Bizarre Bites

Bizarre Bites: Rat

Oh, Rats! I have eaten quite a few rats in my day, and I’m here to tell you they are pretty darn tasty. Bush and pack rats of several species in Arizona, jungle rats of several types in Ecuador and Suriname, Royal rats (gibnuts) in Belize, cane rats in Uganda, rice rats in Thailand, a giant…  Read More

Bizarre Bites: Tarantulas

Eight-Legged Treats Of all the foods I have eaten in my lifetime, the tarantula strikes me as one of the strangest from a psychological standpoint. We are pre-conditioned in this country to think of these fuzzy insects as scary and poisonous, belonging on Halloween decorations, not dinner plates. But they taste great, reminding me of…  Read More

Bizarre Bites: Headcheese

Meat Jelly Headcheese is a meat jelly made from the head of a calf, pig, or sheep, typically served in aspic. “Aspic” might sound like a poisonous chemical, but it’s in fact just chopped-up ingredients held together with meat stock or consommé infused with gelatin. Meat jellies became popular many centuries ago when the head…  Read More

Bizarre Bites: Turducken

For the Birds Sitting at the local Poultry A-Go-Go and fraught with worry over what to order? Order the turducken and get the best of everything. This ingenious dish is a boneless duck, stuffed inside a boneless duck, stuffed inside a boneless turkey… then roasted. In the United Kingdom, it goes by the Dickensian moniker…  Read More

Bizarre Bites: Grasshoppers

Jump Around They’re high in protein, low in fat, and rich in minerals, not to mention they’re delish! After ants, grasshoppers are the most popular insect eaten around the world. Unlike ants, grasshoppers have superior flavor profiles that vary from region to region depending on their diet, and grasshoppers can be cooked any way imaginable.…  Read More

Bizarre Bites: Cow’s Blood

Mmm…Blood In many cultures, blood consumption plays an important role in a healthy lifestyle. Enthusiasts say the red stuff keeps you strong, and can even warm you up on a cool day. Chug a glass of blood and your body temperature will indeed rise a few degrees–seriously! Overcoming the psychological hurdles (not to mention the…  Read More

Bizarre Bites: Rabbit

There’s a hare in my soup! Oh, wait. It’s supposed to be there. Found on tables in the Americas, Europe, and parts of the Middle East, rabbit and hare are just as cute as they are delicious. Rabbit meat is most often categorized into three groups. Fryer cuts come from rabbits up to nine weeks…  Read More

Bizarre Bites: Liver

What Am I? Chopped Liver? A variety of animals gloriously lend their livers to the food world. Beef, chicken, duck, and goose livers, also known colloquially and collectively as foie gras, monkfish liver, and pig liver, are just a few of these organs that end up on the global table. It can be baked, broiled,…  Read More

Bizarre Bites: Squid Ink

Good Inking Ever been so scared you’ve peed in your pants? Me neither, but I’ve been close. (Did you see the Bizarre Foods episode where I almost jumped off the nuclear reactor in South Africa…but chickened out? Yikes.) Squid, like most other cephalopods, have a similar problem. These animals have a mechanism that releases a blue-black…  Read More

Bizarre Bites: Fugu

Danger! Beware of Japanese restaurants boasting glowing, globular, fish-shaped lanterns…it might mean a meal there could be your last. The lantern signifies that they specialize in serving toxic fugu, also called puffer fish or blowfish. Japan has been home to the fugu dish for hundreds of years, if not more. Anthropologists discovered remnants of fugu…  Read More

Bizarre Bites: Cuy

A.K.A. Guinea Pig My son was four years old and just wrapping up another year of preschool when Daddy came to visit the class. I walked in and a little girl began screaming, “Don’t eat Simon! He’s going to eat Simon!!!…AAARRGGGHHH!” Well, I didn’t that time. We keep this teeny little rodent as a pet,…  Read More

