Horse Meat: Sourcing, Preparing, Eating

[Timh]

This represents the perfect example of the complete disconnect our society has with food. Oh yes its oh so trendy to sit in the hot new place and eat whatever is presented;squab liver, pork belly, cheeks from whatever, most only want to eat it and tell everyone but god forbid they actually take a moment from their precious lives and learn exactly what it is that they ate and where it came from, and the process it took to get it on their plate. But hey, its not cool or neccesary. All thats required is the ability to pay for it and then exhort their amazing discovering.

[Mooshmouse]

Here's a link to a discussion on horse meat purveyors and recipes in the Vancouver, British Columbia and Western Canada forum.

I was fortunate enough to try cavallo for the first time at the home of a fellow eGulleter last spring. Like most people, I was horrified and dead set against the thought of ever letting a morsel of horse meat pass my lips; however, once I surmounted all my mental hurdles, I was a convert after the first bite. Part of the aforementioned discussion is my post about my first taste of horse meat and a photo of the dish in question.

Seared Horse Tenderloin over arugula and cherry tomatoes

Edited to rectify a formatting inconsistency.

Edited March 27, 2006 by Mooshmouse (log)

[Jim Charles]

Back around the early 70’s there was a big to do for horsemeat. They had made it legal to sell for maybe a year or two. I was living in my first little house and my next-door neighbor introduced me to it over the back fence. He had a bunch of kids and to make ends meet he was buying horsemeat from the one and only purveyor in south jersey. He would barbecue it on the grill 3 or 4 times a week and he ranted up and down how good it was. A couple of times (after a few drinks) I tried it. The flavor and consistency immediately popped into my mind of some of the “beef” I had in France. I didn’t like it then and didn’t care for it in the states and it wasn’t anything to do with eating a horse.

[torakris]

I don't understand this thing about not eating horse meat, personally I love it. Not even two weeks ago I posted tihs picture of a horse meat sashimi dish I prepared using horse meat picked up at a local supermarket (In Japan).

[EdS]

How does one here get horsemeat for human consumption? I haven't seen any horsemeat at any butchers around here. Anyone have any experience ordering horsemeat through a butcher?

[Syrah]

I don't understand this thing about not eating horse meat, personally I love it. Not even two weeks ago I posted tihs picture of a horse meat sashimi dish I prepared using horse meat picked up at a local supermarket (In Japan).

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It's like the skippy thing. Many people still can't handle the fact that I eat kangaroo happily. It is, like it or not, a more rational thing for me to eat than say beef or even lamb. At least kangaroos belong here and do not harm the ecological system. The other reason is that it is cheap.. seriously about a third the price of beef. It is lean, and needs to be rare, and has a different mouthfeel to beef.

What does horse taste like?

[Dan Ryan]

Horse is great. Like very good beef. Beats it for flavour at any price point IMO.

Don't forget foal, which is rather darker and beefier than veal, its bovine equivalent. Prefer horse though.

[torakris]

Horse is great. Like very good beef. Beats it for flavour at any price point IMO.

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He's pinned it, just like good beef.

Honestly if no one told you it was horse you wouldn't know the difference.

For the record I also eat whale (it isn't illegal in Japan) but definitely prefer horse.

[jmcgrath]

Back around the early 70’s there was a big to do for horsemeat. They had made it legal to sell for maybe a year or two. I was living in my first little house and my next-door neighbor introduced me to it over the back fence. He had a bunch of kids and to make ends meet he was buying horsemeat from the one and only purveyor in south jersey. He would barbecue it on the grill 3 or 4 times a week and he ranted up and down how good it was. A couple of times (after a few drinks) I tried it. The flavor and consistency immediately popped into my mind of some of the “beef” I had in France. I didn’t like it then and didn’t care for it in the states and it wasn’t anything to do with eating a horse.

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I also grew up in southern New Jersey, but in the '50s. My mother bought horse meat, but for dog food. Only for dog food, I hope. It was too long ago to remember where she purchased it, but I imagine at a butcher shop and that it was labeled as pet food. Things were different back then. We used DDT to kill house flies.

Jim

[Lori in PA]

Following is a post from my blog for April Fools' Day a few days ago. That my friends reading it almost all guessed it had to be a joke is testament to their level of gustatory adventurousness, though a couple thought ME capable of being serious.

More French Food – I’m so excited!

One French recipe I never thought I’d be able to taste, much less prepare, is called Ris de Cheval a l’Ancienne. This is another old dish, but one can hardly find it anymore in France, much less expect to see it on an American restaurant menu, because of the unusual protein utilized as the main ingredient – horse meat, or more specifically for this recipe, horse brains. The English translation of the title is Brains of Horse in the Old Manner. It is prepared by soaking the cleaned brains for a few hours in a light brine mixture, then simmering them gently for an hour or so to tenderize, and finally browning them in hot duck fat. The brains are further stewed in a wine sauce flavored with garlic, capers, and olives. If possible, bits of horse liver are sautéed separately and served atop the dish as a garnish, though often this little flourish is left off, as horse liver is highly prized as a sausage ingredient in France and so is hard for the home cook to obtain.

