’d be willing to try the brain tacos. I’ve heard that the brain of some animals are quite tasty and full of nutrients. The rest are quite gross. Especially when you talk about rectums and uterus. yuck
i have eaten them!!! tey are on taco stands almosy in every street in MEXICO!!!! they are not italian we call them “sesos” that means brain!!! go to mexico, then go to a taco stanf and order sesos they are good! and mecican!
For once a food list that DOES NOT make me hungry!
As far as the pig rectum sausage, isn’t that the traditional way of making sausage? With washed out intestine? How is this different? It’s ties at both ends, so it’s not really the actual rectum.
stir fried heart looks yummy.
there’s something really disturbing about people eating insects. usually it’s the other way around… i bet they’re crunchy though.
P.S.
please replace the stuffed dormice image with an image of the end product. PLEASE. it looks so sad…
suzi -i think that if they sold sausage’s under the name “pig rectum” i doubt they’d sell as much. it’s with the name and when you say the name you get the mental image. i don’t wanna think about rectums while eating dinner
I wonder if the prospect of eating insects will become more popular in coming days. So many people don’t realize that bugs are very nutritious, tasty, and cheap to raise. Lots of cultures around the world eat them, and they are no less clean than livestock more common to our more “civilized” palates. I’m looking forward to next summer and harvesting me some cicadas. I hear they’re “nutty”!
Sweetbreads are the thymus glands of lamb, beef, or pork. There are two different connected glands; one set in the neck and the other near the heart.[1] Although both are edible, the heart thymus gland is generally favored because of its delicate flavor and texture, and is thus more expensive[2]. Typically sweetbreads are soaked in salt water, then poached in milk after which an outer membrane is removed. Once dry and chilled, they’re often breaded and fried until crisp. It is also popular to use them as a stuffing or in pâtés.
Sweetbread
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Sweetbreads are lovely crumbed: very soft and subtle flavor. I love them
Oh. Good god. Been a fan of this site for a long time now, never posted but just had to say, this really was not a list to wake up hung over and read. Though I do now fancy a sausage.
Chopped fish sperm? wouldn’t one need an atom cutter or something? that dish must be pricey…
I’m glad to be a vegetarian! hahaha!!!
Next time Vanilla_Sky3267 asks you to dinner, ask very carefully what’s on the menu!
No dog soup, live octopus or silkworm larvae, all specialities of Korea? (I haven’t tried them yet.) A student once asked me what “sweet bread” was. After looking at the book very carefully, I decided that it was actually referring to sugary bread.
Ive got steak and mushrooms on the stove – I think I will go and switch it off now.
at our local, korean grocer (here in new york) there is a display of beef hearts, toungues, etc.
always wanted to try it but i have to wait for the family to be away … #3 looks delicious.
when i was younger we would make chicken-foot stew – when i described it to my kids, they nearly retched… to me it was just an inexpensive way to get a good stew.
re dormouse dish – the prep sounds like more trouble than the bite or two you would get from each one
thanks Vanilla_Sky3267 – interesting read.
The perfect accompaniment to uterus sausage: http://www.smh.com.au/news/specials/unusual-tales/testicle-cookbook-serb-chefs-nuts/2008/10/02/1222651223658.html
Only one I’d ever heard of was stuffed dormice. The legacy of a classical education! On a related point have you heard of the berries that you eat which trick your brain into thinking everything you eat is sweet! Weird!!
Some of these are pretty gross, but id eat the pig rectum sausages. I thought thats how they were all made anyway? And actually now that I think, the only things that repulse me on this list are the Bee Larvae and the Caterpillar Pretzels…
Posy: were can I find these magical berries !?!?!?
I was gonna consider stir fried heart till I read it was pork! Bad!
Anyway, I’ve had lots of hearts. Chicken, cow…..
Good list. Are chitlins’ too tame to make the top ten? The best thing about pigs is that you can eat EVERY part of it. From the “rooter to the tooter” is a popular expression we like to use. Chris Rock said he would eat a pig’s ass if you cooked it right. I wonder if he knew about the recipe in #7.
As far as eating brains goes, calf and sheep brains have been considered common in the South for centuries. My dad and I love to eat them scrambled with eggs.
I have a rule about what I will and won’t eat. I don’t eat gross things, and I don’t eat cute things. The only thing on this list that I would eat is the heart. It’s just a muscle.
