Guinea Pig in Queens

[Rachel Perlow]

This was brought up in the Manners? thread on the General Board. I thought it deserved its own thread here.

I really must get over to that Ecuadorian restaurant in Queens where they roast them.

I remember seeing an episode of Extreme Cuisine on Food Network that featured that guinea pig dish. They didn't have a mention of it on foodtv.com, but I posted a question on the fan forum about it. If someone responds, I'll post the answer here.

A google search turned up a couple of interesting links:

1) Chapter 8 of Cityscape: A Journal of Policy Development and Research on Jackson Heights

2) A NYT article by Eric Asimov, "On Menus, the Ticket Is Nuevo Latino "

[cabrales]

I have no leads on sampling guinea pigs at restaurants, and, like Wilfrid, would appreciate information from other members. However, it occurred to me that, leaving aside my inability to cook, and speaking only hypothetically, guinea pig could be sampled at home. Presumably, the item could be sampled in multiple services, including cooked in its own fat.  I am not going to suggest that Wilfrid, though, undertake any greater cooking responsibilities than is currently the case!   And apologies in advance to members who think the described thought is disgusting, or who have guinea pigs as pets.

The described thought also led me to wonder what the different roles for restaurants might be, historically and today. For example, are there foods that one would eat at a restaurant that one might have disutility from preparing because one thinks the process is distasteful (like either looking at the teeth of guinea pig or having to remove them oneself)?

[Wilfrid]

Rachel, the Asimov article was the one I quoted last week, which didn't have a specific address.  I know I did have an address, but I am not going to find it for a while, especially as we're in the process of moving.

Cabrales, I do not think removing the teeth is the issue.  The question is whether the head comes off or not.  And I wonder if there are legal issues in killing and cooking a guinea pig acquired from a pet shop?

[A Balic]

Fusion cuisine is popular at the moment, so maybe you could have a medley of guinea pig, guinea fowl and foul pig (not sure about this, pig's bung maybe?). Sorry, very sorry.

[cabrales]

And I wonder if there are legal issues in killing and cooking a guinea pig acquired from a pet shop?

Wilfrid -- Equally importantly, I wonder if there are health issues associated with pet shop guinea pig. For example, could they carry bacteria or have received innoculations? I raise this because, as you know, certain animals are sometimes available in Asia for intake, and I have frequently refused on the grounds of concern about health consequences.

I would imagine that, if a person were to undertake a self-help remedy with respect to guinea pig, that the animal would ideally be kept around for a while so that the diner could see if the animal was behaving normally and disease-free. Presumably, one would have to take one's animal to a vet for independent health inspection as well. And to reduce the risk of contaminated flesh, a further measure might be to buy a male and female guinea pig, wait until they breed and consider the result, no?! All the above being hypothetical of course.

[Wilfrid]

Wait until they mate and then eat their children?  Okay, Cabrales, you have found my heart after all.  That does sound a bit too gruesome even for me.  And I agree about the health stuff.  Imagine the scene with the veterinary surgeon when I turn up with my shop-bought guinea pig:  "Hello, I would like you to examine this guinea pig to ensure it is in good health, as I plan to take it home and eat it."

No, this one is best left to the professionals.  The restaurant hunt goes on.

[cabrales]

That does sound a bit too gruesome even for me.  And I agree about the health stuff.

Wilfrid -- Even at a restaurant, how would one know that a small restaurant would have taken care on health issues? Or perhaps one would rely on the sampling of the item by other diners, who have not had serious health complications entailing reporting of the restaurant to regulatory authorities?

I have wondered whether diners report cockroach problems, for example, to the authorities.

And on the conversation with the vet, it might go as follows, hypothetically, of course: "This guinea pigs looks pretty normal, even though, to my horror, my cat has been interested in having it for dinner! I wonder if this species could carry bacteria that, for example, might be harmful to cats?! [Vet says no, but keep the two pets separate.] So I guess guinea pig don't carry bacteria?"  Later: "What diseases could my guinea pig become subjected to? Are any of them transmittable to humans who come in contact with them? Are innoculations necessary, or have they already been provided by the typical pet store?"  In my mind, the health risks associated with pet store possibilities appear insurmountable, though.

