Eating Nile Monitors in Florida
Photograph from cliff1066 on Flickr
A story in this week's New Yorker (subscription required) points out that Florida is being beset by a nascent plague of invasive species. It's the consequence of a mid-'90s exotic-pet trend that fizzled out as overwhelmed python and lizard owners let loose growing and unmanageable reptiles. One such nasty-sounding beastie is the Nile monitor (Varanus niloticus):
...they are spectacular animals that make terrible pets. Up to seven feet long, with stout legs, tapered jaws, and skin that seems to be encrusted with semiprecious stones, Nile monitors are notoriously aggressive and ill-tempered. When cornered, a monitor will stand on its hind legs and hiss, inflating its body and lashing its tail like a bullwhip.
What are enterprising Floridians doing?
"People are actually eatin' 'em over at Pine Island," [Cape Coral schoolteacher Robin] Snyder said. "A guy I went to school with said they're pretty good."
Add the Nile monitor to a list of suburban game—along with squirrel and raccoon—showing up on tables as of late.
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9 Comments:
maybe paula deen should wrap it in bacon and bread it and throw it in the fryer.
a fate not even suitable to the nile monitor.
pooch at 10:13PM on 04/15/09
When i lived in uganda (near the actual Nile, where monitor lizards come from), a friend accidentally ran over a monitor in her car, and had the skin turned into a purse. Seems like a better idea than eating it!
kololo at 11:10PM on 04/15/09
deuteronomy
JerzeeTomato at 1:22AM on 04/16/09
Spam in a lizard thread ... how cool is that? ;-)
I have alligator about once a month. Same difference. I also have bacon more than that, so Deuteronomy need not apply. ;-)
LunaPierCook at 5:33AM on 04/16/09
i used to have a nile monitor as a pet. he was a vicious little dude. kinda bugs me that people are eating them. but then again, i eat rabbit, and some people keep those as pets.
french tart at 8:30AM on 04/16/09
I have to admit - everytime I read about a new "beast" that has started popping up on the dinner table I am always curious as to what they taste like. I imagine they would be similar to alligator meat, but I still would like to try it. I am truly the cat curiosity caught.
Martini Me at 10:42AM on 04/16/09
@lpc - my fil gave me a can of cajun alligator, but I've been reluctant to try it....what does alligator taste like? (Don't you tell me chicken.... ;-))
mepolo at 1:03PM on 04/16/09
@mepolo: It tastes like...fishy chicken. And it's usually served fried, so my point is: why eat it? Don't we have enough, as an advanced society, to eat that doesn't need to be fried beyond recognition in order to taste only okay?
iaspire at 2:42PM on 04/16/09
@mepolo, the restaurant I work with serves a deep-fried alligator appetizer. I disagree with @iaspire in that it doesn't taste like fish or chicken. Tad does a light deep-fry, with the meat ending up also light, very sweet and not gamey whatsoever. Whoever cooks it does have to know what they're doing with it, which takes practice.
LunaPierCook at 6:14PM on 04/16/09