What unusual animals have you eaten?

[Guitarmasterx7]

There was a local place that used to serve ostrich burgers and I ate there all the time as a kid.

Other than that I've had octopus and bison. I don't think those are too uncommon.

 

[Sku1c]

Alligator, Python, Rattlesnake, Ostrich, Kangaroo, Zebra, Blesbok.

Probably some others that I can't remember, benefits of working at a butcher's shop, we get some exotic stuff to try out now and then.

I see people listing Rabbit though, is that considered unusual in places? I thought it was fairly common.

 

[Evil Smurf]

I enjoy offal, and have had kangaroo.

 

[TGSpectre]

Bison/Buffalo - Some of the best steaks I've ever eaten

Crocodile, Kangaroo, Ostrich, Alpaca, Zebra, Moufloun (sort of a Cypriot goat)

I got married in a Zoo and the catering was supplied by an exotic meat company, lots of steaks, burgers and sausages of many of the exhibits. Caused a certain amount of consternation to be serving Zebra steaks why overlooking a herd in the distance.

Also snails, frogs legs, squid & octopus, venison, pheasant, grouse, partridge, guinea foul, (wouldnt have considered them rare though)

Oh, and horse..... and not just in a Tesco ready meal.

 

[Leemaster777]

I have to jump on the bandwagon of guys who've eaten gator.

Then again, it's really not a big deal here in Florida. It's not hard at all to find gator here. Hell, I've even had gator jerky.

And yeah, it does kinda taste like chicken.

 

[Auron225]

Scorpion: Disgusting, particularly the texture.
Tarantula: Pretty tasetless actually, and it was kinda hollow.
Pigs' brain: Also disgusting, the texture was exactly how one might imagine a brain would be.
Ostrich: Delicious - I love ostrich
Kangaroo: Pretty good. I thought it was similar to beef

 

[The White Hunter]

Honestly I guess venison or buffalo, but I don't consider either of those very weird.

It's not really easy to find "exotic" stuff in stores here.

I mean... I guess clams are different an animal as I've gotten but still.

I guess it means I should go out and eat me some squirrel or raccoon huh?

Squirrel is tasty, Racoon will make you sick.

OIT: Squirrel is tasty. Horse is tasty. Frog legs are tasty but kinda pointless, same with snails.

 

[ViridianV6]

Kangaroo and emu.

Because in Australia we eat our emblems!

 

[purf]

The most unusual was probably shark. In a helluva spicy dish, so I can't tell how it tastes, exactly.
As for squid amd prawns and everything from water that's not fish or seaweed, obligatory XKCD

 

[Arina Love]

salami made out of horse, meat was way fatty for me so i didn't like it.

 

[lachlan4567]

Crocodile, farm raised so it did indeed taste like chicken
it was actually in a pie and besides the texture it was chicken, I hear wild croc tastes more like pork though.

 

[pejhmon]

The following are meats that I have eaten separated into categories that I deem them to be appropriately in, even if not so "unusual" in my eyes since others so far in this thread/friends have considered them unusual:

"Mainstream" meats
Lamb - my favourite
I've had an Iranian breakfast (cooked on special occasions) which is basically an entire sheep's head in a stew when I visited my family in Iran. I was only 11 at the time so I didn't get too adventurous and stuck mainly to the soup it was in, but the tongue was nice. My dad got stuck right in there having brain and eyes and whatever else.

Beef
Chicken
Pork - not too keen on pork, but ham/sausages/bacon are alright now and then.

Specialist/luxury/more expensive meats
Venison (deer) - Would be my favourite over lamb if I could afford to have it regularly
Duck - Never buy duck crown. Always get duck breasts. Otherwise a great tasting meat, especially when in China
Goose Liver - specifically in the form of paté. Amazing
Pousin (small bird) - Basically like a small chicken, but nicer
Buffalo - More expensive beef. Not worth it to be honest
Wild Boar - Quite nice

Regional delicacies
These are thing I've had abroad that are relatively common there, but are rare/non existent at home.

