I did not want to hijack the "bugs on the menu" topic, but on a buffalo hunt in Zim, my PH wanted me to try a dish that he called "guru". This must not be the correct spelling, because an internet search did not bring up anything. I am not sure what all was in it, but it appeared to be made from either the stomach or intestines of the buffalo. It was like a cassarole with tomatoes, something that looked like noodles, and a few other vegetables. Everyone loved it, it tasted like "menudo" that we have in Texas. Anyone know how this is made or have had it in camp?

I have not had the dish you describe, and not to hijack your thread but on the subject of odd food....

I have had lion and cheetah in Africa. Lion was great. Cheetah was good, but nothing special.

My first time in Namibia I got to talking to my PH about all the stuff the pioneer hunters did to survive. Things such as Neuman(or was it Selous?) killing a zebra to drink the liquid from the stomach to keep from dying of dehydration.

He told me about the survival course he taught in the army. One of the things he mentioned was how part of a grass eaters stomach can be eaten raw if you are in a situation where you can't have a cooking fire.

Then I killed my kudu. As we were dressing it he cut a piece of the stomach and rinsed it off with water. He then said, "This is the part that can be eaten raw" and tore it in half and popped half in his mouth and handed me the other half. I ate it. Tasted like grass with a bit of an acidic/spicy flavor. Not bad at all.

I have tried that raw grassy part of the stomach of a buffalo. Taste was not bad, but did have a grassy taste. The trackers loved it. I think they eat that part of an elephants stomach as well.

I tried the mopani worms in namibia last year. They tasted like over cooked chicken

I always figure everything is worth trying once, but I eat just about anything. Grandma used to make me pig's brains and scrambles eggs for breakfast back when I was little. Made me laugh when I saw eating brains as a challenge on "Fear Factor." To think, I willingly ate and enjoyed brains without a cash incentive.

Does anyone know if this special part of the stomach you can eat raw is also on North American game?

The white stuff you're talking about is just tripes.... 'fraid the Ki Swahili & Zulu names escape me for the moment.

Tripes from buff/cows or antelope are a fairly regular part of the diet for the Africans (esp in a hunting camp) and often served with a tomato sauce. They were also a traditional Brit dish in the old days but I'd have thought rarely eaten nowadays. - I enjoy 'em and if I see the guys in camp are eating them for lunch will often join them for a little if I have time. - I should say if it tastes of grass, it hasn't been cleaned properly.

Some years ago, I was travelling somewhere with Ian Goss who is chief examiner of PHs for KZN. We stopped at a roadside bar/cafe for lunch and he ordered what was obviously his 'usual'.

When it arrived, it was a thick stew of all kinds of fuckin' weird things like chickens feet and heads, bits of pigs trotter and Christ only knows what else. It also stank like a bucket of week old puke........ I couldn't even sit at the same table while he ate it, let alone try it for myself.

I can't remember what it was called but get an idea he told me it was some kind of traditional Afrikaans dish? - Mind you, I'm not sure anyone will be able to identify it from the way I described it.

No .idea what you were eating steve but could be just about anything. I have tried an awfull lot of fermented/rotted meat. Most was quite good, some you had to get by the smell. Other had a texture like raw rubber. Probaly should have been boiled for hours. I love pofader and tripe stew but only if I or someone I trust cleans it. I like testicles and even the occassion chopped penus in soup. Liver. kidney, spleen, stomach all very good. Some takes some judicious pressure cooking to make the texture palatable. Brains, tongue, thymus, kidney,stomach,liver,heart all good. Chicken feet, coxcomb, unborn chicken embyos, also one of my favourites chicken ovaries. I have had candied goat eyes amd liked it. Most offal is quite good if prepared correctly

Mike,

I'll most things but reckon I'd take a rain cheque on some of those things you mention.

I've just remembered what you guys in the States call tripes...... I'm not sure about the spelling but I think you call 'em chitlins.

Just don't eat off the street carts!!!

Mike

Your list is quite impressive. I have tried a few of those and all of it tastes like shit or curried shit .. and besides, why the hell do I want to eat goats eyes or croc penis if I can have a sizzling eland rump or crumbed sable steak! Cold tongue with some mustard does not belong there ... nor does liver with onions.

quote:

Originally posted by Bahati:
Cold tongue with some mustard does not belong there ... nor does liver with onions.

Buffalo tongue is one of my favourites as is buffalo tail soup..... Mind you, they're about the only parts of a buffalo that are worth eating. Everything in between is second rate at the very least.

