Thursday, March 31, 2016

Cuy

Otherwise known as guinea pig

The head
I think that white thing sticking out (left front) is a tooth.  And perhaps those are smaller teeth lining the mouth on top as well.  This must have been a big one! 

My piece
I was fortunate to get a hind quarter, complete with claw.

I'm not sure which part this is.  I may not want to know.  

Eating cuy is an interesting experience.  There are definitely better (and worse) ways to prepare it.  This particular pig was boiled.  As I was digging in, I attempted to remove the skin (to which some hair was still clinging) in order to reach the meat.  The older gentleman to my left noticed my struggle.  (It was quite tough!)  "Oh no!  You eat the skin too," he informed me.  You do???  Gulp.  Okay, I'll give it a go.  Turns out, my piece was mainly skin.  It's quite thick and has the consistency of, pardon my language, rubbery fat.  I ate a few bites of it, trying to cover up the texture of it with lots of potato.  In the end, I emerged NOT a victor.  I dug down to get to as much meat as I could and declared myself full.  "Didn't you like it?" the daughter asked me.  "Oh, it was fine.  I just can't eat all the skin.  It's a bit too greasy for my stomach."  So, if you ever make the trip to Ecuador, I definitely recommend that you try cuy.  It makes for a good story, and if it's prepared "right," it doesn't even taste too bad.  :-)  

1 comment:

  1. Ask my parents about eating cow udder when they were here. Some things are just....too much.

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