Walrus

[Easyezzy Foods]

I will be visiting Walvis Bay soon. Its about an hour 50 from Joburg by plane. Walvis is the Afrikaans word for Walrus. I expect Walrus will be on many menus, but I would like to cook some Walrus for myself. In situ.

There is a dearth of Walrus recipes on Google. (Surprise!) Can anybody help from experience? How does one select one's Walvis? Which cuts are less chewey.

Further, what do I bring? Obviously my barbecue. Obviously not the Vac Pack and the Salamander. But should I perhaps bring the big Isi to pressure marinade the fillets? Should I bring ceps? Lemon grass? Has anyone perhaps a suggestion for truffles and Walvis liver?

Guys, I'm from Ireland, living in Africa. Bit out of my depth with sea mammals. Any help appreciated.

Serious.

[Smithy]

I have no idea! But I'll watch this topic with fascination. Good luck!

[longroper]

While I have no personal experience cooking marine mammals, a quick glance through Cooking Alaskan and what knowledge I have from others suggests that walrus is best dealt with through long, slow cooking. There are more seal recipes in the book than walrus, but the animals are close enough in behavior that I'd expect their meat would be similar. The only saute recipes are for offal (apparently the liver especially is quite a delicacy); the rest tend towards either braising or simmering. In the case of steaks they are typically pounded very thin and pan fried, which helps with chewiness. There are several meat loaf recipes that use ground walrus or seal, and even one for corned walrus. Flippers are reported to be very gelatinous, like pig's feet. There's a recipe for seal head cheese, too.

I've always had success braising unfamiliar game meat in wine.

[Prawncrackers]

This topic is why I love egullet. I have no idea how to cook walrus but if its anything like minke whale then the loin will be great medium rare like s beefsteak. Please post photos.

[Kerry Beal]

I wonder if the Gentleman's Companion has a recipe or two?

[djyee100]

Undercooked walrus meat has been the source of trichinosis infections, so I vote for long slow thorough cooking. You can find various links about walrus meat and trichinosis through Google. Here's one:
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/story/2012/08/21/north-igloolik-trichinosis-testing.html

What does walrus meat taste like? "Walrus meat is very potent, some people say it's a bit like horse meat, other say it has a slightly fishy taste."
http://www.chacha.com/question/what-does-walrus-taste-like

A note on Googlebooks says to fry or boil walrus meat as you would beef. http://books.google.com/books?id=PxrTdYAjGe0C&pg=PA409&lpg=PA409&dq=cooking+walrus+meat+recipes&source=bl&ots=lLEA0nYbfy&sig=CjKlfNQge42usV1bcuduMtZDg4M&hl=en&sa=X&ei=Og88UYyTM678yAGskoF4&sqi=2&ved=0CE0Q6AEwBA#v=onepage&q=cooking%20walrus%20meat%20recipes&f=false
It also says that walrus has blubber rather than fat, and the blubber may taste odd until you get used to it.

I suggest cooking walrus in the bollito misto style, with plenty of condiments to mask the taste...just in case. Fruit mustard is traditional. This recipe has a red pepper sauce: http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/dailydish/2012/03/a-rainy-days-bollito-misto.html
Another recipe with a Salsa Verde. Also a Gorgonzola Sauce. I'd pass on the gorgonzola until I had a better idea of what walrus tastes like.
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/giada-de-laurentiis/bollito-misto-recipe/index.html

Bring on the hearty red wine, too.

Feel like taking some walrus meat home with you? Univ of Alaska Fairbanks Coop Extension Services has this recipe for canning walrus, with marinades. It sounds so good, the way they describe it.
http://www.uaf.edu/files/ces/publications-db/catalog/hec/FNH-00124.pdf

Pls keep us apprised of your culinary adventure.

[BonVivant]

about the words and their meanings:

'walvis' is generic word for whale

walrus is walrus just like in English

haven't had walrus but seal is rather nice. most succulent, flesh is really dark.