Bizarre Bites: Donkey

Hee-Haw From their big teeth to their stringy tails, little about a donkey looks appetizing to the American palate. In ancient Athens, only the poor would stoop to eating such a thing. At the turn of the 19th century, a Maltese food shortage caused starving residents to consume the protein out of necessity. As it…  Read More

Bizarre Bites: Maggot Cheese

It’s Alive! Picture it: You slice into a a beautiful wheel of cheese. The perfectly aged rind, the pungent rotted diaper scent of coagulated milk, and your ears pick up the teeniest tiniest little squeak, the pitter-patter of little…maggots? That’s right, this midsized wheel of cheese is filled with wriggling and jiggling fly larvae. Maggot…  Read More

Bizarre Bites: Durian

King of Fruits Is it rotten onions? Funky garbage fumes? A dirty gym sock after a high school basketball tourney? No, that could simply be fresh fruit. Durian, known in Asia as the “king of fruits,” is crowned with a spiky exterior and filled with stinky fruit flesh. This fruit from the durian tree is…  Read More

Bizarre Bites: Octopus

Eight-Legged Treats Octopus is an ingredient used in dishes across the globe, but in Korea it’s prepared it a little differently. Sannakji is made by cutting a live octopus into small pieces right before serving. Though the animal is dead, electrical impulses still in the octopus’s arms cause the pieces to wriggle around on the…  Read More

Bizarre Bites: Octopus

Eight-Legged Treats Octopus is an ingredient used in dishes across the globe, but in Korea it’s prepared it a little differently. Sannakji is made by cutting a live octopus into small pieces right before serving. Though the animal is dead, electrical impulses still in the octopus’s arms cause the pieces to wriggle around on the…  Read More

Bizarre Bites: Tongue

A Tasty Treat (No Pun Intended). A popular ingredient around the world, tongue is becoming more popular in the U.S. It is boneless, has more protein than a steak and half the fat. It’s a much healthier alternative than many other proteins. Plus, it comes in almost any variety you can think of: beef, pork, lamb…  Read More

Bizarre Bites: Tongue

A Tasty Treat (No Pun Intended). A popular ingredient around the world, tongue is becoming more popular in the U.S. It is boneless, has more protein than a steak and half the fat. It’s a much healthier alternative than many other proteins. Plus, it comes in almost any variety you can think of: beef, pork, lamb…  Read More

Bizarre Bites: Alligator Meat

The Other, Other White Meat Chicken and turkey continue to populate tables across the country, but maybe it’s time we start eating gator. Sounds weird, but it’s true: gator is one of the healthiest proteins. Alligator meat has a fine texture, similar to chicken and pork, but contains less calories, fat and cholesterol than either…  Read More

Bizarre Bites: Alligator Meat

The Other, Other White Meat Chicken and turkey continue to populate tables across the country, but maybe it’s time we start eating gator. Sounds weird, but it’s true: gator is one of the healthiest proteins. Alligator meat has a fine texture, similar to chicken and pork, but contains less calories, fat and cholesterol than either…  Read More

Bizarre Bites: Dung Beetles

Poo-poo Platter A dung beetle walks into a bar. “Pardon me,” he says to the bartender. “Is this stool taken?” Dung beetles don’t look in a refrigerator when they’re hungry, they simply trail a big animal until it goes number two. Then, dinner is served. Dung beetles are a popular snack in rural Laos and…  Read More

Bizarre Bites: Dung Beetles

Poo-poo Platter A dung beetle walks into a bar. “Pardon me,” he says to the bartender. “Is this stool taken?” Dung beetles don’t look in a refrigerator when they’re hungry, they simply trail a big animal until it goes number two. Then, dinner is served. Dung beetles are a popular snack in rural Laos and…  Read More

Bizarre Bites: Brains

It’s a No-Brainer Brains aren’t just for zombies. Brains are a delicacy eaten by people all around the world. The most popular are lamb, pig and cow brains, but you can really eat any animal’s brain, provided it’s fresh. I’ve even dined on squirrel brain. It was delicious! Brains are full of healthy nutrients like…  Read More