Bizarre Foods

[treide]

I have seen a few episodes on the Travel Channel of this guy who basically travels around the world eating weird/gross/bizarre things, and thought it would be a fun topic for CMONers to discuss a little of their local \"flavor\".

I haven\'t found anything particularly bizarre thus far in Arizona, but in my South Texas hometown, menudo is a regional dish that is fairly funky. It is basically a Tex-Mex stew of beef stomach lining and some very pungent spices. Pungent like a stockyard, that is.

How about the rest of you?

 

[MPJ]

Doesn\'t really count as Bizarre, but Pigs Feet are about the most disgusting thing I\'ve ever eaten. And I\'ve eaten some pretty darn weird crap in my lifetime. I don\'t remember the proper french name for them but, damn they were disgusting and way to salty.

Try anything twice is my motto. :drunk:

 

[Larre]

hmm... I have to think if I have eaten anything grose.. lately.. or ever...
hmm.. not really... I have eaten some half-rotten hot dogs... but that is not very bizarr.. is it? ???

// Larre

 

[Ritual]

I have eaten wilderbeast. That\'s probably the most bizarre thing I\'ve eaten. Bizarre, unless you live in central Africa, that is...

 

[Sand Rat]

Does coyote count?

 

[supervike]

Pickled Pigs feet! They are tasty. Disgustingly tasty.

 

[Gilvan Blight]

Vennison Sausage? Ostrich Burgers?

A bit odd I guess, but not really gross.

I know people who think Poutine is gross, and people who put mayo on French Fries.

 

[Ritual]

The most disgusting thing I\'ve eaten is fermented herring, something that is insanely popular here in Sweden, especially in the northern parts. I can\'t describe just how vile it is! :|~

 

[vincegamer]

I ate gravlax once - those crazy swedes.

I didn\'t realize it wasn\'t a main course. Eaten properly it might not be so bad.

 

[matty1001]

Artichoke hearts, strange little things they are, not wierd or bizarre, just plain odd.

 

[treide]

@vincegamer - What is gravlax?

@ritual - is fermented herring the same thing as lutefisk? They eat alot of that in Minnesota & Wisconsin. It does look vile.

@gilvan blight - venison sausage is delicious. What is poutine?

@steelcult - Where the heck did you try coyote?! Is that legal?

 

[War Griffon]

The list is long and more a case of what I didn\'t eat than what I tried

Horse - not actually that bad and wouldn\'t have known if I hadn\'t been told;

Snake - a lot like chicken served in a sort of casserole along with the eyes and eggs in Vietnam;

Deep fried locuste/cockroaches or what ever deffinately didn\'t try those whilst in Vietnam although several people with me did;

Frogs legs and snails - got as far as seeing them on the plate and just couldn\'t go any further;

Raindeer - makes an excellent curry

Could go on but shall let others have a say

 

[vincegamer]

Originally posted by treide
@vincegamer - What is gravlax?

Basically salted salmon.

You take a raw salmon fillet and cover it in salt and stick it in the fridge for a week, then eat.

I think you\'re supposed to slice it thin and serve on toast like lox but I didn\'t know that at the time and taking a mouthful of salt with a slight fishy taste was awful.

 

[Ritual]

Gravlax is indeed salmon \"cooked\" by salting it. It should be sliced thin and eaten with a sauce containing oil, vinegar, mustard, sugar, dill, salt and peppar. It\'s very delightful!

Fermented herring, or \"surströmming\" as it\'s called here is a very different thing than lutfisk. I\'m not sure how lutfisk is done (and it\'s not very nice either), but the herring is basically put into cans with something in it that starts the fermentation process. After a year (!) or so, the cans are ready to open. That is usually a messy process as the fermentation has built up quite a pressure inside the cans (sometimes the cylindrical cans are almost like spheres when it\'s time to open them). When you open the can a terrible stench of salty, rotten fish spreads over the neighbourhood and everyone knows what\'s going on... Then the stuff is eaten with potatoes, onion and thin bread (and usually large amounts of vodka). It tastes like rotten fish, although not entirely as much as it smells. Utterly disgusting! :|~

Now, pickled herring, that\'s a completely different matter! Yummy!