Also, I thought only zombies at brains.
haha, I skipped over most of these based on name alone. And I consider myself open-minded when it comes to new foods…
…but I put my foot down on pig rectum sausage.
I wouldn’t touch anything on this list with a ten foot pole. Just reading it made me gag a little….
“Stuffed pig rectum sausage” is spicy and really tasty. Its not really “rectum”… in think its the skin from the intestants.
“ewww” … well,a bit..heehee
whoaaaaaa ewwww
I know people eat these, and I know they must be common for at least some people, but…… ugh gross >_
… Huh. It erased the rest of my message.
It was, “I have the same plates set as in #3″ haha
#24 – Phillies:
just so long as you wash your shoes after…
Nr. 1, 3, 6 and 7 are yummy!
There’s a website called “Steve, don’t eat that!”, which features dishes exactly like these. What makes that site particularly awful is that Steve creates and eats the dish, then reports on every nuance of the experience; smell, texture on the tongue, taste, aftertaste, etc.
He includes pix of the dish in various stages of preparation.
I must say, this list is tame in comparison but, Vanilla_Sky3267, that takes nothing away from my enjoyment of your list!
Someone complained about the photo of the doormouse, how sad he looked. All I could think of was Alice’s tea party, and the doormouse being pulled out of the pot! I love that photo!
An altogether wonderful list, Vanilla_Sky3267.
why thy’re Incredibly Unusual? I think it’s not incredible that being unusual XD
Now seriously
great list, but maybe too short.
There’re loooots of strange recipes, and much more bizarre.
In my country is usual to eat from fried snails till goat testicles (we call it something like: “offspringers”)
Was that a picture of a caterpillar pooping? Now *that’s* gross.
And I don’t think I want to eat sperm that needs to be chopped.
thats grody
but other countries prolly think we eat gross stuff
WTF is that in number 2?? It looks all distorted.
oh its a goat!
wow, numer 3 looks exactly like a tipical dish of my country, Perú,
but here it’s called anticucho
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anticuchos
its also prepared with beef heart
in my country there’s a typical dish called that looks exactly like #3
its also prepared with beef heart en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anticuchos
most of this list is disgusting.. but i DO believe in trying everything ATLEAST once.. infact i’ve eaten heart & brain.. the brain actually tasted a lot like egg yolk.. & was tasty.. & i kno it was most definately brains, coz i went with a guy who likes this kinda stuff…!!!
pig rectum sausage isnt that gross sounding…most sausage casings are intestinal, and before washing do have a slight contamination of fecal matter. And just try telling me brats are bad!
The only things on this list that REALLY creep me out are the Brain tacos and the crepes ( I LIKE BUKKAKE!)
The brain just creeps me out because of the risk of contracting spongiform brain diseases, as well as the INSANE amount of cholesterol found in animal brain foods.
The crepes, well….just….wrong…sounds like something you’d find in a really weird japanese fetish video.
I’ve actually eaten brains and beef hearts before…not in that exact same way but they are actually quite delicious depending on their preparation. I’ve also eaten stir fried intestines with pooped rice…rather chewy but very good nonetheless.
Actually brains ,hearts, kidneys and tongues are very delicious.Pork tripe soup is the best cure for hangover-honest!
People do not think twice when they eat liver-why should it be different for other internal animal organs?!
Oh,and I have seen people eating animals’ eyes-I can’t stomach this though…
I’ve actually always wanted to try beef heart. My uncle’s had it and says it’s really good.
42. malfore…”The brain just creeps me out because of the risk of contracting spongiform brain diseases”
****
Right you are. Your talking about spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs, also known as prion diseases). These very nasty diseases cause holes in ones brain, they are related to Mad Cow disease, and appear to be a variant of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease. You can only get it from eating infected organ meat, like brain.
Once you have it, you have it. There is no cure. There is no treatment. Your cortex becomes full of holes (like a sponge, hence the name), and you die.
Rather a high price to pay for a plate of braised brains, what?
Or even a hamburger.
Your = you’re
Lame list, not enough research.
You can find Brain Tacos in every mexican corner stand, as for caterpillar Pretzels mmm, too stereotyped. From Mexico I would´ve chosen these guys:
They are called Jumiles. You eat them alive!
Wow, thanks, It’s my birthday, and I get to see Pig Rectum sausages, thanks…
I’ve eaten beef heart and it was good!!
