10 Incredibly Unusual Recipes
Published on October 2, 2008 - 132 Comments
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
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1. Maddie - October 4th, 2008 at 1:34 am
First comment?
Yum. I want some pig rectum sausage
2. Redcaboose - October 4th, 2008 at 1:34 am
Most of these recipes sound a little off to me. Esp the brain.
A tip of the hat should have been given to Haggis.
3. jck1074 - October 4th, 2008 at 1:34 am
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
4. Juggz - October 4th, 2008 at 1:39 am
For once a food list that DOES NOT make me hungry!
5. suzi - October 4th, 2008 at 1:48 am
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.
6. godiva - October 4th, 2008 at 1:52 am
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…
7. jck1074 - October 4th, 2008 at 1:53 am
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
8. jasontimmer - October 4th, 2008 at 2:58 am
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”!
9. Polymath - October 4th, 2008 at 3:17 am
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
10. jfrater - October 4th, 2008 at 3:27 am
Sweetbreads are lovely crumbed: very soft and subtle flavor. I love them
11. Neil - October 4th, 2008 at 4:28 am
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.
12. AbstractPlain - October 4th, 2008 at 4:38 am
Chopped fish sperm? wouldn’t one need an atom cutter or something? that dish must be pricey…
13. Alex_k - October 4th, 2008 at 4:39 am
I’m glad to be a vegetarian! hahaha!!!
14. astraya - October 4th, 2008 at 4:46 am
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.
15. smurff - October 4th, 2008 at 4:53 am
Ive got steak and mushrooms on the stove - I think I will go and switch it off now.
16. stevenh - October 4th, 2008 at 4:57 am
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.
17. astraya - October 4th, 2008 at 5:10 am
The perfect accompaniment to uterus sausage: http://www.smh.com.au/news/spe.....23658.html
18. Posy - October 4th, 2008 at 5:12 am
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!!
19. Jussy - October 4th, 2008 at 5:19 am
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…
20. fromthefuture - October 4th, 2008 at 5:54 am
Posy: were can I find these magical berries !?!?!?
21. Ghidoran - October 4th, 2008 at 6:26 am
I was gonna consider stir fried heart till I read it was pork! Bad!
Anyway, I’ve had lots of hearts. Chicken, cow…..
22. MT - October 4th, 2008 at 6:41 am
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.
23. robneiderman - October 4th, 2008 at 6:49 am
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.
24. Phillies - October 4th, 2008 at 6:56 am
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.
25. solensdrottning - October 4th, 2008 at 7:07 am
I wouldn’t touch anything on this list with a ten foot pole. Just reading it made me gag a little….
26. Metalwrath - October 4th, 2008 at 7:08 am
“Stuffed pig rectum sausage” is spicy and really tasty. Its not really “rectum”… in think its the skin from the intestants.
27. jhoyce07 - October 4th, 2008 at 7:20 am
“ewww” … well,a bit..heehee
28. ritz - October 4th, 2008 at 7:47 am
whoaaaaaa ewwww
29. Val - October 4th, 2008 at 7:55 am
I know people eat these, and I know they must be common for at least some people, but…… ugh gross >_
30. Val - October 4th, 2008 at 7:56 am
… Huh. It erased the rest of my message.
It was, “I have the same plates set as in #3″ haha
31. stevenh - October 4th, 2008 at 7:58 am
#24 - Phillies:
just so long as you wash your shoes after…
32. Foxy - October 4th, 2008 at 8:58 am
Nr. 1, 3, 6 and 7 are yummy!
33. segue - October 4th, 2008 at 9:06 am
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.
34. JayBe - October 4th, 2008 at 9:31 am
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”)
35. Cedestra - October 4th, 2008 at 9:54 am
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.
36. goof_ball - October 4th, 2008 at 10:15 am
thats grody
but other countries prolly think we eat gross stuff
37. Ryan - October 4th, 2008 at 10:21 am
WTF is that in number 2?? It looks all distorted.
38. Ryan - October 4th, 2008 at 10:23 am
oh its a goat!
39. caligari - October 4th, 2008 at 10:56 am
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
40. caligari - October 4th, 2008 at 11:02 am
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
41. dor - October 4th, 2008 at 11:05 am
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…!!!
42. malfore - October 4th, 2008 at 11:07 am
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.
