I’ll Have The El Gato Supremo
Sent to the Crabitat by one of our tireless informants, comes this BBC article about a new taste treat developed in the Australian outback. That continent is plagued, among other things, with feral cats. These are formerly domesticated common house cats who have reverted to their wild ways and eat, well, pretty much anything that does not eat them first. The problem is, what do you do with a gazillion wild cats? The ever-ingenious Aussies have come up with a solution:
The woman behind the controversial cat stew recipe has said Australians could do their bit to help the environment by tucking into more feral pests, including pigeons and camels.
But it was a recipe for feline casserole that impressed some of the judges at an outback food competition in Alice Springs.
Preparing this unusual stew seems simple enough.
The meat should be diced and fried until it is brown. Then lemon grass is to be added along with salt and pepper and three cups of quandong, which is a sweet desert fruit.
It is recommended that the dish be left to simmer for five hours before being garnished with bush plums and mistletoe berries.
Marinated moggie was not to everyone's taste. One of the competition judges found the meat impossibly tough and had to politely excuse herself and spit it out in a backroom.
Wild cats are considered good eating by some Aborigines, who roast the animals on an open fire.
This reminds us of that old French-Canadian Christmas carol that starts out: "Chipmunks roasting on an open fire……." but we digress. Now rumors about the use of the occasional stray feline in the Moo Goo Gai Pan or the tacos have long abounded here in the states. But we did not know of any cat casserole recipes. And we're somewhat sorry to have heard about this one.
Animals, World news | Gaius Sunday, 2 September , 2007
By elizabeth, Sunday, 2 September , 2007 @ 4:21 pm
Oh, please remove this post. It is revolting.
By Gaius, Sunday, 2 September , 2007 @ 4:36 pm
I’m not endorsing it, Elizabeth.
By Lars Walker, Sunday, 2 September , 2007 @ 5:21 pm
I would think the feral cats would have a restraining effect on Australia’s famous wild rabbit plague. Balance of nature, and all that.
By Uncle Fester, Sunday, 2 September , 2007 @ 6:56 pm
I wonder how they’d taste in gumbo.
By old_dawg, Sunday, 2 September , 2007 @ 8:37 pm
I am told that they last a little like Wallaby
By Sam L., Sunday, 2 September , 2007 @ 10:48 pm
Four words: “pressure cooker” and “slow cooker” (Crockpot (TM)). OK, two more: Dutch Oven. They’ll tenderize tough meat.
Cats? Domesticated? Opportunistic is more the word.
And if you cook them with chicken broth, they’ll taste pretty much like chicken (I read that somewhere).