Weird Food

[karam]

Things I’ve had that most people would not consider “standard” table fare:
Python
Rabbit
Elk
Ostrich
Guinea Eggs
Duck eggs
Duck
Goose
Deer
Frog
Squirrel
Kangaroo
Wild Hog
Bear
Escargot
Caviar (nasty)
Pickled Okra
Pickled Green Beans
Calamari
Octopus
Conch
Mussels
Pheasant
Quail
Dove
Alligator
Shark

I’m sure there are plenty more I could name as well…..

I have had all but the bolded. A lot of these are common fare in Greece depending on the season. Certainly all the seafood mentioned can be found pretty much everywhere. Okra is delicious!
Weirdest thing I ate was Durian (I go cuckoo for it) and thousand year egg. My Chinese friend says I am a “weird caucasian” for liking these.
Pickled herring is also great, the kind you get in IKEA, not the surstromming (never had that). I also had horse, you can buy that everywhere in Switzerland, nothing great to be honest.
Also had (and like) black pudding (blood sausage), sweatbreads, brains, tripe (hate it!), spleen (hate it), pigs feet (lovely), bull’s penis and balls (weird textures, unpleasant), smoked head of goat, lamb tongue (lovely), headcheese. Basically I won’t turn my nose up on anything other than insects, reptiles, rodents and anything too close to home (cats, dogs). Sea urchins I used to bring up and eat as a kid, their eggs are sweet and spicy. Andouille sausages too.
A lot of “odd” ingredients are just sources of protein.

 

[JOHN72]

Testicles, oxtail stew, it is a typical dish also in Sevilla, Madrid, (Spain) Pig's feet, in sauce, the face of the pig is also used, tongue, ears. The head of the kid in the oven. I remember one of my aunts, she used to eat the eyes, I was 6 or 7 years old, it was horrible. And my aunt loved to see me scared.

 

[maker]

raw horse meat, mane fat, raw liver in Tokyo, Barnacles in Barcelona, ant eggs in Mexico City, thousand year eggs and fermented tofu in Hong Kong.

 

[huntertrw]

I've eaten lion, alligator, and sea cucumber, all of which might meet someone's definition of "weird." Then again, I also like to eat cottage cheese mixed with Worcestershire sauce .

 

[huntertrw]

Oh, and here's one more: fresh-water snapping turtle. The Tidewater Inn in Easton, Maryland used to make a superb soup (almost a bisque) from them.

 

[Flatfish]

Not eaten most of these things.
Salad (rabbit food) is enough of a challenge for me.

 

[autumnfog]

Oh, and here's one more: fresh-water snapping turtle. The Tidewater Inn in Easton, Maryland used to make a superb soup (almost a bisque) from them.

Fascinating animals.

 

[Egg Shen]

I've tried Beondegi (번데기) in Korea. A silkworm larvae side dish that's fried. It smelled like urine, and tasted like what I imagine urine would taste like. I noped out after a few.

My buddy bought a cup of grubs in Korea once but I couldn’t do it.
There’s a butcher in Pittsburgh that has all the exotic meats you could imagine, like lion and horse. Here is a small snip of their offerings- the blackboard is 30’ long though so this is a small fraction of their offerings. I was debating eating this groundhog I shot yesterday…I hear it is akin to rabbit and squirrels both of which were astonishingly good. (rabbit was actually considered a luxury like 100 years ago to many immigrants from the old world.). I’ve eaten black bear (greasy, didn’t like), kangaroo, ostrich and iguana (too many bones to be worthwhile). I even ate termites in the jungle of Belize once. The taste like mint + honey, surprisingly excellent!

 

[warren]

I’ve eaten black bear (greasy, didn’t like)

Black bear meat is only really tasty when it's a "berry" bear. "Fish" bears are indeed greasy. A young "berry" bear is tender and properly tasty.

 

[Egg Shen]

Black bear meat is only really tasty when it's a "berry" bear. "Fish" bears are indeed greasy. A young "berry" bear is tender and properly tasty.

That’s an interesting notion, makes sense though.

 

[warren]

There's a bit of truth to the old saw, "You are what you eat." A young black which has spent hours in the blueberry patch makes a great roast or steak.

 

[Bengel]

Got a new cookbook for Father’s Day 101 ways to wok your dog couldn’t bring myself to, so no.

 

[Bengel]

Seriously, worked with a Vietnamese woman and had Nuoc Mam. I know it is rotten fish sauce, but I enjoyed it. She also feed me Seaweed said it was good for my hangover I don’t know ?‍

 

[hawky454]

I like odd, unique foods. One of my favorite drinks is yogurt soda. It’s not sweet yogurt, it’s very sour and salty, it’s delicious. My friends and family always give me shit for drinking it. It comes in regular and mint, both are excellent. I haven’t had it in a long time, gonna make a special trip to pick up a 4 pack.

 

[Servant King]

I am SUCH a dumbass for reading this thread before dinner...

 

[Honkytonk Man]

Whale and dolphin meat probably seems weird or at least unusual to some, but it is common food here.
Some may also think it weird to eat all the stuff that's left on an animal after the fancy cuts are gone. Like the head, heart, liver, testicles and so on, but for sheep at least, those are all considered delicacies here.
So what's considered weird is in the eye of the beholder

but I think the weirdest thing I've eaten is vegan meat balls. I know that it's totally common, but it's fucking weird. To make meat balls out of plants. I'd never try to turn a whale or a chicken into a turnip or something. It's just weird.

Anything vegan is weird.
If it aint got horns, I ain't interested.

 

[Honkytonk Man]

Durian??? ? I like Durian

Durian??? ? I like Durian

Its supposed to tatse like how Cossackjack says, ripe cantaloup & peaches. Damn, that thing smells like shit and tastes like shit.

Anyone eat ray fish, or shark, or any other fish of that species without hanging it a few days? Ya eat that stuff fresh and it smells and tastes like amonia, my wife (Korean) has had it so fresh, I thought she was cleaning the damn bathroom!
Dog was quite popular here too, with the older folk, not so much thesedays. I've been out hiking in the mountains and run across the dog farms, not good.
Dogs are for working and petting. Not eating!

 

[warren]

and tastes like shit.

Two questions. Have you only tasted your own "shit?" How often? Inquiring minds wish to know.

 

[Honkytonk Man]

Two questions. Have you only tasted your own "shit?" How often? Inquiring minds wish to know.

Just the one time. It tastes like durian.
?

 

[bearwolf56]

There's a bit of truth to the old saw, "You are what you eat." A young black which has spent hours in the blueberry patch makes a great roast or steak.

Is it just me or does this post have a typo?