43. Athena - October 4th, 2008 at 11:20 am
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.
44. Eve - October 4th, 2008 at 11:31 am
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…
45. Taranis - October 4th, 2008 at 11:33 am
I’ve actually always wanted to try beef heart. My uncle’s had it and says it’s really good.
46. segue - October 4th, 2008 at 12:29 pm
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.
47. segue - October 4th, 2008 at 12:30 pm
Your = you’re
48. psychosurfer - October 4th, 2008 at 12:35 pm
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:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G41ylnAB8Zw
They are called Jumiles. You eat them alive!
49. xXTurkinatorXx - October 4th, 2008 at 1:40 pm
Wow, thanks, It’s my birthday, and I get to see Pig Rectum sausages, thanks…
50. Lynn in Oregon - October 4th, 2008 at 1:47 pm
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.
51. Lynn in Oregon - October 4th, 2008 at 1:51 pm
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!
52. kittym - October 4th, 2008 at 2:49 pm
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!
53. giammy - October 4th, 2008 at 2:50 pm
what is there of unusual about eating brain or heart?? really, I don’t get that
54. 2worlds - October 4th, 2008 at 3:00 pm
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.
55. Stuck_in_DC - October 4th, 2008 at 3:03 pm
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.
56. segue - October 4th, 2008 at 3:21 pm
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.
57. I am an evil taco - October 4th, 2008 at 4:35 pm
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.
58. rufus2911 - October 4th, 2008 at 4:36 pm
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!)
59. Philmont237 - October 4th, 2008 at 5:30 pm
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….
60. Clay - October 4th, 2008 at 5:56 pm
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.
61. Mr.Graves - October 4th, 2008 at 6:12 pm
You missed out on a whole range of southeast asian foods… my ex’s family was from Laos and the addition of various insects was pretty commonplace in dishes we ate… not to mention ‘100 year old eggs’ and ‘balut’ (I figured balut would would at least be somewhere on this list- fertilized duck embryo left to grow into a chick but boiled before the bones have hardened, then cracked open and eaten like a ball of meat).
Deep fried spiders/scorpions, anyone?
62. Twinkle - October 4th, 2008 at 6:27 pm
oh no… not the dormice! they’re too cute.
63. Lori - October 4th, 2008 at 6:46 pm
I notice that all these disgusting foods have to do with animals and their parts. I doubt there would be anything under the fruit and vegetable category deemed nearly as disgusting (with the exception of that one smelly fruit). I’m a vegetarian, so I don’t see why any of these items are any more nasty than what most Americans eat. It’s all in what you’re used to.
64. segue - October 4th, 2008 at 7:02 pm
60. Clay: Trader Joe’s have stores in 22 states, mostly in New England and California. I couldn’t complete my monthly grocery shopping if not for Trader Joe’s!
Actually, my grocery shopping is much more complicated than once a month.
Once a month is for all non-perishable and frozen or freezable items (milk, for example, freezes remarkably well). The day’s vegetables and fruits are purchased daily.
Some things we grow.
I have several simple rules concerning what I will eat.
I will not eat anything for which, under normal circumstances, I would set out poison.
I will not eat anything which processes the internal secretions of an animal.
I will not eat anything I have to hold my nose closed to be near.
I will not eat anything if I have ever read that eating something has ever been proven (even in *ONE* case)to cause irreversible brain disease.
So far, so good.
I was working deep in Mexico for a month, a few back. We were staying in a town which got no American tourists at all, so the hotels and restaurants (meager but nice), were not set up to serve Americans…no bottled water, etc. We actually lived on beer, tequila, bread and peelable fruit.
For a month!!
Our producer forgot, just *one* day, and sucked on an ice cube…we had to have him air-lifted back to the US.
I came to detest tequila. And it was $300 a bottle.
Oh, we had some delightful times!
Dancing all night in an abandoned silver mine turned disco/dance club! Being surrounded by the Mexican army, on full alert!
Visiting a pool hall, where the “men’s room” was a culvert along one wall.
Homes 3 and 4 stories tall, the top story without a roof, and reebar sticking out, because “unfinished” buildings paid no tax.
Machine-gunned guards outside the bank.
Astonishingly different culture, and quite a learning experience.
We went from there to Cancun, and after a few hours we all wished we could go back! Seriously.