[Wilfrid]

But that's an issue, isn't it, regardless of whether we're eating guinea pig.  I think the assumption I am making is that if a Peruvian or Ecuadorian restaurant in Queen's is taking the trouble to serve guinea pig, (a) they know what they're doing, and (b) their regular customers will know whether it's being done right.  I would be more nervous of unskilled kitchen staff cooking chicken by numbers in a chain restaurant.

[cabrales]

But that's an issue, isn't it, regardless of whether we're eating guinea pig.

On a more popular meat like chicken, while one could imagine the esoteric diseases any given specimen could conceivably carry, one has confidence that the typical range of disease exposures (e.g., samonella) is acceptable. On guinea pig, I doubt we collectivley know what the "typical" range of exposures might be.

This brings to mind that poisonous fish in Japan (about which there is a description by A Bourdain in his book). People know what the "typical" range of exposures (including death if preparation has been faulty) might be.

[stellabella]

the guinea pig served to me was scrawny--i mean, they look all cute and cuddly but it's all fur.  there wasn't really any meat on the head, didn't seem to me.  one fried guinea pig doesn't provide much meat.

i am not sure why the guinea pig has become a staple in andean cuisine--next time i'm down [which is in a couple weeks] i'll try to get a more straight answer on this and then i'll post it here.

personally if i had a choice between guinea pig and just about any other meat [served in the andes, i mean] i'd choose another.  i think it's okay, in other words, but we all have different tastes; some ecuadoreans i know really love it.  when i am down there would anyone like for me to do a little informal research on any other aspects of this cuisine?

[cabrales]

personally if i had a choice between guinea pig and just about any other meat [served in the andes, i mean] i'd choose another.

stellabella -- When you have a chance, please consider discussing briefly what other "unusual" meats might be available in the Andes. If you do not have the information readily on hand, please do not pursue it.  

[A Balic]

i am not sure why the guinea pig has become a staple in andean cuisine--next time i'm down [which is in a couple weeks] i'll try to get a more straight answer on this and then i'll post it here.

I think that it is because they are extremely fecund and they are not to fussy about their food. So they are a cheap source of protein.

[cabrales]

I think that it is because they are extremely fecund and they are not to fussy about their food. So they are a cheap source of protein.

Adam -- But if they're also very thin and/or small, having lots of them is not going to be an efficient way to receive protein unless labor is very cheap and abundant (maybe it is in the relevant geographic area). Can you imagine the work required to de-fur (?), terminate and cleanse them for a small amount of meat per animal? How big can a guinea pig get?

[A Balic]

It's no big deal to prepare rodents for the table and from what I have seen on the subject the GP's were a traditional food of the rural poor, but have now considered a luxury item by some of the metropolitan population. Animal protein has always been a luxury item for agrarian people, whatever its form.

[cabrales]

It's no big deal to prepare rodents for the table

Adam -- Have you prepared rodents before or read about their preparation?  (Note I'm not sure which animals would technically be considered rodents really.)

[Wilfrid]

Rodents are gnawing animals.  They have big teeth, and gnaw.  Okay, enough zoology.

When you think how many quails get plucked and cleaned, guinea pigs are no big deal.  Their skin would come off with a simple tug, just like rabbit, and bob's your uncle.

I know squirrels are eaten in the American midwest, but haven't had the opportunity to tuck in yet.  Obviously, the most widely eaten rodents are rabbits and hares.  Rats certainly have been eaten in some cultures, but there you do have to be extra-careful about disease.

[cabrales]

squirrels are eaten in the American midwest, but haven't had the opportunity to tuck in yet....

rabbits and hares....

Wilfrid -- Thank-you; Adam's post makes sense now that I understand rodents include rabbits and kin. On squirrels -- interesting, especially their tail (I wonder how much of it would be fur?). Some game take on a bit of the flavor of what they ingest (e.g., red grouse). It would be amusing to find out if squirrels might be that way too, with respect to nuts.

