Horse, Anyone?
So, I was at the Casino (giant absurd mega grocery store in the Franceland) and in their meat section they had horse. I also noticed it in the canned foods section. Yum. Horse in a jar!
Now, my only culinary experience with horse falls into the radish category... Wishing to know more, I ask these questions:
Has anyone had it? If so, what's it like-- flavor wise, texturally, etc. How was it prepared? If you've never had it, would you try it? If no, pourqoui pas?
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34 Comments:
Tastes like beef, but tougher. My cousin made it for me as a tomato based stew.
Cassaendra at 11:41AM on 02/11/09
I've had it. It's just red meat. Very lean, a little tough. You cook it as you would beef. I had a steak; salt, pepper, on a hot pan.
simon at 11:42AM on 02/11/09
Mister Ed would not like this.
dmcavanagh at 11:49AM on 02/11/09
A little paste-y. (too soon?)
doron at 11:55AM on 02/11/09
Man, I should have titled this post... Horse: Yay or Neigh?
Hahaha... I'm dumb.
meg3j at 11:55AM on 02/11/09
Don't laugh, but I had a horse friend when I was little. I was maybe three years old and to get to my kindergarten, we used to walk through Hyde Park. There was that horse that we'd meet every day. I would talk to him and he would nod his head, which made me absolutely convinced he was talking to me too, and so he became "my friend Horsy". Needless to say, I'm not going to eat horses, ever. Lucky for me, I never never had a prawn or a lobster friend. Or a cow or a piggy friend, for that matter. Rabbit, however, is another story...
brooke29 at 11:56AM on 02/11/09
Yay or Neigh!!!-best laugh I've had in weeks.
dmcavanagh at 12:03PM on 02/11/09
Yes and its good...
Markbb at 12:47PM on 02/11/09
I haven't eaten it, but I ventured into a horse butcher shop in rural France a couple of years ago. All I can say is if it tastes as bad as that shop smelled, I don't want any.
1stmakearoux at 2:58PM on 02/11/09
I'm going with Yay, not Neigh (@meg3j am very smart). I've had it several times, and it was quite delicious. But I didn't know it was horse. There was this great shish kebab guy I used to go to all the time in Union Square in NYC. He got busted for selling horsemeat instead of lamb or beef. I used to grab a couple every time I hit the block. I was sad to see him go. it's the only way I've ever had it and I don't know that I'd have tried it if I knew what it was, but I didn't, so I did and it was great.
chisai at 3:02PM on 02/11/09
In Japan, raw horse meat (basashi) is eaten in some places (usually mountainous areas). Of course it is impeccably fresh, but that is the one food I will risk offending my host by refusing (I tried the grasshoppers, though!). It is grilled in Japan, too. But it seems to have a strange smell when cooked.
skylarking at 3:17PM on 02/11/09
I have to say "neigh" because I train them.
ride&cook at 3:25PM on 02/11/09
That's funny!
izatryt at 5:52PM on 02/11/09
Actually, you can find horse in izakaya in Tokyo. And whale. And if you do find either one, pass.
Tokyorosa at 6:18PM on 02/11/09
Yay, I supppose I would try it as long as it was not a previous pet.
Funny, Mr Ed just came up as an answer on Jeopardy!
High Ho Silver, Roast Away!
whatseatingme at 7:45PM on 02/11/09
@meg3j--the comment you made on renaming this thread: "Horse- Yay or Neigh" that was funny-made me laugh~
From reading many of the comments in this thread many people seem to like it..
Actually, I never had it and I was curious too! I wonder if it's tastes "gamey"?
Italiancupcake at 8:32PM on 02/11/09
@whatseatingme- "Roast Away!" Haaahahahaha... Oh, man. That kills me. Fifty gold stars for you!
@Italiancuppiecake- Man, the sad part is... I laughed really hard at that myself. Hahaha... I was like "Thank God for me. I'm clever." I really should have no friends at all b/c I say things like that all the time. Then there's this long silence and a really loud laughter that follows. But, it's always my own laughter. Haha.
meg3j at 9:08PM on 02/11/09
I had horsemeat at a beachside barbecue when I was a very little girl. When they told me it was horsemeat, my reaction was curiosity, not horror. Just cold-blooded, I guess, or else I was born to cook all kinda weird stuff.
