Dried exotic meet

 

Exotic an’ Wild Meets (Latin America)

Durin’ mi travels froo out saaf America I quickly discovered that they had an abundance of dried meets from awlsorts of critters so I fort it was worf investigatin’. In the absence of reliable refrigeration the local Indians came up wiv the idea of dehydrating ‘meets’ to give them longevity. These arrived at the market place in the form of ‘cherqui’ oa ‘jerky’.

This is the most ancient way of preservin’ the hunters swag by simply trimmin’ his catch of fat an’ sinew then ‘angin’ it out to dry in the ice cold Andean wind wivout salt, preservatives an flavverins’. Once perfectly dehydratid it can be stored indefinetly an’ rehydratid when required. This awlso enabled the hunter, who could be in the mountains foa monfs on end to gather his booty an’ transport it this important source of protein to his market. Even the herdin’ animals of the upper Andes such as the vicuna an’ the llama could be treatid in the very same way.

Exotics, which could awlso include specific animals reared foa the table such as the many rodent types particularly the guinea pig oa ‘cuy’ (pronounced ‘chee’), a prolific breeder first domesticated by the Incas is still valued today. Certainly the ‘gringo’ traveller new to Peru would be startled to see these wittle beasts running araand under the table in rural households just as chickin’ oa rabbits might do; and whose meet is very similar in taste an’ texture. Argentina an’ Chile ‘ave the ‘Agouti’ a small rodent bred foa the table as are the laarger ‘Paca’, ‘Viscacha’ an’ the worlds biggist wautta rat the ‘Cabybara’, which awlso earned the dubious distinction of bein’ claassed as a fish by the early ‘Conquistadors’ so that it could be still eatan on Catholic faast days. Elsewhere, particularly amongst Amazonian peeples the turtle an’ tortoise are bowf considered good eatin’ when roastid in the shell oa baked in a erf oven. Bowf the meet an’ the eggs of Iguanas an’ snakes are still consumed in the country districts. They are sometimes offered on the roadside by urchins who try to sell ‘em alive to the tourists. They know that the dumb whiteman will release the creature which they can then quickly recapture an’ sell off again

‘Rodent meet’ is much like wild rabbit in taste, tenda an’ mild when young, but tuff an’ chewy when its mature. ‘Reptile’ has a stringy consistency close to the texture an’ flavva of chikin neck. Actually, it is indistinguishable from chickin when it’s used as a fillin’ in empanadas oa tacos where it is commonly includid.

The range of wild meets wevva dried oa fresh is awlways lean, low in cholesterol an’ full of the necessary nutrients, but it is not usually fed to children, the elderly oa the rich becawse it is understood to be over-fortifying an’ indgestible. Dried meet is best used sparingly, quality ovva quantity is awlways the best adage. If you get a chance to cook any rodent just fink ‘rabbit’. Don’t forget the saaf American rodents are ‘erbivores, are delicately flavvered an’ can be tenda as chickin. So my advice is, don’t knock until you’ve tried, a bit like a Bangkok Lady Boy.     

If you ‘ave smoall kids the likelihood is that will ‘ave eva guinea pigs oa jerbils as pets. Wiv a wittle persuasion an’ a trip to MacDonalds you easily sprise too oa free foa this next dish, a speciality of Peru.