65. Brosiusjb - October 4th, 2008 at 7:39 pm
Gotta feel for that doormouse. I enjoy a good slab of meat as much as the next guy but that seems to be over the line. Who was the guy that found out fish sperm tasted good? Thats one kinky cook, if you ask me.
66. malfore - October 4th, 2008 at 7:42 pm
interesting rules segue, but ever had durian? HORRIFYING smell, but oh my god is it good!
67. nyys - October 4th, 2008 at 7:45 pm
I’m from Korea. I’ve got three…
silkworm cocoon
live octopus
dog meat
68. jackit - October 4th, 2008 at 7:51 pm
Stir-Fried Heart - reminds me of tell-tale heart hahaha.
To be honest all of the items on this list sound liek they would be delicious if you werent told what they are.
Fish sperm need to be chopped? damn.
69. jake ryder - October 4th, 2008 at 7:57 pm
Thank you. I have been trying to lose weight and this should ruin my appetite for weeks. I thought the Deep Fried Fish Head my wife and I had in Guatemala was bad. Then in Mexico we encountered something that can best be described as boiled mole wrapped in a sock.
I need to learn better Spanish before travelling again.
70. jackit - October 4th, 2008 at 8:07 pm
I also don’t see anything inherently wrong with eating heart, since it is a muscle, and therefore like any other meat but probably much less fat. The picture looks just like chopped steak to me.
This reminds me of a cracked article a while ago:
http://www.cracked.com/article.....world.html
The most horrifying thing is the baby mice wine in my opinion. And you though t the tequila worm was bad…
71. Shadow - October 4th, 2008 at 8:09 pm
Go figure, my French ancestors came up with what are probably the most stomach turning entries here.
72. geronimo - October 4th, 2008 at 8:57 pm
In certain parts of India, they make a omelette with Goats brain stuffing. have tasted it, its pretty neat..
73. Vera Lynn - October 4th, 2008 at 10:08 pm
segue (56) Its funny that you can eat only lamb. It is the only meat I cannot eat. It doesn’t agree with me.
I would never eat any of these. I cannot even eat off a bone like chicken or steak.
74. Teapixie - October 4th, 2008 at 11:06 pm
Oh God, Vera. I can’t believe how much we have in common when it comes to meat. I can’t eat lamb, and if it isn’t a piece of very dead, very lean chicken breast or steak, forget it.
It took me until I was well into my 20’s to even touch uncooked meat, though I have never wanted to be a vegetarian. I think the worst of these would be the dormouse. Look at the gorgeous little thing. How could anyone possibly bite the head off that.
75. Vera Lynn - October 4th, 2008 at 11:19 pm
Teapixie (74)Uncooked meat?!?! Im not there yet. My fave cut is filet mignon. No fat. No bone. No nothing but meat. I buy only boneless skinless chicken breast.
76. Mortivore - October 4th, 2008 at 11:32 pm
The only ones of these that I wouldn’t eat would be the bees, the sperm, and the hearts. Other than that, I could dig all of this. ^-^
77. BrotherMan - October 4th, 2008 at 11:44 pm
Thank you Anthony Bourdain and Andrew Zimern
78. BrotherMan - October 4th, 2008 at 11:45 pm
with two M’s
79. badabing - October 4th, 2008 at 11:53 pm
Number 1 and 7 don’t sound that bad!!!! Skip the rectum please..
80. Vera Lynn - October 5th, 2008 at 12:04 am
Brotherman (77) What Andrew Zimmern eats freaks me out. I wont eat for literally days after watching his show. I do not watch any more. I literally cannot.
81. badabing - October 5th, 2008 at 12:10 am
Number 9 is actually an amazing way to serve mussels.
Number 7 worked in a butchershop (I’ve seen worse)
Number 6 is no weirder than caviar.
Number 3 if no one told you it was heart you would love it!!
Number 1 mmm! sweatbreads!!!
82. Jussy - October 5th, 2008 at 3:34 am
I don’t see why people are repulsed with so much on this list? I really don’t get it? Its just animal parts, and it makes me laugh how everyone is so OMGGROSS about the pig rectum sausages. They ARE clean, and the castings of most sausages are animal intestines anyway… not really much different. Far out grow some balls.
83. Manov - October 5th, 2008 at 4:29 am
The worst dish I’ve ever heard of was one made by nomadic Eskimos (I think): they catch a seal, kill it, then bury it in the ground. About a year later they come back, dig it up, and eat it.