 

[Sand Rat]

Coyote is considered a pest in most counties in Texas -

and when you\'re on a month long survival outing and a coyote trips the figure 4 trap you skin and eat the bugger -

Tis a considerable bit gamey tasting though.

 

[Shawn R. L.]

Rocky Mountain oysters - Turkey testicles...........no, I have never tried them. There aint enough money in the world to get me to try them.

 

[Arkzein]

I\'m in Scotland right now so you all know the local dish I guess, actually rather nice Haggis.

Can\'t think of aything odd back home bar spuds with everything, I guess one could throw in Poteen as an odd drink, likely to makes the hairs on your chest fall out rather than grow some that stuff. lol

I didn\'t know there was such an odd variety of foods up in Scandanavia though, fermented herring sounds like it would have me running for the toilet just from the smell, urgh.

 

[MPJ]

Well some of these may be considered odd by some, not odd by others. Some of these are disgusting/gross some quite tasty. I\'m sure I\'m gonna leave off quite a few that I don\'t consider odd but others might have. Since not everything is obvious to everyone I\'ll explain some after...

Deep Fried Aligator
Head Cheese (piggy brain)
Pickled Cow Tongue
Frog Legs
Shark Kabobs w/ Lemon Juice (if you cook shark in lemon juice it turns bright purple, tastes fine but looks disgusting)
Donair (local thing - spiced beef/lamb on pita with the kicker being the sauce made from sugar & vinager)
Raw Eggs (love them in a milk shake)
Steak & Kidney Pie
PB&M Sandwitch (Peanut Butter & Molassas, my favorite)
Sashimi (don\'t ask me how to spell sushi without the veggies)
Moose Steak
Bear Paw
Big Mac (ewwww)

My personal favorite but death to dieters is Sugar Pie. That\'s pie made from multiple types of sugar. Every bite is a cavity, a stomach ache, and 10 lbs of weight gain.

Some may notice that I\'ve got a bit of a trend between English and French foods up there. My dad was born in England during WWII to a British mother and a French Canadian father.
:drunk:

EDIT: Oh yeah, my mom\'s father used to make Choke Cherry Wine. That makes just about anything go down smooth in comparison. I hold that stuff responsible for much of the hair on my chest.

 

[Gilvan Blight]

Poutine is Fries covered with fresh chese curds. You then pour hot hot gravy on it causing the curds to go soft.

It\'s very popular, looks nasty, but tastes great.

*Edit* @MPJ
PB&M, you are the only other person I\'ve ever heard of eating that. We call them Junk Sandwiches.

We also have Donairs.

I just thought of an odd one, not sure what to call it:
You grind a hot dog with a dill pickel, add mayo and serve as a sandwhich. Old French Canadian receipe for big catholic families (easy and cheap).

 

[Swordwind]

Worst thing I ever tasted was the hotdogs they gave us when I was in the scouts.

\"Here lad, get this down yer neck. It\'ll do you good\"
\"But Simon, its still pink on the inside!\"
\"That just means its extra cooked!\"

Food poisoning much? When it came back up it was bright pink! My scout group was a joke. One of the younger members of the group had wandered off into the woods and we had to look for him ourselves as the adults were too drunk to even stand up!

Best dish in the world is my granma\'s risoles. Get some potatoes and corned beef and mash them together. Then get a handfull and roll into a ball. Roll the ball in egg yoke and then into breadcrumbs. Fry in a frying pan until golden. Best food ever.

Also for those of who like alcohol, you may like to try a drink called a Mish-Mash which my dad brought back from Croatia. Get some orange fanta and some red whine. Pour the wine into a glass and let it settle. Then slowly pour the fanta into the glass. Because the fanta is less dense it will sit on the top of the wine while you drink it.

Of course theres always that part of Long Way round when Ewan and Charlie have to eat a huge bowl of bulls testicles lol