[Easyezzy Foods]

Undercooked walrus meat has been the source of trichinosis infections, so I vote for long slow thorough cooking. You can find various links about walrus meat and trichinosis through Google. Here's one:

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/story/2012/08/21/north-igloolik-trichinosis-testing.html

What does walrus meat taste like? "Walrus meat is very potent, some people say it's a bit like horse meat, other say it has a slightly fishy taste."

http://www.chacha.com/question/what-does-walrus-taste-like

A note on Googlebooks says to fry or boil walrus meat as you would beef. http://books.google.com/books?id=PxrTdYAjGe0C&pg=PA409&lpg=PA409&dq=cooking+walrus+meat+recipes&source=bl&ots=lLEA0nYbfy&sig=CjKlfNQge42usV1bcuduMtZDg4M&hl=en&sa=X&ei=Og88UYyTM678yAGskoF4&sqi=2&ved=0CE0Q6AEwBA#v=onepage&q=cooking%20walrus%20meat%20recipes&f=false

It also says that walrus has blubber rather than fat, and the blubber may taste odd until you get used to it.

I suggest cooking walrus in the bollito misto style, with plenty of condiments to mask the taste...just in case. Fruit mustard is traditional. This recipe has a red pepper sauce: http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/dailydish/2012/03/a-rainy-days-bollito-misto.html

Another recipe with a Salsa Verde. Also a Gorgonzola Sauce. I'd pass on the gorgonzola until I had a better idea of what walrus tastes like.

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/giada-de-laurentiis/bollito-misto-recipe/index.html

Bring on the hearty red wine, too.

Feel like taking some walrus meat home with you? Univ of Alaska Fairbanks Coop Extension Services has this recipe for canning walrus, with marinades. It sounds so good, the way they describe it.

http://www.uaf.edu/files/ces/publications-db/catalog/hec/FNH-00124.pdf

Pls keep us apprised of your culinary adventure.

Thanks for that Tabby Cat. I will only be there for a weekend so braising slowly..... dunno. The health warning is real welcome!! And the taste sounds like what I hoped. Last time I brought back Oryx meat - ohh man! Hartlief have a website - Much easier than shooting it yourself.

And yes, BonVivant, I know that Walvis was once maybe a word for whale, but all my Afrikaans colleagues say it is Walrus. Etymology may not be their foremost strength and the differences between Nederlands taal and Afrikaans are subtle. ["They have 12 words and use them for everything" as Lee Hager of Dallas observed.] In fact it sometimes seems that me, as a foreign High PlainsDrifter since 1996, I know more of the history of this place than they care to know.

[Easyezzy Foods]

Alas! BonVivantNL is correct. Whale Fish Bay. The Afrikaans for Walrus is Walrus! (according to Wynand van Staden). So walrus is off the menu. I suppose this is a Good Thing, a walrus seems too much for even a hearty seaside appetite.

Shark might be a possibility, but apparently other fishes are tastier. The fish called Kob is nice size for a beach picnic. But not very exotic compared to Walrus.

[Easyezzy Foods]

BaseCamp1, BougainVilla, Klein Windhoek, about 550km from WalVis Bay. The natives tell us the rains came too late. The farmers are slaughtering stock. So we go to Joe's Beer House (surprisingly good food) for a Zebra Steak. Its nice doen medium. Still pink and juicy in the middle. Very tasty with a sweetness not based on fruit sugar. A bit like horse. Only a LOT tougher. The local "feldschone" are easier to eat. Done well-done, though, its too dry, loses flavour and succulence, and still tough. It strikes me it is the perfect meat for SousVide. Game generally would be?

Expedition vehicle is sourced. We are good to go. In the footsteps of the WalVis. I'm looking forward to fish in the desert.

[HowardLi]

I don't wish to be a d-nozzle but this is an irresponsible post. Liver from animals such as polar bear and walrus is dangerously high in Vitamin A. Do not consume any part of the liver from animals you are not culinarily intimate with!