I don't remember the taste very clearly, beyond "rare steak/roast beef." I liked it. I was probably not more than five years old.
gentlyferal at 10:38PM on 02/11/09
never had it. somehow it falls under the same category as lamb and veal and rabbit... unacceptable.
blizcheetah at 11:33PM on 02/11/09
When I lived in Prague, I ate sausage rolls from a local supermarket bakery for lunch every day because they were economical and extremely tasty. One day as I was just biting into a warm, soft roll, one of my fellow teachers pointed out that the main ingredient in the roll was 'konske maso' or 'horse meat'. It put me off the rolls for a week, but after some thought, I decided to eat them again because, after all, horses are no more intelligent than pigs, which I have no intention of ceasing to eat.
So yes, horse is pretty tasty.
meglo91 at 12:12AM on 02/12/09
Neigh...just the thought gives me the whinnies.
dhorst at 9:15AM on 02/12/09
Hey Iz! Welcome back! Where ya been?
@blizcheetah - I can understand veal, but why is horse, rabbit and lamb "unacceptable?" Because they are "cute?" Rabbits and lamb are not treated unethically. The chicken, pork and beef you likely eat on a daily basis are raised in horrid conditions. Unless you are a vegetarian, you are hypocrite.
simon at 3:31PM on 02/12/09
Im my experience, you would never know it was horse unless someone told you it was. Just a lean red meat. It accepts curing very well.
I still don't understand why people get weirded out by the mere thought of what a food is, and not by say...the taste or texture of it after they've tried it.
Don't let your imagination get ahead of you, right?
How is eating horse any grosser or more wrong than eating dead pig, cow or chicken?
fuuchan at 3:50PM on 02/12/09
@simon, lamb is young... so same reason as veal... im hoping to give them some time to be. rabbits and horses are friends, not food. i was, and always will be, a hypocrite... when i was a vegetarian (and not an extreme vegan) for most of my life i learned to draw random lines based on emotion. i havent stopped that.
blizcheetah at 11:51PM on 02/12/09
@blizcheetah - I agree, rabbits and horses are friends. I'm not "grossed out" by the fact that somebody eats them, and when I think of it logically, I understand and accept that. But I will never be able to do that myself. I fully acknowledge that I am most likely being hypocritical since I have no problem eating beef, pork, seafood or poultry - like I said before, I'm just glad I never befriended a cow or a pig. Or even had an aquarium, for that matter. You don't eat friends.
brooke29 at 12:34AM on 02/13/09
Quote of the Day: You don't eat friends.
That's hilarious. Hahaha... really. That kills me.
meg3j at 1:23AM on 02/13/09
Neigh. I just think there are certain animals that were not meant for food. Dolphins. Horses. Cats. Dogs. People for centuries have been herding sheep and goats and cattle for food. But other animals have not been a traditional food source for centuries, on the whole. There are exceptions, I know...certain cultures have eaten certain meats for a long time...but I'm talking general population over the whole globe...
It's just my opinion, and I wouldn't judge someone else for eating what they wanted. I just wouldn't order it myself. I just find it oddly disturbing.
juliebugsmama at 11:55AM on 02/13/09
I disagree. But I'm glad you have the honesty to admit that it's about your cultural perspective. It hink I canbe friends with anothre species, AND eat them too. One does not preclude the other. Eating something is not an act of hatred or violence.
simon at 12:07PM on 02/13/09
Neigh. You "sleigh" me! ;-)
I've never eaten anything I've saddled, mounted or ridden. But I love other members of the radish family.
PerkyMac at 1:06PM on 02/13/09
@Perky -- you always make me LOL. :o)
juliebugsmama at 2:36PM on 02/13/09
I had horse at a very upscale restaurant in Northern Italy. uhhhhhh...
My vote? NEIGH! I have placed it in the NO column along with squirrel meat.
GretchinF at 3:33PM on 02/13/09
Horse was on the menu at the faculty club daily during the years I was at college (I was told it became customary during the war when beef was not always available, and some people had gotten fond of it). I ate it there several times, and thought it quite palatable. I don't see as many cheval-butcher-shops around Paris as I used to; I suppose the tide has turned against eating horse even in (western) Europe? BTW, I eat squirrel too; and rabbit, that goes without saying.
johncb at 6:58PM on 02/13/09
I made chili out of horse recently. And I have a 4 lb. roast in the freezer. Looking forward to trying that. It's meat from a neighbor's farm and I can't imagine why we shouldn't eat it since we eat all kinds of other meats. It's nice and sweet, I've noticed.
Re: the chili... my dad said "Whooooaaa, this is good." Hehe.
bygnerd at 12:20AM on 02/15/09
lol. i dont care what other people eat as long as it doesnt make them rabid.
blizcheetah at 12:30AM on 02/18/09