Rats usually have wider hindquarters and narrower shoulders. Most of the time the tails are left on when they're prepared too.
Grilled guinea pigs are this NYC restaurant's shocking specialty — and the head is the 'best part'. 🐖
- Thread starter The Count of Merkur Cristo
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Squirrels are rodents, too. I don't think I've ever seen one without its fur, though. Probably a lot of squirrels in NYC.
It's been about 40 years since I've skinned one, but they look a lot like rats once you're done. They smell kind of funky too, at least that's what I remember.
Common table item in South America. I know folks who have eaten them and they say they’re delicious. I’d try it.
I eat squirrels every year, in season. Very good. I’ve served them as “chicken wings”. Enjoyed by all.
I eat squirrels every year, in season. Very good. I’ve served them as “chicken wings”. Enjoyed by all.
They are delicious. In Peru it's almost a national dish.
simon1
Self Ignored by Vista
Kinda like 'possum on the half shell that we pick up around here.
en.wikipedia.org
Roadkill cuisine - Wikipedia
I eat crow everyday
Kinda like 'possum on the half shell that we pick up around here.
Roadkill cuisine - Wikipedia
I bought a gator sausage while vacationing in NewOrleans a few years ago and shared a bite with the wife.
She’s never forgiven me.
Beef, lamb, chicken, turkey, pork, pink deep water shrimp, salmon, and ling cod are so cheap and delicious, I don’t see much reason to eat novelty rodents unless I have no choice. I’m becoming less adventurous every day.
She’s never forgiven me.
Beef, lamb, chicken, turkey, pork, pink deep water shrimp, salmon, and ling cod are so cheap and delicious, I don’t see much reason to eat novelty rodents unless I have no choice. I’m becoming less adventurous every day.
Why is it that "pet" animals seem less appetizing than animals typically bred and slaughtered for human consumption?...at least to me...which is why I'll never have a chicken, cow, lamb, or pig as a pet. 
I know it varies by region and culture, but cow, pig, and chicken are far more appealing to me than cat, dog, guinea pig, or horse.
Then there's "wild" game like deer, squirrel, game birds, frog, many of which I have eaten, or would try.
As far as the topic, I wouldn't pay 110 bucks for a barbecued rodent, but I'd would have a taste from someone else's plate, then finish my burger or steak.
I know it varies by region and culture, but cow, pig, and chicken are far more appealing to me than cat, dog, guinea pig, or horse.
Then there's "wild" game like deer, squirrel, game birds, frog, many of which I have eaten, or would try.
As far as the topic, I wouldn't pay 110 bucks for a barbecued rodent, but I'd would have a taste from someone else's plate, then finish my burger or steak.
I think that's normal. But keep in mind, guinea pigs were raised specifically for food for hundreds of years in the Andes before anyone thought of keeping them as pets. They thrive in that environment and don't require much space or feed.Why is it that "pet" animals seem less appetizing than animals typically bred and slaughtered for human consumption?...at least to me...which is why I'll never have a chicken, cow, lamb, or pig as a pet.
My folks raised and sold meat rabbits. The rule was we could only name the ones that we kept for breeding stock.
Why is it that "pet" animals seem less appetizing than animals typically bred and slaughtered for human consumption?...at least to me...which is why I'll never have a chicken, cow, lamb, or pig as a pet.
It's mainly emotional bonds and mental conditioning, I think. You form an emotional bond, to use a pet for food would feel like a betrayal.
If you were vegetarian or vegan eating any animal would not be appetizing at all (unless it was for survival when there was no choice).
Why is it that "pet" animals seem less appetizing than animals typically bred and slaughtered for human consumption?...at least to me...which is why I'll never have a chicken, cow, lamb, or pig as a pet.
I know it varies by region and culture, but cow, pig, and chicken are far more appealing to me than cat, dog, guinea pig, or horse.
Then there's "wild" game like deer, squirrel, game birds, frog, many of which I have eaten, or would try.
As far as the topic, I wouldn't pay 110 bucks for a barbecued rodent, but I'd would have a taste from someone else's plate, then finish my burger or steak.
My son raises chickens, pigs and turkeys. All are food so nothing gets named by the kids. You ask his three year old daughter about groundhogs and she will tell you that daddy shoots them. You ask her about deer and she will say you shoot it and eat it. Death of an animal is just a part of everyday life to his kids. Animals are food and nothing more.
Eating bugs is alot weirder as far as I’m concerned.
I’ve eaten bear, gator, raccoon, groundhog, rabbit, venison, caribou, elk, squirrel, goose, duck, pheasant, dove, mostly shot by me; pheasant is best, venison worst.
I know some of you will disagree as to venison but I just don’t like it. When I kill one I have it made into burger, bologna and jerky.
Bear is surprisingly good, like a fatty chuck roast. Very tender and beefy. Gator is a cross between fish and chicken. Raccoon is succulent, very good meat. But I would have enjoyed it more if I hadn’t been told what it was. Off putting.
I know some of you will disagree as to venison but I just don’t like it. When I kill one I have it made into burger, bologna and jerky.
Bear is surprisingly good, like a fatty chuck roast. Very tender and beefy. Gator is a cross between fish and chicken. Raccoon is succulent, very good meat. But I would have enjoyed it more if I hadn’t been told what it was. Off putting.
Grill guinea pig doesn't sound too far out there for me. I'm in.