Of course that was until I found out what it was then I was grossed out and couldn’t finish it.
Stupid, I know.
This is a good list. It broadens my world view.
I think each of these must be someone’s favorite food.
I just wish I could be more adventurous…
I mean there are places that think chicken eggs, milk, and peanut butter are gross.
Oh yeah, and what about balut? (half developed duck in egg shell)
I would try all of these over balut, I can’t stand even a tiny fragment of egg shell anywhere near my eggs… EWWWWW!
I’ve eaten numbers 7, 6, and one. All while travelling, and I only learned what I’d eaten AFTER I ate it! Numbers 7 and 1 were good, but I didn’t enjoy the crepes at all, and they nearly made a second appearance once I knew what was in them!
what is there of unusual about eating brain or heart?? really, I don’t get that
at first Im like “Who eats their kid?” then i remembered that kid is also a baby goat or something.
All those things look nasty.
Mmm…sperm crepes…Sticky.
I don’t understand what’s wrong with #2 (stuffed Kid). Its just a roasted young goat. People eat roasted lamb all the time, not too much different; and its the same idea of eating a roasted pig or bovine.
Re: the kid, pig, bovine, etc.
I don’t eat any red meat except lamb. Not out of any ideological leanings, but because lamb is the only red meat I can digest.
I honestly can’t imagine why, but I would guess it has something to do with the leanness of the meat, and the youth of the animal.
I’d bet kid would just as easy to digest, as would veal. I don’t have a craving for red meat often enough to bother with anything other than the (very) occasional lamb chop.
I’ve had cow, pig, and chicken hearts. chicken hearts in particular are huge at churrascarias, brazillian meat roasting houses. Say it’s strange, but properly prepared all 3 of them are freaking amazing. The chicken hearts especially. Hell, to me the chicken innards, all minced up, are essential to a good stuffing. They add depth. Brain is good too, but I prefer it flash fried on pretty high heat with some garlic, peanut oil, and a bit of rosemary.
As for the “other cultures eat bugs” aspect, google cochineal. Natural red number 5 is ground up red beetles. And you eat that in your candy, and imitation crab meat. So, ground up ants isn’t so far off either. You missed deep fried tarantulas, chinese people make dumplings out of dogs and eat jellyfish, people in thailand make food with cobra blood and they have nam pla, which is basically just fish flesh stuck in a pot for a year and then eaten. Garum was made the same way, and though you glossed over it, you didn’t mention that the ancient romans smothered EVERYTHING in this fermented fish goop, until it carried no taste but the garum.
I dunno, when I think of strange foods, I think fish that’s been left to rot at room temperature until it becomes a liquid is pretty high on the list. I’d definitely have given garum main focus, rather than just mentioning that it was there.
There are also century eggs. They cover eggs in alkaline materials, like lime, then roll them in rice and basically let them sit for a few months. google them, they’re freaking nasty.
Thank you for leaving out rocky mountain oysters. that’s a gag food, nobody actually eats those.
18 & 20
The berries you are referring to are called Miracle Fruit (Synsepalum dulcificum) and is from West Africa originally. The berry pulp has the ability to affect the sour receptors of taste buds so that sour foods taste sweet. I have eaten both a lemon and a lime after eating miracle fruit! I actaully grow the fruit in my garden (tropical mountains west of Cairns in Australia!)
You should’ve put stuffed camel on there. It’s a camel stuffed with a sheep that is stuffed with fish. Bedouins (sp?) from Saudi Arabia typically serve this dish at weddings….
You know, cicadas are only good if you eat them fresh. The dried ones are disgusting- full of preservatives and much too salty. And you can make pretty good broth out of chicken feet.
I had that for lunch a few days ago.
57. I am an evil taco: You’re right. Chicken heart is really good.
And why are there no weird fruits or vegetables on this list? You should have put durian on there. It’s this hard, light-brown, spiky fruit that smells like “a public toilet in summer” according to Dorling Kindersly. Really. It’s actually kind of creamy, like a fibrous, smelly banana. They worship it in southeast Asia, especially in Singapore. They also sell candied flowers in Trader Joe’s (A chain of grocery stores in Massachusetts)which are really sweet and generally awesome. A lot of my friends (western or not) love those.
If anyone wants bee larvae, they can go to Thailand. I went to Chiang Mai once, and they were selling it everywhere. Didn’t try it, though, so no guarantee it’s good.