84. Rog - October 5th, 2008 at 4:52 am
Stuff a pig uterus with cumin…. giggle..
85. DoppHopper - October 5th, 2008 at 6:55 am
I would happily go for 1, 3, 8, 9 and 10. Seriously.
86. DoppHopper - October 5th, 2008 at 6:58 am
Manov (83):
That’s not a dish! lol.
…It’s a hangi!
87. Mom424 - October 5th, 2008 at 9:17 am
I must be weird, most of these don’t particularly gross me out. Pig rectum least of all, all sausage used to be stuffed in gut, the rectum is just the end of the guts. I’ve had heart (yum) and brains (yuck - too soft, too buttery, just icky). I am gonna take a pass on the fish sperm, actually the only thing on the list that makes me queasy.
88. aaron.d.78th - October 5th, 2008 at 9:35 am
I think you forgot one. “Balut” from the Philippines. If you can eat this, I think all of these ten recipes above can be easily digested. Check it out here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Balut
89. johnny - October 5th, 2008 at 9:55 am
Brain tacos are widely available in Chicago…yummy!
my mom cooks up venison or beef heart, runs it through a grinder, and adds dill pickles and miracle whip to make an absolutely addictive sandwich spread.
oh, and chocolate-covered ants are lovely-crispy, like a Hershey’s ‘Krackle’ bar.
90. CK2005 - October 5th, 2008 at 11:49 am
well I WAS hungry about a minute ago. that’s taken care of now.
91. segue - October 5th, 2008 at 1:29 pm
66. malfore: for a fruit, I might bend the rules on smell.
92. segue - October 5th, 2008 at 3:24 pm
Okay, here’s a question. Why are fish eggs (ova), considered delicacies, but fish sperm considered yucky?
Hmmmmmm
93. Dr. D - October 5th, 2008 at 3:36 pm
Same reason that a pizza is not a pizza until you put your fists into the dough!
No no no.
A pizza is not a pizza until it comes out of the oven!
Seinfeld.
94. Dr. D - October 5th, 2008 at 3:38 pm
P.s.
I wonder how many of these within the list are considered aphrodisiacs?
You know, because all one might need to spark up their sex life is a healthy dose of Stuffed Dormice.
95. Kyran Wray - October 5th, 2008 at 6:29 pm
thats henious…. great list
96. Vera Lynn - October 5th, 2008 at 7:26 pm
I don’t eat any kind of sausage (Just what the hell is in it anyway?)or salami, or bologne. Won’t eat hotdogs. Steak, chicken breast, or veggies all ok. Fruit is too sticky. I don’t like sweet things. I know I’m a freak.
97. dofnup - October 5th, 2008 at 8:05 pm
Uhm … brain tacos … ITALY?? I’ll grant you that using lamb, olive oil and olives sounds like the way they eat brain in Italy, but brain tacos, as in TACOS, are from Mexico. They are beef brain and can be found in many a taco stand or restaurant. As a mexican, I am confuzzled, to say the least @_@
98. Panic! - October 5th, 2008 at 9:00 pm
It amazes me that people can eat bugs…
I can’t even touch the things. The thought of actually eating one kind of makes me gag a lil bit…
99. mami - October 6th, 2008 at 12:15 am
Nice list. Where i come from we have a saying “one mans food is another mans poison”. So each to his own
100. ashish - October 6th, 2008 at 7:32 am
100th comment..
Hurray. But the 8th no. “red ant chutney” is not made in India,i must tell you.The word “chutney” may sound indian but this recipe is not indian.
101. Shibari Hime - October 6th, 2008 at 9:56 am
I never had stir fry heart but as an Alaskan Native I have had heart gravy which has lightly pan fried moose/caribou or a mixture hearts. I’ve also eaten dried seal and whale blubber. Anyone for fish head soup? Ya never know just what you’ll find cookin’ in an ol’ Yupik’s kitchen. Then I got married to a Philipino/Puerto Rican whose Grandmother liked to give me off “candies”. Not always CANDY!! It’s crazy!
102. Alok - October 6th, 2008 at 12:29 pm
Actually red ant chutney is an Indian dish, it is made by tribal peoples in Chattisgarh. Rat meat and snake is also considered delicacies in certain parts of India.
