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Eating Horse
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I've had my share of suspect meat throughout my travels and have learned to live by the Mystery Meat Rule of Ignorance: Don't ask and assume it is cow.
I ate a lot of meat in Kazakhstan a few years ago and for the most part, enjoyed whatever I found on my plate. Sure, the meat was a bit strange at times, but hey, it must Kazakh cow!
I don't recall, however, eating the most famous plate of meat in Kazhakstan, the national dish of beshbarmak. Had I done so, I would have known immediately it wasn't my friend the cow.
According to a Reuters article by Michael Steen, Beshbarmak actually comes from at least two, and perhaps even more, four-legged animals; the horse and the lamb. More specifically, it is stewed horse head, lamb, and liver. Apparently the liver can come from a variety of different creatures, hoofed or otherwise. The photo above includes beshbarmak served with the ever popular side dish of koybas: a boiled sheep's head.
The good news is that if the barnyard found on your plate tastes a bit funny, you can always wash it down with a swig of Kumys. That's fermented mare's milk for all you non-Kazakhs out there.
Filed under: Food and Drink, Kazakhstan
Reader Comments (Page 5 of 10)
Sally Reney Nov 26th 2006 8:32PM
In the late 1960's there was a meat market in a neighboring town that featured horsemeat for a short while. Being an adventurous cook, I tried it. The ground meat was too dry to make a good "hamburger" but the roast was quite good.
On a trip to New York City to visit Chinese friends for the Chinese New Year celebration we were served chicken feet, marinated in soy sauce and grilled. There was not much to eat on them except the skin, but we later learned that we were privileged guests to receive such a delicacy.
roshelle Nov 26th 2006 8:33PM
i agree with sul. it may not be what we are used to but how do you know unless you try somethng first
Marcy Nov 26th 2006 11:33PM
We do eat all kinds of stuff that is just as weird. In my hispanic culture, we eat tamales made from pig's head. Some people include brains,ears and tongue all mashed together to make a tasty tamale. What's more how many of you have cats and dogs in your own house? I do and I know for a fact that dog hairs fly all over the place and get on just about everything. How clean is that? Cats cover up their waste with their paws and then jump on tables and kitchen counters. They have feces under their nails. So, Americans don't be so quick to judge other people. How many of you eat goats liver or sheeps brains? I rest my case!
Macy Nov 26th 2006 8:35PM
LOL to #38. We should just worry about what goes in our stomachs and not what goes in others'. However, please respect other cultures and their dishes. Some people may eat unimaginable things for delecacies, and some may have to eat it for survival. I think that THE GREAT AMERICANS has too many choices to choose from in the land of the plenty. Personally,I'd rather eat ANY COOKED ANIMAL, than raw creepy crawlies (or animal dungs) like they do on FEAR FACTOR.
Brian Fronebarger Nov 26th 2006 8:35PM
Guess whats in fast foods..............I dont know and niether do you.........probly not beef!!!!!!!!!!!
racm thonya aparr Nov 26th 2006 8:37PM
I read the book, The Jungle, mentioned above, and It has a horridly thorough explanation of hog butchering. I read it, and actually went vegan for a few weeks. I have yet to throw as much chunks up as I did after reading just that section. Now, I am your average beef-lovin', rib-chompin' 100% pure grill-lovin' home-grown american, however, I could not even swallow any kind of animal byproduct, from buches(pork stomach), to liver, to steak, and even the honest 100% beef sirloin burger. in layman's terms, NO MEAT! Also, no offense, but, it sickens me to see what some people eat. I heard from a very reliable source that in china, almost anything that you can fry and put on a stick is normal to them. Also, I have a very wide pallet, which includes such delicacies as fish intestines and eel, but the thought of eating something other than goat, lamb, beef, and any kind of poultry (mostly non-game) makes me squeamish. ;-)
bill fuig Nov 26th 2006 9:06PM
F these morons.They are barbarians. They'll eat anything that moves. No respect of life is typical for these c--- suc----.
Brian Fronebargetr Nov 26th 2006 8:41PM
Guess what fast food has in it?..............Idont know, and niether do you............probly not beef
JT Nov 26th 2006 8:44PM
Yes, it is ALL discusting. Eat what you want to eat people..you all have your own opinions. Just remember that when you eat what ever meat that goes into your body, it takes about 2 to 3 days to fully digest. Human bodies were not made to gorge on all meats. How do you think certain cancers get activated, why people get sick, or get food poisoning, ingest worms from animals not cooked properly, viruses, e-coli, so on and so forth. In the Bible God tells us what to eat and what not to eat! And...horses, pigs, deer, dogs and cats, are not listed. Try reading the best book you'll ever read. It has good advice and common sence. Stick to the cows, and chickens. It's really appalling to hear some of you people talk. Also goat's milk is closer the human milk than cow's milk. If a baby calf was to drink pasterized milk it would die. Use common sence in what you eat and do you homework..study nutrition and find out what meats you are eating. As far as the other gentleman goes, certain fish is ok about once a week or 2 weeks. Wild Salmon and Talopia are great. Tuna once a month, and the rest is full of mercury..not that salmon is free of it eirther. It's all sick to me when there is other things to eat,...like washing veggies real good and eating those or fruits, nuts, legumes. There's a whole world of food out there noone makes a person eat horse, deer, pigs, or whatever. You are in charge of what you eat. Horses we not meant or created to be on someones dinner plate. They were created to do work for mankind and help and be companions, and some to be wild and free. You people are talking about fish suffering pain, ALL Animals suffer pain, and not ALL animals are meant to be killed. Good thing we are not one.
