Watched Bizarre Foods with Andrew Zimmern lsat night. The episode was shot in Namibia, and I found it notable for several reasons.
Those not familiar with Zimmern, he's a trained chef that travels the world to investigate the various cultures through some of their strangest culinary habits. In other words, Zimmern will eat all the nasty stuff.
I give him credit for a couple of things in this episode. He unashamedly went hunting and bagged a wildebeest. This is a big deal in that so often these types of shows are so PC that they would never show or insinuate hunting for fear of protests from the wackos.
Another thing that impressed me was in a traditional tribal village, he had no problem whipping out a knife and cutting a goats throat. Definitely not PC there.
Zimmern visited a traditional Himba village and filmed some of the daily activities and interacted with locals. It was funny to watch him squirm when the mother of his guide, all slathered in ochre laced fat, propositioned him to come and sleep with her! Later on, the village chief offered up his 16 year old daughter to him as a bride. Could you imagine? He politely declined.
That's a part of Africa that I've only read about, and will soon vanish into the history books. The old timers still around from east Africa grew up seeing this sort of thing and writing about it, but traditional living is going, going, and just about gone.
I give Zimmern a toast for not being afraid to show where protein comes from instead of making a Leftist political statement which is so easy to do on these shows. Check it out in re runs.
I'm not sure if that was the same episode (as I only caught the tail end of the one I'm about to refer), but I recall an episode where he spent the day with the San Bushman. The way they prepared (lack there of) and cooked a wart hog was rather unappetizing.
I think Bourdain was there with the Kalahari tribesman. They shot a warthog with a poisoned arrow and hacked it up and cooked it including the last 12" if it's poop pipe. He called it "the very special piece for the very special guest." He said it was the single worst thing he ever ate. Fun.
"I didn't get the sophisticated gene in this family. I started the sophisticated gene in this family." Willie Robertson
Interesting enough, my last trip to Namibia I witnessed the indigenous folks feasting on Gemsbok anus. They pulled out roughly 18-20" and squeezed the poop out, and stuffed it with some concoction of rice or maize and roasted it on the fire.
They affectionately called it "puff adder" as it swells up when cooked, and resembles a fat snake. The "aroma" wafting off as it cooked and sputtered on the fire was absolutely nauseating.
I grew up with the puff adder and now you know an African redneck!
Thing is we cleaned it real good, flip it inside out and then stuff it with any combination of the heart, liver and kidneys. Add some onions and spices and you are good to go on a slow fire. Kidneys and the heart are not the best so later we just added liver. My local butcher has them on the shelf.
Also, remove the thin fat layer around the stomach and wrap a piece of liver in it. This helps keep the liver moist and the fat roasts crispy. These we call baby tortoises and taste great if you like liver.
Eating an anus? Nope, but I know a few who act like anusses.
I had puff adder prepared by Philemon, Kevin Robertson's camp cook. Kevin was in camp for a couple days and the dish was made in his honour. I think it was stuffed in the colon and was as good as any sausage or haggis I have ever eaten. I am very fond of haggis as well.
I think our minds sometimes get in the way of eating some very good food. People forget that sausage has always been the domain of less desirable cuts from an animal.
Randy
Praise the Lord for full Salvation Christ Still lives upon the throne And I know the blood still cleansess Deeper than the sin has gone Lester Roloff
I was talking about the books of Alexander Lake in another thread.
He seems to have hunted with a lot of clients who rather liked unusual foods and he discusses it in detail in his book 'African Adventures' where he gives a variety of recipes........ the most bizarre or which to me is this:
Smoked Hippo Hams:
To the fleshy side if a 120 pound hippo ham apply 4 tablespoons saltpetre & 1 1/2 pounds brown sugar, rubbing well into the hock. Now lay ham on it's side, fleshy side up, in a wooden tub or cask and cover with a 1 inch layer of good salt. Cover and set away for 6 weeks. Rub off salt and rub in black pepper. Hang up and let drain for 8 days. Smoke with any green wood for 10 weeks. Cool. Return to tub and cover with salt mixed with 1 ounce saltpetre. After 6 days put ham in strong brine to which has been added 2 ounces each of saffron, ginger, rosemary, cumin and 4 ounces of cloves. Soak in this brine for 7 weeks, hang up, drain well, rub with pepper and smoke again with green wood. Note: Rhino, wild pig and warthog hams cured according to the foregoing recipe are equally delicious.
That adds up to a preparation period of about 25 weeks plus the 2nd period of smoking that he doesn't stipulate the length of time........ All I can say is rather him than me!
Have you swept the visioned valley with the green stream streaking though it? Searched the vastness for a something you have lost? Have you strung your soul to silence? Then for God's sake go and do it Hear the challenge, learn the lesson, pay the cost
Ain't that the truth...... I'd have thought it'd be more likely to kill you than taste good!
That said, a Portuguese friend of mine tells me it's a bit similar to one of the ways they make some kind of special ham here.
Have you swept the visioned valley with the green stream streaking though it? Searched the vastness for a something you have lost? Have you strung your soul to silence? Then for God's sake go and do it Hear the challenge, learn the lesson, pay the cost