While I have no personal experience cooking marine mammals, a quick glance through Cooking Alaskan and what knowledge I have from others suggests that walrus is best dealt with through long, slow cooking. There are more seal recipes in the book than walrus, but the animals are close enough in behavior that I'd expect their meat would be similar. The only saute recipes are for offal (apparently the liver especially is quite a delicacy); the rest tend towards either braising or simmering. In the case of steaks they are typically pounded very thin and pan fried, which helps with chewiness. There are several meat loaf recipes that use ground walrus or seal, and even one for corned walrus. Flippers are reported to be very gelatinous, like pig's feet. There's a recipe for seal head cheese, too.

I've always had success braising unfamiliar game meat in wine.

Edited April 9, 2013 by HowardLi (log)

[Easyezzy Foods]

Well, Zebra is near enough to horse, which I have some experience of in France. Unfortunately Joe's Beer House in Windhoek treats Zebra as steak. That doesn't work. Sous vide might. A future experiment to look forward to.

I have been reading Taras Grescoe's "Bottom Feeder". I am having serious doubts about eating anything out of the sea!

[longroper]

I don't wish to be a d-nozzle but this is an irresponsible post. Liver from animals such as polar bear and walrus is dangerously high in Vitamin A. Do not consume any part of the liver from animals you are not culinarily intimate with!

While I have no personal experience cooking marine mammals, a quick glance through Cooking Alaskan and what knowledge I have from others suggests that walrus is best dealt with through long, slow cooking. There are more seal recipes in the book than walrus, but the animals are close enough in behavior that I'd expect their meat would be similar. The only saute recipes are for offal (apparently the liver especially is quite a delicacy); the rest tend towards either braising or simmering. In the case of steaks they are typically pounded very thin and pan fried, which helps with chewiness. There are several meat loaf recipes that use ground walrus or seal, and even one for corned walrus. Flippers are reported to be very gelatinous, like pig's feet. There's a recipe for seal head cheese, too.

I've always had success braising unfamiliar game meat in wine.

Perhaps you would consider my post more responsible if I added:

If you are in doubt about eating any particular part of an unfamiliar animal, you should directly consult people who have been eating that animal for thousands of years in order to determine which parts are and are not traditionally considered safe, or tasty. Alaska Natives traditionally avoid polar bear liver. They do not traditionally avoid walrus liver. Perhaps they do not eat much at a time; I can't say.

[Easyezzy Foods]

We have a saying n my kitchen," first catch your polar bear.." or whatever. The word in Windhoek is that the fisheries are really depleted. The Government word is that in the Interests of the Peoples of Namibia they are great conservationists. Not sure who to believe.

[Easyezzy Foods]

Zebra is plentiful and tasty. Unfortunately, it has the challenging texture of Pirelli tyres. Sous vide? I'll try and report. Zebra is regarded as "Kaffir Meat" in ZA. ( A totally derogatory term for the black people and for the Zebra. Legislation changes fast. Attitudes not so fast.)

That was only the first discovery at BaseCamp1.

The second discovery was Angelika and Eugen Gehr's "Kaktusfeigen Brand." Ohhh yeah! Its a surprisingly smooth hooch made from (?) Prickly Pear. E-mail gehrd@iway.na Address : farm ousems sued, namibia.

Truly these people are visionaries, and damn fine craftspeople. I was expecting WitBlitz (an unrefined South African digestif with a kick like an Ostrich. Actually the Kaktusjoiuce is smooth and with a hint of cocoa.

Here is the www.joesbeerhouse.com Zebra steak. Joes has Kaktusfeigen on its menu! Wonderful place. A bar that you can actually smoke in. When was the last time you were in one of those?

Onwards to BaseCamp2. The Shifting Whispering Sands of Walvis Bay!!

Edited April 14, 2013 by Easyezzy Foods (log)