Sunday, December 10, 2006
Coy, or Guinea Pig, for Lunch
Yes, my friends, I have been brought up to 'eat what you are given and be thankful for there are starving children in Africa'...now this attitude means I will have a go at anything. Hey, if I can eat frilly lizard and skippy, snails and baby octopuses, why not Coy?
So, Paola's friend offered to prepare fresh Guinea pig from her farm for our lunch and I accepted with enthusiasm. Saturday was the day, we spent my dollars on gold and celebrated by eating queeker! Now my analysis of the culinary experience is - don't bother.
Sorry, the meat itself is the texture and colour of chicken thigh meat, and slightly sweeter. Certainly tender. But it's a lot of work for very little reward, food wise. Bit like quail really. All that mucking around preparing and then having the get the meat off the tiny bones. To do it justice it really is a fingers in job. And the GP skin is thick and fatty - like a cross between pork and chicken. And you are supposed to eat it. I couldn't eat the fat/skin. I don't eat it on pork or steak or corned beef so I felt I was being consistant and fair. It is served as a chicken thigh would be with thigh, leg and foot. And yes, their little claws are still on but you just don't look too close and I didn't pick it up in my fingers so I didn't have to shake hands.
Now it seems, the two main breeds are the curly hair and the straight hair. But for meat it depends more on what they are fed. Paola's friend said the best tasting animals are fed on lucern (they call it alphalfa) and fresh grass. Those animlas grain fed or fed on fish meal dont't taste as good. GPs on the farm can grow to 2kg!!
By the way we drank a Peruvian 2002 Merlo/Marbec with the beasties
Yes, my friends, I have been brought up to 'eat what you are given and be thankful for there are starving children in Africa'...now this attitude means I will have a go at anything. Hey, if I can eat frilly lizard and skippy, snails and baby octopuses, why not Coy?
So, Paola's friend offered to prepare fresh Guinea pig from her farm for our lunch and I accepted with enthusiasm. Saturday was the day, we spent my dollars on gold and celebrated by eating queeker! Now my analysis of the culinary experience is - don't bother.
Sorry, the meat itself is the texture and colour of chicken thigh meat, and slightly sweeter. Certainly tender. But it's a lot of work for very little reward, food wise. Bit like quail really. All that mucking around preparing and then having the get the meat off the tiny bones. To do it justice it really is a fingers in job. And the GP skin is thick and fatty - like a cross between pork and chicken. And you are supposed to eat it. I couldn't eat the fat/skin. I don't eat it on pork or steak or corned beef so I felt I was being consistant and fair. It is served as a chicken thigh would be with thigh, leg and foot. And yes, their little claws are still on but you just don't look too close and I didn't pick it up in my fingers so I didn't have to shake hands.
Now it seems, the two main breeds are the curly hair and the straight hair. But for meat it depends more on what they are fed. Paola's friend said the best tasting animals are fed on lucern (they call it alphalfa) and fresh grass. Those animlas grain fed or fed on fish meal dont't taste as good. GPs on the farm can grow to 2kg!!
By the way we drank a Peruvian 2002 Merlo/Marbec with the beasties
# posted by The Essence of Good Taste @ 7:40 PM 