I can hardly believe my luck, but an acquaintance of mine just emailed with the sad news that one of their horses injured himself so badly yesterday that he’ll have to be put down this morning. She knew my reputation for cooking unusual things, plus I think I’d once even mentioned to her that I’d like to try horse meat sometime, so she asked if I wanted anything from the carcass. But of course! The brains are really perishable, and as described above take a long time to prepare, so I’ll be spending the whole day on this project. I’m sure it will be so worth it, though! I’m leaving in a few minutes to pick up the brains – just need to grab the cooler and some ice. Oh, and she said I was welcomed to the liver, too, so we’ll get to experience this recipe in its most authentic form. Whoohoo!!! I actually have all the other ingredients here, so I should be cooking within an hour.

This recipe makes a huge amount and has to be consumed within a day or two or it will go bad. I think I’ll have an impromptu dinner party tonight. The problem becomes who to invite. I know all my friends reading this are crossing their fingers hoping it will be them. I'll ask The Husband and call somebody later today. Off to get my horse meat...

[bleudauvergne]

I overcame my fear and ate a horse steak (first time I ever tried it) during my second eG food blog when I went to eat at le resto d'Alice. I liked it. It tasted like good beef. Since then I've had it twice.

[grizzly]

I ate horse at the Harvard Faculty Club. I think it was the equivalent of filet. Not bad, a little sweeter than beef. I understand it was put on the menu there during the depression and was taken off when times got better, but some eminent professor had formed a taste for it and insisted it be put back on. I think it's still on the menu there (unless it's been taken off in the last 25 years or so).

I'm not an academic now, but I remember checking into why the taboo on horsemeat seems to be so strong in the English-speaking world. It was attributed to the pagan Anglo-Saxon taste for horse sacrifices. Of course, once you sacrifice a horse, you need to do something with the leftovers (the gods usually get the less edible parts). Anyhow, once the missionaries came in, they preached so strongly against horse sacrifice/eating that it stuck. Since I'm not a medievalist, I couldn't check the story, but odder survivals of antiquity exist, like the gauge of trains.

By the way, hi to Miz Ducky, I think we're classmates (Class of '79, North House, History and Lit)

[MobyP]

We cooked some great frites with rendered horse fat when in Mougins, France.

[arjay]

I don't understand this thing about not eating horse meat, personally I love it. Not even two weeks ago I posted tihs picture of a horse meat sashimi dish I prepared using horse meat picked up at a local supermarket (In Japan).

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Some folks will eat ANYTHING. Even raw horses when they are not even starving.

[PPPans]

I don't understand this thing about not eating horse meat, personally I love it. Not even two weeks ago I posted tihs picture of a horse meat sashimi dish I prepared using horse meat picked up at a local supermarket (In Japan).

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Some folks will eat ANYTHING. Even raw horses when they are not even starving.

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Well, you don't have to be starving to eat a delicacy. In the event that it's not, do we question a locality's traditional source of food?

Edited April 11, 2006 by PPPans (log)

[torakris]

As anyone who has read this thread knows I love horse meat, especialy raw, but i recently ran across something that curls my toes:

raw horse flesh ice cream

[HKDave]

As anyone who has read this thread knows I love horse meat, especialy raw, but i recently ran across something that curls my toes:

raw horse flesh ice cream

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Curls your toes good, or curls your toes bad?

[The Old Foodie]

In the mid-nineteenth century in France, but also to some extent in England, there was a move to make horsemeat more popular - for the masses of course. To that end, several horsemeat banquets were held, and I discussed one that took place in Langham's hotel in London on February 6th 1868 on my blog a few months back. The particular story was retrospectively posted, so actually appears in the March archive. If you want to read it, after you go to

http://theoldfoodie.blogspot.com/2006_03_0...ie_archive.html

you will need to use Ctlr+F to search for February 6.

As I say in the post, I am happy to email the complete horsemeat menu to anyone who is interested, or later this evening I will post it here.

Perhaps one of you horsemeat afficionados might like to reproduce the menu?

[Megan Blocker]

In Kentucky horses are for racing or breeding, not eating.

Unless they lose

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Exactly. The US exports a LOT of horse meat (more than any other country, I think), mostly because we decline to care for our pets once they outlive their usefulness.