Snails (France & China) - The French do them better, but the Chinese do it decently as well. French make it hot with garlic and butter whilst the Chinese serve it ice cold (as in, over ice after cooked so it's fridge cold) with a bunch of spices
Pigeon (France) - Tough. Just a really tough meat. Probably cooked wrong in that restaurant but still.
Rabbit (Spain) - It was alright, but I'm definite that a testicle was in there as well, which has put me off it indefinitely (especially since I had it when I was 14)
Scorpions (China) - Tasteless crunchy things
Snake (China) - Chewy like rubber and odd. Avoid
Frog (China) - Not bad, but nothing special. Odd cross between fish and chicken (more fish-like in taste, chicken-like in texture)

Seafood
Some people I know wont touch anything that once lived in water, so for them everything on this list would be considered unusual.

Cod
Black Cod - Amazing
Haddock
Salmon - sashimi :3
Lemon Sole
Prawn/Shrimp/Scampi/King Prawns/Tiger Prawns/Langoustines
Mussels
Crab - Best crustacean in almost any form. Personal favourites are soft shell crab (sushi) and black pepper crab (Singapore/Malaysia)
Lobster - Crab is better and cheaper
Caviar (fish eggs) - Not that keen
Mackerel
Tuna
Fatty Tuna (can't remember the exact name) - Amazing
Squid
Sardines
Eel
Bream
Clams
Oyster - Fucking disgusting

And to top off the list, the maggot at the bottom of a tequila bottle (I know that the drink that has the maggot at the bottom isn't called tequila but I can't remember the name).

There's bound to be a few that I've missed, especially with respect to seafood since I've been to a few restaurants (or even just my dad cooking at home) where I've had "today's special", which was just random white fish. Also, living in England, I've probably had horse without my knowledge.

 

[Slvrwolfen]

Kangaroo for me. Had a tasty filet, pretty damn delish.

Less unusual include moose and reindeer as they're fairly common in my area.

 

[Pinkamena]

Oh you know. Horse, reindeer, pegasus, etc.
Good stuff, good stuff.
Eating meat is a bit frowned upon in my community tho.

 

[Fdzzaigl]

We eat rabbit quite often here, not unusual at all imo.

The most unusual thing I can remember ordering was sea urchin in Greece. The taste was disappointingly uninteresting imo. It tasted exactly like when you open your mouth while swimming in the sea.

Also ostrich, frog etc. Some traditional dishes around the coast and in Brussels include several types of snails etc. not a fan.

 

[TheRightToArmBears]

Well, I've had pretty much everything on the menu at YoYo Burger in Bristol (I have no idea if it's a chain or independent, either way, fucking delicious). That's camel, bison, buffalo, kangaroo and probably some others- I'm only ever there when I'm absolutely ruined so it's hard to remember what was on the menu or what they tasted like, but from what I remember they were mostly a lot like a richer version of beef.

Other than that, I'm not really sure people consider swordfish unusual, but it's really fucking tasty. It's much meatier than other fish, less flaky and a bit tougher. I've noticed people listing stuff like venison, rabbit or squid as unusual, perhaps this is just me being a middle class bastard but I never thought of them as particularly unusual. Uncommon maybe, but they're pretty well-established as food. I'd eat/have eaten pretty much most seafood that's not a cephalopod because they're fucking creepy.

 

[K12]

Goat - Freshly sacrificed (don't ask), not that great really. Kinda like old lamb.

Yak - had this on a pizza with Yak cheese (or whatever the females are called cheese). Really nice, like beef but richer and the cheese is very nice too but extremely fatty.

Buffalo (as in real buffalo and not American Bison) - not appreciably different to beef.

Whale - strong iron flavour but extremely tough, my jaw almost fell off with all the chewing.

Raw Seal Liver - Didn't stay in my mouth long enough to taste it.

Curried Octopus Tentacle - Surprisingly nice though to be honest I think I could only taste the curry spices.

Spider legs - Not that bad actually. Do NOT eat the thorax it is absolutely revolting!

Crickets - Actually quite a good snack if you can get over what you're doing.

Cockroach - the size of my palm and I ate it in one go, NOT RECOMMENDED TO ANYONE EVER!

Also if you go to Cambodia and someone offers you Khmer cheese, it isn't cheese, it's very old fish BLEURGH!

Needless to say I'm a vegetarian now.