Horse Meat: Sourcing, Preparing, Eating

[canucklehead]

So - I went to Bis Mereno tonight and they were kind of enough to do a pasta tasting menu for half of the table and a special horse menu for my brother and myself.

This is the first time I've been to Bis Mereno and it was a fantastic experience.

Our special horsey menu (put together on the fly my Chef Miotto) consisted of

- White and green asparagus with local morel and white truffle sauce.

- Rissotto with fresh procinis

- Veal sweetbreads w/cauliflower and peas and cardamon

- Sea Bream tartar, smoked ham foam, and seared sea bream w/ blood oranges and braised fennel.

- Grilled cavello (that's horse to you my friend) with black truffles and red wine reduction.

(Sorry - no pictures - but flash photography felt like I would have been pushing my luck).

Frankly - I licked all my plates clean.

We were recommened a beautiful 2000 Piedmont wine, and I am a novice, I cannot rembember the exact details except to say that it was blended wine from Aga (sp?). It was had delicous fruit and softness on the pallete - with just enough tanins to give it structure. For a beginner in wines - it was very easy to drink and went very well with the horse.

The horse came to us with a nice gradiation of doneness so that we could see how different doneness effects the meat. The outside char was crisp and outstanding - and you worked your way into a delicously soft buttery center. It confirmed for me that I like horse rare - but it was very thoughtful of Chef Miotto give us the range of experiences.

Horse is a wonderfully lean and clean tasting meat - but it is full of flavor and lush mouthfeel. I kind of felt woken up as I ate it - satisfying without any heavy feeling that one gets from marbled beef.

I can't think of a single bad bite of food. The seared sea bream had me rocking back and forth. Crispy skin giving way to rich creamy flesh. Yumba!

The pasta tasting is a steal at $55 a head for 7 courses that included the famous lobster ravioli. The portion sizes were very very generous and I think it is great way to get your first Bis Mereno experience.

Finished everything off with a trio of chocolate and panna cotta w/rhubarb and strawberry. The panna cotta is the best I have had in Vancouver - soft yielding creaminess without any hint of gelatin rubberyness.

All in all - a fantastic meal. Chef Miotto had to dash out before I had a chance to thank him for his generosity for the evening. He seemed just as excited to have the chance to cook horse and I was to eat it prepared by a somebody that has such passion for the product.

I will now commence on my temporary gastric bypass...

[chocomoo]

What else would I not eat ?

Bugs

Dog

Cat

Seagull

Crow

Weasel

Rat

Squirrel

any sort of primate - monkey, gorilla etc.

spider

dolphin

eagle

mustard

That is all I can think of right now. I am sure this wil spark a few questions and sub topics.

Neil

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[chocomoo]

The only thing that I can't seem to eat are blood products.  Most notably the blood cubes that some chinese place serve. Thinking about has made me very very queesy.

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Thank God my parents don't eat blood products - I've never tried any, nor will I ever. Apparently there are other things that are mixed in with pig's blood when they collect it. My boyfriend says that Filipino parents tell their kids that the brownish stuff on their rice is "chocolate sauce", & of course the kids gobble it all up. In Taiwan, where there are lots of street food stalls, I always saw kids eating some rectangular brownish-reddish things on sticks which looked like popsicles, & I finally asked my Taiwanese friends what they were eating. Guess what it was? Quite literally, "blood-on-a-stick". Blood popsicles, if you prefer.

[markabauman]

Among other reasons, also being from Saratoga, home of two tracks, eating horsemeat is not appealing to me. However I was intrigued recently reading in "Last Chance to Eat" by Gina Mallet about a dish of horse filet and duck leg called "Quack and Track". Not sure if she was serious, however.

[SWISS_CHEF]

I had a pony and a rabbit when I was a kid and in fact I have tried both and found both to be delicious....but....I really don't "enjoy" eating them. I don't have a psychological commitment to beef or pork (see, I call them beef and pork not cows and pigs) I guess that makes me a hypocrite and I suppose I should be more practical and open minded but I'm not.

By the way...I will not eat live monkey brains or testicals from any species and countless other similar things.....I guess I'm not an "eat everything I can get my hands on" type of guy.

Funny though...I am still challenged by food and enjoy the pursuit of the few things I am willing to eat.

Edit...my name actually is Ed and I have been called Mr. Ed for nearly 40 years now.

Edited May 27, 2005 by SWISS_CHEF (log)

[lambretta76]

I'm on my way up to Montreal and I was wondering if anyone could recommend perhaps one of the better preparations of bavette de chevaux in the city.

It sounds like Frite Alors could be a great place, but is it too "fast-foody"?

Thanks for your recs!

[identifiler]

yes it is... I haven't had the bavette de cheval at Continental since... oh my... 17 years ago... I would recommend them.

[shelora]

(The same's true for hogs; leaf fat, the fat surrouding the kidneys, is considered the best for making lard.)

Sorry to pipe in OT, but I have rendered the leaf lard (pork) and it is much sweeter smelling and cleaner tasting the other pork fat.

Glad to see this thread still going.

S

[MaeveH]

Speaking of horse fat, it turns out that Frites Alors uses only beef tallow for the fries, zut. I have yet to try their horse meat, cooked or tartare, but hope to soon.

[iharrison]

L'Assommoir on Bernard (corner St. Urbain) serves a great horse tartare

[carswell]

Speaking of horse fat, it turns out that Frites Alors uses only beef tallow for the fries, zut.