103. Christine - October 6th, 2008 at 4:12 pm
I haven’t had any of these except the heart… the taste is not too bad, but it is rather chewy. As for the 1000 year egg, I don’t think it’s actually 1000 years old… That would probably kill you if it even managed to survive.
104. grubthrower - October 6th, 2008 at 4:44 pm
Most of this list was mildish, with a few standouts. I’ve always believed that since we drink cow’s milk and eat chicken eggs, it’s all just a matter of cultural conditioning. Think about it: excretions from animal mammaries… unfertilized bird-babies. That’s pretty gross if you didn’t grow up on it. And have you ever eaten an egg with a red spot in it? That’s a fetus, dude.
And speaking of milk. I’ve drank unpastuerized goat’s milk, straight from the farm-goat with only a stop in the fridge for cooling, and it was great on a hot summer afternoon. Stuffed kid? I’m just glad they’re using a young goat so it will be tender, and am only worried whether or not the spices will overpower the meat. If you’ve eaten a real gyro, you’ve eaten goat. Not a bad meat animal at all.
Anyway, I’ve eaten a lot of strange foods, some on this list and many stranger still. My watchword is, if a given culture of people has eaten it for two generations without massive deaths, I’ll try it, as long as it isn’t blatantly cruel — no live monkey brains for this boy.
But I’ve eaten the brains of several animals… I simply don’t like the taste and texture much to bother fooling with them.
But I love me some fried squirrel (first cousin to the rat, which I haven’t tried but would like to as long as it is farm-raised and disease-free).
As for insects, cicadas don’t agree with me — somehow I associate them with guacamole, which I also detest. My favorite insect dish is good old big American black ants (think picnic ants). Raw and recently alive. Decapitated between thumb and forefinger so that the mandibles do not lock onto the esophagus when swallowed. Over 90% protein, and a well-known survival food. The taste? Like a mild lemon due to a high level of formic acid.
Heart is an intersting thing. Large hearts (beef) I don’t like because it is too lean and comes too close to liver in taste (another common food that should be considered gross which I don’t eat solely because I don’t like it, no other reason). However, my brother and I fought over the heart (and the gizzard!) of every chicken my mother every cooked while growing up. To this day, every time at the grocery store I look over the packages of “gizzards and hearts, mostly gizzards” and if I see one that is at least 30% hearts, I buy it on the spot. That happens about every two dozen trips to the store. I would pay much more money per pound to buy only hearts.
Rectum sausage I don’t know about and have never tried it. Sure, washed small intestine as a sausage case is at least as gross and I have even bought the intestines myself and made homemade sausage in the kitchen, but I simply don’t see the point in going all the way to where feces meets air.
By the way: if you’ve ever eaten Jello in the 20th century, you have eaten horse’s hooves. Man’s ingenuity knows no bounds.
Snails I like, but overcooked and go easy on the garlic while loading up on the butter, please.
And oysters are a genuinely ghastly food when you really think about them. Raw only please, and I most certainly will suck the juices.
Boiled crawfish are a poor man’s lobster (both fairly disgusting creatures when viewed outside a cultural norm), but if you suck the heads — as you should — you are ingesting guts and secretions.
Honey is a food that has never been known to spoil… no such thing as a true expiration date. But it is essentially puke. And puke from an insect, at that. If we called it Bee Puke and you had never heard of it before, would you try it?
See? It’s all cultural conditioning. Remember that this Thanksgiving as you ask someone to pass the giblet gravy.
105. Vera Lynn - October 6th, 2008 at 9:51 pm
grubthrower (104) Sounds like you’d eat most anything. You can have what I discard. Ick.
106. orenj - October 6th, 2008 at 10:13 pm
heart’s not that bad, its like liver and steak put together, but a little rubbery
107. Blacknimbus - October 7th, 2008 at 6:51 am
No mention of Ortolan?
“Ortolan! The Recipe!
Preparing and cooking ortolan is very simple. The following is an brief excerpt made by a kind reader from a review of a book called In The Devil’s Garden - A Sinful History Of Forbidden Food, the full review is worth reading and I’ll probably buy the book for myself.
The birds must be taken alive; once captured they are either blinded or kept in a lightless box for a month to gorge on millet, grapes, and figs, a technique apparently taken from the decadent cooks of Imperial Rome who called the birds beccafico, or “fig-pecker”. When they’ve reached four times their normal size, they’re drowned in a snifter of Armagnac.