[Wilfrid]

Oh Cabrales, really, I'm sure you don't eat their tails!  There was a detailed article in The New Yorker, of all places, explaining that squirrel's brains are a delicacy in Tennessee.  And I am sure their diet will indeed influence the taste of their flesh - look at the huge difference in flavor between wild and domestic rabbits.

[stellabella]

cabrales, as for andean meats, you see a lot of farmed trout and flank steak, chicken, maybe pork, etc.  nothing particularly strange about it--if anything i have found ecuadoren cuisine to be consistently underwhelming, with a few noteworthy exceptions.  animal protein is most definately a luxury, but moreso even for the lowlanders than the highlanders, who are the ones eating gp.  adam is probably at least partly correct, but i second you questioning how efficient source of protein the gp is.  now i am very curious.  it may also have something to do with altitude/cardiovascular system, in addition to quick breeding?

one of the shamans we visit uses the gp in the cleansing ceremony--he rubs a live animal all over the patient's naked body.  the animal absorbs malignancies of whatever sort.....

is the queens restaurant you all are talking about by any chance called hornado equitoriana?  it was recommended to me but i never got a chance to try it.  please fill me in after you go.

[Wilfrid]

"one of the shamans we visit" - did you mean visited, or do you have a regular family shaman?  

I would not want to have a live guinea pig rubbed over my naked body.  The last pet guinea pig I had went for my throat, and I was saved injury by the fact my collar was fastened.  He bit off the top button.  I have also been bitten in a very delicate extremity by a rabbit, much to the amusement of the former girlfriend whose pet it was.  Oh no, I'm eating them, they're not eating me.

[cabrales]

I know squirrels are eaten in the American midwest, but haven't had the opportunity to tuck in yet

Wilfrid -- Simon M had squirrel at St John last night. I'll try to make it tonight.  See "St John" under "United Kingdom and Ireland".

[stellabella]

do you have a regular family shaman?  

well, in a manner of speaking, i reckon we do....but our interest in them in almost purely academic :  

without getting off topic again, i just want to say that i thought i was one of the ONLY people who DIDN'T eat squirrel.  Once one of my sisters and her then-boyfriend shot a couple behind my parents' house and fried them up in  pan with red wine and mushrooms.  they stretched the pelt on a board to dry. :wow:

a pal of mine hs harrassed me a couple times about the fact that my husband and i don't cook and eat the squirrels in our yard.  "omigod, stella," she says, "they're great--i can give you recipes."

this same friend was a home-visit nurse in a rural southern county.  once she got invited to stay for supper at a patient's home.  simmering in the pot was a whole racoon, it's musk pouch removed, head intact, it's pointy teeth grinning up at her from the bottom of the kettle.

may i also add that southerners--and perhaps people in other regions of the us--still eat possum.  also turtle, which is sometimes called cooter.  and alligator, big down in florida and swampy regions.  and out west i know for a fact cuz i have SEEN it--rattlesnake.  read marjorie kinnan rawlings' Cross Creek

what's the name of the ecuadorian place?  for my files

[Wilfrid]

Ah, but that is the question Stellabella.  I did have the address, and I probably still have it.  The question is where?  And even if I knew where, right now "where" is packed in a mover's crate along with all my copies of AJ Liebling's Between Meals, my super-brittle chef knives and all my tasting notes.  Watch this space.

[bigbear]

http://www.nymag.com/page.cfm?page_id=3439

I found this article about a restaurant in Brooklyn that served cuy.

My wife is originally from Quito and, since we're retired, we go to Ecuador regularly. No, I've never eaten cuy. One of these days, maybe.

Puerco Hornado (roast pork) and Ceviche de Camerones (shrimp ceviche) are my favorite local dishes.

[Wilfrid]

Thanks, Jeff.  Salinas was indeed the restaurant I'd heard of, but had lost the name and address.  I am holding onto it this time, and will make the expedition when the augurs seem propitious.