Edited June 7, 2006 by Megan Blocker (log)

[MarketStEl]

I ate horse at the Harvard Faculty Club. I think it was the equivalent of filet. Not bad, a little sweeter than beef. I understand it was put on the menu there during the depression and was taken off when times got better, but some eminent professor had formed a taste for it and insisted it be put back on. I think it's still on the menu there (unless it's been taken off in the last 25 years or so).

I'm not an academic now, but I remember checking into why the taboo on horsemeat seems to be so strong in the English-speaking world. It was attributed to the pagan Anglo-Saxon taste for horse sacrifices. Of course, once you sacrifice a horse, you need to do something with the leftovers (the gods usually get the less edible parts). Anyhow, once the missionaries came in, they preached so strongly against horse sacrifice/eating that it stuck. Since I'm not a medievalist, I couldn't check the story, but odder survivals of antiquity exist, like the gauge of trains.

By the way, hi to Miz Ducky, I think we're classmates (Class of '79, North House, History and Lit)

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That's the one time and place I had it too. I was about to ask whether anyone knew if it was still on the menu. I thought it was quite delicious.

--Sandy Smith '80, Adams House*, Government (*spent freshman year in Currier)

[The Old Foodie]

In the mid-nineteenth century in France, but also to some extent in England, there was a move to make horsemeat more popular - for the masses of course. To that end, several horsemeat banquets were held, and I discussed one that took place in Langham's hotel in London on February 6th 1868 on my blog a few months back. The particular story was retrospectively posted, so actually appears in the March archive. If you want to read it, after you go to

http://theoldfoodie.blogspot.com/2006_03_0...ie_archive.html

you will need to use Ctlr+F to search for February 6.

As I say in the post, I am happy to email the complete horsemeat menu to anyone who is interested, or later this evening I will post it here.

Perhaps one of you horsemeat afficionados might like to reproduce the menu?

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Here is the menu:

FIRST SERVICE

POTAGES

Le consommé de cheval à l’ A B C

A la purée de destriers.

Amontillado

POISSONS

Le saumon à la sauce Arabe.

Les filets de soles à l’huile hippophagique

Vin du Rhin

HORS D’OEUVRES

Les terrines de foie maigre chevalines.

Les saucissons de cheval au pistaches Syriaques.

Xeres

RELEVÉES

Le filet de Pégase rôti aux pommed de terre à la crême.

Le dinde aux châtaignes.

L’Aloyau de cheval farci à la Centaur aux choux de Bruxelles.

La culotte de cheval braisée aux chevaux-de-frise

Champagne sec

ENTRÉES

Les petites pâtésa à la moëlle Bucéphale.

Kromeskys à la Gladiateur.

Les poulets garnis à l’ hippogriffe

Les langues de cheval à la Troyenne

Chateau Perayne

SECOND SERVICE

RÔTS.

Les canards sauvages.

Les pluviers.

Volnay

Les mayonnaises des homard à l’huile Rosinante.

Les petits pois à la Francaise

Les choux-fleurs au parmesan

ENTREMETS

La gelée de pieds de cheval au marasquin.

Les zéphirs sautés à l’huile chevaleresque.

Le gâteau vétérinaire à la Ducroix

Les feuillantines aux pommes des Hesperides.

St. Peray

GLACES

De crême aux truffes.

Sorbets contre-préjugés.

Liqueurs

DESSERT

Vins fins de Bordeaux

BUFFET

Collared horse-head

Baron of horse

Boiled withers.

The newspaper report said:

"WE should add that the three horses partaken of were of the respective ages of 4, 29, and 22 years, Two had been cart horses, one had drawn a brougham, and in his prime had been worth 700 guineas. The baron was carved from the four year old."

What is really gruesome is that photos of the three horses were handed around during the meal!

[Reefpimp]

I will eat anything once. Baked sheep eyes, for example. Once was more than enough. I had whale when I was in Norway last; it wasn't half bad. But I've never had horse. I wouldn't even know where to go to find it, here in the US.

[markabauman]

Don't remember where I read about this (perhaps on another eGullet thread?) about someone having a dish called "Quack & Track", alternatively "Feather & Leather" comprised of cheval and a duck leg at a restaurant called La Pallette in Kensington Market.

[johnsmith45678]

Moved by appeals to protect the noble horse, the U.S. House (of Representatives) voted on Thursday to ban the slaughter of horses for food, potentially saving 90,000 animals a year from being served as a delicacy to diners overseas.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060907/pl_nm/food_horsemeat_dc

Anybody eaten horse?

[jackal10]

Sure. Its delicious, like slightly sweeter low fat beef.

What possible reason, besides sentimental twaddle, is ther not to eat it while still eating beef etc?

I can understand a position of eating no meat, or no factory farmed meat, or only kosher or halal meat, or avoiding poisonous foods, but why not horse?

Bunnies or chickens will be off limits soon...