Cooking l’ortolan is simplicity itself. Simply pop them in a high oven for six to eight minutes and serve. The secret is entirely in the eating. First you cover your head with a traditional embroidered cloth. Then place the entire four-ounce bird into your mouth. Only its head should dangle out from between your lips. Bite off the head and discard. L’ortolan should be served immediately; it is meant to be so hot that you must rest it on your tongue while inhaling rapidly through your mouth. This cools the bird, but its real purpose is to force you to allow its ambrosial fat to cascade freely down your throat.
When cool, begin to chew. It should take about 15 minutes to work your way through the breast and wings, the delicately crackling bones, and on to the inner organs. Devotees claim they can taste the bird’s entire life as they chew in the darkness: the wheat of Morocco, the salt air of the Mediterranean, the lavender of Provence. The pea-sized lungs and heart, saturated with Armagnac from its drowning, are said to burst in a liqueur-scented flower on the diner’s tongue. Enjoy with a good Bordeaux.”
http://www.ecis.com/~alizard/ortolan_recipe.html
108. longball - October 7th, 2008 at 6:55 am
heart is really good, especially venison heart. but the rest…wow! what about sweatbreads (kidneys) and liver…
109. Ellycat - October 7th, 2008 at 10:08 am
Ok, SERIOUSLY….where does one buy Fist SPERM? I mean how is a sperm in a fish big enough to cut up? What kind of fish is this a whale? I’m really curious. any insight?
110. Brickhouse - October 7th, 2008 at 11:30 am
Okay… This was an ewww list (or a ewe list, if you’re looking at the #2 recipe… bad pun!
)
111. Louise - October 7th, 2008 at 2:14 pm
Hi,
Just wanted to say, that in Denmark, pig’s hearts is actually an old recipe that is still eaten lots of places. My favourite dish!!!! It really tastes very good. More if you stuff it with vegetables!
112. candace - October 7th, 2008 at 8:32 pm
oh the stuffed kid and dormice made me cry no don’t eat the poor lil fluffy animals
113. qaed - October 8th, 2008 at 1:39 am
why does every one always complain about: a. the stuffed doormouse, as, frankly, unless youre a vegeterian you really have no right to complain if somone puts a picture of a dead animal on a webstite ads you probably eat electrocuted lambs, gassed does, and piglets itestines??
b.the eating of insects? why is an insect different to any other animal??
c.it’s not that discusting. stop exaddurating the effect this list has on you.
d.why is us in the western world permanently whine about other cultures food when we eat rotten milk shot through with mould (chesse) and many other things?? to quote my predessesor, its all just cultral condishinging.
114. Tom - October 8th, 2008 at 4:45 am
A very good blog for strange food is www.weirdmeat.com the writerlives in China and goes out of his way to find strange foods. Well worth reading
115. segue - October 8th, 2008 at 3:49 pm
105. Vera Lynn: Have you heard from you-know-who? Where is he? Is there anything we can do?
116. Hillery - October 8th, 2008 at 9:06 pm
We used to have heart every time we butchered a cow on our farm in California. It was a special treat. We called it doughnut steak, and it was delicious. You slice it up and broil or grill with a good seasoning, the texture is unique but not unpleasant. We also regularly ate goat, but not whole over a spit, that would be too much work. Usually in a roast, and it can also be quite tasty. Just goes to show, weird is in the eye of the beholder. I still think liver is gross, though…
In case you are curious, white family with no cultural background that would yield recipes for foods like that. I don’t know why my parents cooked such open minded food, but I feel the better for it. On a side note, we were friends with a family from Togo, and when we butchered the goats, they would come over and collect the intestines for a dish they made. I always thought that was weird: goat intestines. Then again, who were we to talk?
117. Joey11y - October 9th, 2008 at 12:54 am
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?!
————————————————————-
Yum! I love the tripe soup, but we call it menudo. OMG very good stuff. Same goes for the sweet bread. Our family dosen’t do anything fancy with it though. We usually just throw it on the grill till it is done with the rest of the meat. I don’t really like brains though, too slimey. Barbacoa is another story though, that stuff is good. Although I could’t bring myself to eat guinea pig when I visited Ecuador. Those guys are just too cute. I can’t eat something that can be considered a domestic pet.