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Are you free to disclose your source, Maeve? You may be right but I was once told by one of the Park Ave. store's cooks that the frites were fried in a bovine-equine blend whose exact composition depended on factors like availability and price. Also, the Le Devoir and Revue MTL articles archived on their website mention the fat of both animals. However, like my info, they may be out of date.

[MaeveH]

Hi, sorry for the delay, been pretty busy the last few days.

No great mystery to my source, I just emailed their info address and got a reply back from one of the owners who simply said "Years back in Belgium, they used horse tallow, now we use rendered beef fat." Broke my heart, it did. I'll ask if he ever used a horse fat blend...

[DaFonz]

Went to sushikan (aberdeen) for the second time today and got the guts to order the Basashi (horse meat sashimi)... was *very* glad I did just so I could try it. The taste was very neutral, ubt the texture was amazing! Very tender (I'd say even more tender than the super premium wagyu from nikuya) and only $10 for a plate.

Would I order again? Probably not, as I feel there are better things to get for the price, but it's something everyone should try at least once in their life.

Also had their lobster motoyaki which was very good as well.. it's the way motoyaki is suppose to be. If you have ever had the baked black cod with miso mayo at Guu, then imagine that topping.. on top of a half lobster tail. Mmmmmmmmmmmm....

[Charelli's]

Charelli's in Victoria sells Rookvlees. Being born in the Netherlands this is a normal item to be consumed either at the breakfast or lunch, but even as a dinner item.

Carmen Lassooij

598-4794

[Matt R.]

Charelli's in Victoria sells Rookvlees. Being born in the Netherlands this is a normal item to be consumed either at the breakfast or lunch, but even as a dinner item.

Carmen Lassooij

598-4794

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OK, OK. I Googled it. Is that like horse pastrami, or closer to horse bacon? Can you buy it in a can?

And what is ontbijtkoek?

Neat!

-- Matt.

[fud]

I'm sorry... this is still completely gross to me...

Why would I eat cow and not horse..... now that, is good question.

But you know what... no matter how I slice it.... eating horse just isn't on.

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Well I think it's human nature to prefer not to eat things which they can easily associate with something else (like a social aspect). Which is why we don't generally eat dogs, cats, etc. Same reason why people who own pot belly pigs as pets will stop eating pork.

In this case I think we all generally associate horses with riding horses (?). Cows? You don't see cows a lot in the media, you don't see them happily providing us milk (aside: arn't bulls slaughtered and cows kept for milk anyways?).

Even lamb you don't see too often. I don't see little children on TV being saved from the river by a herd of sheep. Maybe if we did we wouldn't be so cavalier about eating them. You don't see hero's valiantly riding bessie into battle in movies and saving humankind.

It's bad but we seem to eat the meats we eat because we shelter ourselves from them.

Of course I'm not claiming that we all do this but I think it does affect many. I know of meat eaters who get queesey when they see the butcher shopping steaks from the main hunk'o'meat.

[torakris]

Last night I prepared yukhwe (Korean dish of seasoned raw beef) using horse meat, the results were outstanding. I will be doing this again!

[peanutgirl]

I'm curious to know if you don't mind ... what did you end up paying for the meat ?

[torakris]

I'm curious to know if you don't mind ... what did you end up paying for the meat ?

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It cost about 800 yen (just under $7) for 170 grams (6 ounces).

[Timh]

While living in Kurume, I traveled to Kagoshima where Basashi Sashimi is a specialty. In addition to the standard cut, we also had the heart, and imho it was the best cut. Very tender, meaty flavor. I had horse in France afterward, but its the sashimi that i go back to in my memory.

[peanutgirl]

Thanks Kris. If I see a big sale here in NJ I might be tempted to try it based on the above photo.

[KitchenQueen]

I'm not a PETA person, but psychologically, I don't think I could eat horse meat.  It's in the pet category, like cat & dog.

I also didn't know that horse meat was legal to eat anywhere in the US.  um, is it? 

Dog and cat is pretty good eating too

S

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PLEEEEZE tell me that was a joke. I'm sick......

[chappie]

When my parents were first married in the late 1960s, they were invited to dinner at the home of some wealthy acquaintances — a family who owned a successful pet food business.

Their friend's father produced some gorgeous steaks off the grill — Mom described them as the best pieces of meat she'd ever eaten. Only when the last bites were swallowed did the hosts mention they'd just eaten cheval.

Mom was horrified, being a lifelong rider and lover of horses, but she still had to admit, "it was damn good meat."

I've never tried it, but I understand it's one of the few edible mammals that get better with age. (Um, pre-death age, that is...)

[Alex]

I ate basashi at a friend's house when I lived in Japan, nearly two decades ago. I seem to remember that it tasted lightly smoked, and that I liked it a lot. My (American) girlfriend, who also was living in Japan and whose daughter back in the States owned a horse, couldn't bring herself to eat it. I'd turn to her and make horse sounds, which probably goes a long way toward explaining why she broke up with me.

[chappie]

I never really had any desire to eat horse meat. Maybe it has something to do with having worked with horses - mostly in the woods twitching out logs. You can get close to a horse when you're working together.

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We had a pet pig when I was 10, and I was quite close with Mork (the Pork) as we called him. Found him to have twice the brains and sense of humor of the next-best dog we'd ever had (and we'd been through some great dogs).

Still love bacon, though.