H Brown Nov 26th 2006 8:56PM
I find that humans taste like pork.
woody Nov 26th 2006 9:00PM
I'd try it. I've eaten rabbit, squirrel, raccoon, alligator, deer, emu. Skunk is good if you eat it before you know what it is. The trick to any meat is in the seasoning. Remember in "Fried Green Tomatoes" when the investigator ate the guy he was looking for? Hilariously gross!! Seasoning.
Edith Gray Nov 26th 2006 9:03PM
All things are part of the food chain eventually. I personally don't want horse, cat, or dog. But that is how I was raised. I also was raised not to waste any part of what we butchered. My family made what is now known as souse. Nothing but a tasty loaf made of a hog's head. We ate what is called cracklins. This is the rinds left after rendering lard. We eat "mountain oysters". Nothing but pork testicles. These by the way are quite pricey in the markets today. I know city dwellers call us gross. We eat wild greens and mushrooms. I still remember with fondness the days with my family spent "surviving". We were so close then. Anyway, who are we to say anothers tastes are gross? Maybe we should grow up in that culture first. Then decide what is tasty and what is not.
John Nov 26th 2006 9:22PM
How in the world do you think that a plant having sap equates to an animal's pain stimulus created by a nervous system? The logic required to make that poor an analogy surely couldn't come up with that sophisticated (yet not at all contradictory of the original assertion) discussion of pus, which is a type of somatic cell, which is a type of leukocyte. And heating/cooling (homogenizing) the milk doesn't get rid of the pus, either-- it just renders it, and the bacteria it's created to fight, inert. By the way, I eat dairy and meat myself, I just can't abide an obviously fallacious argument. I also agree with the other posters who point out the foolishness of our paradigm paralysis in thinking that it's less gross to eat any given animal or part of an animal than any other animal. Pigs and crabs are nasty creatures, folks, and cute little calves that are pinned down their whole lives until slaughter are heart-wrenching. We're no better than anyone else.
Gerald Middlebrooks Nov 26th 2006 9:06PM
Live and let live! Let people to eat whatever they want. If you don't like it, don't eat it! And keep your comments to yourself...
Amanda Nov 26th 2006 11:32PM
yummy!
Tricia Scott Nov 26th 2006 9:09PM
Trifilant!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Ondine Nov 26th 2006 9:14PM
I wouldn't presume to impose American tastes on other cultures. The majority of Americans, in every poll taken, want a ban on the slaughter of American horses whose meat is exported to foreign countries. If people in other countries want to eat horse meat, okay, but not the meat of American horses sold at high prices to gourmet diners. The 3 slaughterhouses for horse meat in America are all foreign owned and pay almost no federal taxes. For anyone who agrees that it's time for a ban on horse slaughter in America, call your two senators in Washington and urge them to vote FOR Senate Bill 1915. Call now, and often, so this bill can pass before they adjourn for the year. Thank you.
Rach Nov 28th 2006 3:48PM
rocky mountain oysters are buffalo testicles, not sure if you were referring to basically the same thing.
I grew up poor as well, and we ate whatever my father or his friends who hunted brought home - be it rattlesnake, black bear, turtle, rabbit, or whatever. we lived a half mile or so away from a farm and we raised pigs, sheep, ducks, and chickens on our property and theirs as pets, and shipped 'em to the butcher's when we had to because my parents needed meat to feed their three children. you eat what you have to, and the trick is in the seasoning, or the marinade if its a really stringy or tough meat.
as far as the snake comment, involving mexican food or whatever - rattlesnake is some of the best meat i've ever had. it looks like pink tuna fish, but its really sweet and doesnt need any mayo. i'd eat that any day over beef or chicken. its good stuff.
tom Nov 26th 2006 9:25PM
I have lived on a farm in NH all my life....im now almost 60, but I do stay close to our family farm...and family..we always ate well and had our share of farm raised vegetables and meat...its been just Great...treat yourself to some hogs head cheese by someone who knows who to make it........you will be surprized how good it is.......
Rose Pfeiler Nov 26th 2006 9:28PM
The Bible tells us to eat only meat from split hooved animals -- no horsemeat for me -- I eat goat (bar-b-qued) is wonderful - also leg of lamb -- my husband likes it on the pit. Eating differently doesn't make it gross. Ignorance makes you gross. Just follow the good book & don't judge others for their differences.