118. Vera Lynn - October 10th, 2008 at 7:29 pm
segue I have. I talk to him very day. Where did you read my post? I know it was pulled. But you saw it? I don’t know if there’s anything we can do. He is very sad and very alone. This is an old list, but I hope you read this.
119. astraya - October 10th, 2008 at 7:55 pm
One of the ads at the top of this page at the moment reads:
“Colon Cleansing Recipe
Colon cleansing kit. Gently removes toxins in your body. View photos. [or not!]”
Vera Lynn: I read your original post, too, and have followed various questions to you, and your answers. I’m worried. I had not replied so far because I couldn’t think that there was anything I could do in the circumstances.
120. Vera Lynn - October 10th, 2008 at 8:08 pm
astraya (119) I don’t think there’s much anyone can do. And I know you are very far away. Im just thankful he has a support system if he needs us. He is not ill or anything like that. He did not want me to do this but I know he has lots of friends here, as do we all.
121. Denzell - October 10th, 2008 at 9:23 pm
stuffed child? or baby goat?
122. Vera Lynn - October 10th, 2008 at 10:18 pm
Denzell (121) Baby goat. BTW 121 is 11 squared. Im a math nerd.
123. segue - October 11th, 2008 at 8:00 am
118. Vera Lynn…Where did you read my post?…
****
Vera, I learned early on that the only way to read even posts which get deleted are to have them delivered as mail. I can still choose not to open them (as I do in the case of the Animal Testing list…I just don’t have the psychological energy or barriers to deal with that). But anyway, I do get everything.
In this case, I’m glad. I’ve been extremely worried. Now, I’m even more worried. I’d rather he be ill, have something an operation can cure, than a psychological depression. My god! I’ve been there! It’s dangerous, and not something to handle alone.
He needs both a Psychciatrist (for medications to handle mood), and a Psychologist, for talk therapy. Talk therapy is the one he’ll get the most long term use out of, but medications are the immediate help he may need *NOW* in order to make it as far as talk therapy.
God, I’ve been there, I know this. It’s nothing to be ashamed about!
When I was diagnosed I went into a spiral it took me several years to come out of, and I only did by calling on the help I’m suggesting above.
I can’t tell you how bad it can get. You wouldn’t believe me.
Bad, very, very bad.
124. Matt - October 11th, 2008 at 10:09 am
please change the picture of the dormouse, that made me cry.
125. Vera Lynn - October 11th, 2008 at 5:36 pm
segue (123)It’s not like that either. I don’t know what to say. I wish I could talk to you. I don’t think there’s much we can do. I just wish he wasn’t so alone.
126. kathleen - October 16th, 2008 at 5:53 pm
oh lord.
127. Yuri Vas - October 17th, 2008 at 3:50 am
What about bull’s testicles? Heard that there actually is a fest that takes place somewhere in the south (US)where they serve everything made from/of bull’s testicles?
Bees and hornet larvae got a creamy taste. It tastes better if baked after you have cooked it with lot of spices. You don’t know how expensive bee and hornet larvae are in the northeast of India. A hive the size of a bicycle wheel would cost about 15,000 Rupees. This amount can feed a family of six member for the next 4-5 months.
Fried cicada/ locust, and silkworm have nutty taste. silkworm kind of taste a little like peanuts.
For vegetarian, you should try fermented soy bean. Its nasty, smells like unwashed dirty socks but it taste damn good. What about fermented fish? Smelly but great with chutney. South asian dish.
128. ligeia - October 17th, 2008 at 5:34 am
My grandmother used to feed me various organs, including hearts, when I was little (though I don’t know form which animal they came). My mother was a bit grossed out by it and told me what they were but apparently I still wanted to eat them. I must have been very young as I have no recollection of this whatsoever.
129. spurwing plover - October 17th, 2008 at 8:43 am
At one time people ate COW BRAIN SANDWICHES and the romans had such delacacies as PEACOCK BRAINS AND OSTRICH TOUNGES and CHILLED MONKEY BRAINS and have you ever opossum before?
130. Electric Blue. - October 17th, 2008 at 6:28 pm
Oh God, gross.
131. shtef - October 25th, 2008 at 11:14 am
I ate pigs brain in several ocasions… In a omlet also… Not that big of a deal… Pretty tasty..
the larvae on the other hand- would present a problem I would think