Yeah. Buddy Carlos ate one. He was done there working on a catalog, got drunk and chowed it. He looked pretty morose telling me.
"Paradorian" guy we knew ate cat, but he was tricked into it. Something with spaghetti, then Loki brought out the head. He was po'd, as I think many of us would be. And that was one tough dude. They'd fight you for your clothes in his town.
AA
"Paradorian" guy we knew ate cat, but he was tricked into it. Something with spaghetti, then Loki brought out the head. He was po'd, as I think many of us would be. And that was one tough dude. They'd fight you for your clothes in his town.
AA
Brilliant...! Thank you very much for this post, right down my alley..!Hmmm...yum, yum yum...I would definitely try this dish.
By Ben Cost - New York Post - Lifestyle - 12 Nov 24
"Are you brave enough to try this dish
Maybe when pigs fry.
New York City epicures are devouring a “special” Ecuadorian delicacy, guinea pigs — better known stateside as a potential pet for kids — and hailing them as a “very delicious” feast.
At least that is the experience at the restaurant La Casa Del Cuy — literally “the house of guinea pig” — a culinary go-to in Corona, Queens, that grills and serves the rodent (Cuy) whole, essentially every part but the “squeak.”
La Casa Del Cuy has become a fixture in Queens for roasting and serving the whole guinea pig or cuy whole — essentially every part but the “squeak.”
On a recent Monday evening, the house was packed with diners tearing into the 2½-pound animals, which can measure about 16 inches from snout to the tips of their outstretched toes.
Pet-sized guinea pigs are typically smaller but can range from 2 to 3.5 pounds.
“It’s better than chicken. Better than rabbit,” manager Lucio Barrera told The Post, even claiming that the head is the best part.
And the $110 Cuy are selling like hotcakes, according to Lucio, requiring the eatery to source the rodents in large quantities.
But importing the South American animal in bulk is no cakewalk.
After getting flown in frozen from a small farm in Ecuador, they have to be processed at customs, which can be time-consuming.
“It’s difficult because we use a lot,” said Lucio.
The pig boss, who hails from Cuenca, Ecuador, runs the restaurant out of the Northern Boulevard location of the former Ilusion Tavern with his husband, Marcelo Barrera.
Chef Marcelo Barrera grills the guinea pig on the rotisserie.
They originally specialized in rotisserie chicken but started serving the roly-poly rodents over the COVID-19 pandemic in response to demand by Ecuadorian residents hungry for a taste of home.
“I love it. I eat it every day,” gushed Lucio Barrera while describing the dish, pictured on his restaurant’s rotisserie.
“So all the people drive [to] North Boulevard, they start asking, ‘Why don’t you do cuy instead of chicken?'” Lucio explained. “I said, ‘Let’s do something because life is too short.'”
Thus, La Casa Del Cuy was born.
The pigs are considered a culinary tradition in the South American nation, where they’ve been a staple among indigenous people for thousands of years, prized for their low fat and high protein content and the fact that they’re relatively easy to raise.
Cuy devotees have even promoted farming them as a more sustainable and profitable alternative to cows and other traditional livestock because they require less space and fewer resources.
Despite being a mainstay, the rodents are often served at special occasions such as weddings — a pair of mating guinea pigs is traditionally gifted to the bride’s family.
“In my country, [the] food is very special,”gushed Lucio, himself an avid fan of the rodent normally adopted as a pet in the US.
“I love it,” he told The Post. “I eat it every day.”
Casa Del Cuy charges $110 for the rodent repast, while other items cost around $20, with Lucio joking that they’d be even more expensive if procured from a pet store.
The pigs weigh about 2½ pounds, which can feed several people.
At Casa Del Cuy, the specimens are thawed and skewered lengthwise on jumbo rods before they’re marinated in garlic and other spices and placed over a flame in an outdoor rotisserie.
They’re then rotated on the Cuy carousel until crackling and bronzed.
The cooked carcass is then served — chompers and all — on a bed of rice with potatoes and mote corn and a side of peanut sauce before being cut apart with heavy-duty scissors.
During a recent dinner that coincided with the Festival del Cuy this month — where locals congregate in Cuenca, Ecuador, to enjoy a rodent roast for the ages — the chef carved up a pig that surprisingly fed multiple people for such a small creature.
The verdict?
When The Post stopped in to try the Cuy, it was shockingly non-gamey with mild flesh that was more well-marbled than a rabbit and crispy skin like a fun-sized suckling pig.
It wasn’t shriveled on the rotisserie, but the rodent was surprisingly roomy, able to feed three fairly large guys, with each bite washed down with Ecuadorian “Club” beer served in a salt-rimmed glass.
The Post’s Ben Cost with the cuy before it was cooked. The dish was shockingly non-gamey with mild flesh that was more well-marbled than a rabbit and crispy skin like a fun-sized suckling pig.
While most New Yorkers may be predisposed to revile rodents — even our own infamous pizza rat — the Cuy is causing a stir outside the Queens Ecuadorian enclave.
Lucio says it’s already popular with adventurous “gringos” and Chinese gourmands, who he says often devour the whole hog by themselves.
However, squeamish diners can still enjoy roasted chicken and other grilled dishes at the restaurant if they don’t feel ready to, well...'pig out'".
Works Cited: Grilled Guinea Pigs (Cuy)
"Always do your [grilling] right; this way it will gratify some people [and—well...] astonish the rest". Mark Twain