I've never tried it but have always wondered if elephant tongue might also be good.

Antelope liver, esp impala liver is also great with onions and gravy.

quote:

Originally posted by shakari:
The white stuff you're talking about is just tripes.

I should say if it tastes of grass, it hasn't been cleaned properly.

I agree. Mine was just swished around in some water to knock the grass off. And it was RAW!


Is it common to eat tripe raw?

quote:

Originally posted by JBrown:
Is it common to eat tripe raw?

I've never heard of it and frankly would have to be hellua hungry to try it.

It does remind me of what I'm told is a true story though.

An Aussie TV cookery show were filming a series where the chef was also a hunter and they had him travelling around the world and every country he visited, he'd hunt an animal and then cook the best parts.

He got to somewhere cold and snowy and shot an elk or a reindeer or something. (Bear in mind this is all being filmed) The guide opened the stomach and then explained that as they had so much snow, green vegetables were always in short supply and consequently, it was traditional to eat the stomach contents like a salad and also traditional for the hunter to eat some straight out of the animal. He then scooped up a big lump of it with his knife blade and offered it to the chef/hunter.

The chef shoved a load in his gob and started chewing. The the guide looked him bang in the eye and said, "only kidding".

tripe in Kenya is called matubo. the spelling may not be right butI'm useing ebonics.

goat sausage two kinds called matura in kenya. one kind made with small intestine other kind with large intestine second kind tastes kinda like shit

My favorite meal in Africa is a good fry up with liver, heart and kidneys instead of the sausage. Buffalo tongue is very good for a cold lunch. In the Omay when I got my Buffalo the PH told the crew to be careful with the stomach because it was for him. Haven't had "plains oysters" yet maybe this year.

Mike listening to your menu makes me feel like I've been missing something over the years in Africa!

I can vouch for the tasty nature of testicles through a Zambian tracker and friend Shedrick Mubita. When he and I hunted, his role was that of a retriever in the dog world. Upon seeing the animal flop to the ground, he'd sprint up to it. With his panga he immediately sliced the balls of each animal, and put them in his pounch for consumption later back in camp.

And then there was this one time that I shot a buffalo, and Shedrick really got excited. You see buffalo balls are like filet mignon to the hard core (no pun intended) testicle lover.

Shedrick sprinted like Carl Lewis over to that dead buffalo. He whipped out his panga, grabbed the buffalo scrotum to make the all important perfect incision, and then started yelling angrily while letting go of scrotum. He started waving that panga at me like he wanted to slice mine off-he was so mad.

His anger emanated from the realization that the buff only had one nut. PH Peter Chipman and I were laughing so hard, because Shedrick was so mad at me--that I shot a buffalo that had only one testicle. Even the game scout gave me an evil look!

Moral of the story and mantra I've lived by ever since: Make sure the PH can verify two nuggets down there before pulling the trigger on a buffalo. A good testicle meal must always be prepared in tandem. One is never enough.

Sable Trail:
Your one-jeweled buff story made my day!
Here in cattle country, you order breaded calf fries at the small cow-town restaurants. Damned good eating and a great appetizer with ice-cold beer.
Only thing I didn't care much for in Namibia was the smoked elephant. Very, very chewy. Could probably re-sole boots with it.

Guru is a stew made from buffalo stomach. The raw stomach, eaten in the field, is called "bush calamari". I enjoy both of them!

I'll happily stick to a good beef steak, potato and salad thank you!

quote:

Originally posted by David W:
Guru is a stew made from buffalo stomach. The raw stomach, eaten in the field, is called "bush calamari". I enjoy both of them!

Thanks David, that is the answer I was looking for. I thought it was stomach because it tasted and had a texture like menudo. I just don't know if "guru" is the right spelling, although that is how it was pronounced.

The raw stomach that I ate in the field was not the stomach lining itself, but the grassy contents of the buffalo's lower stomach. It was solid like "pate" and was cut in slices with a knife and eaten like a "hors d'oeuvre". It tasted like grass, and may not be the same as "bush calamari". I think it may be one step above what later becomes the contents of the lower intestines.

I ate a corn meal dish every morning as my breakfast. I think it was called "mealy-mealy" in the Chirisa safari District of Zimbabwe where I was. Delicious and I credit it for never having either diarrhea or constipation or any kind of stomach upset in the bush. "Guru" seems to be like tripe. Don't the Scots eat their "haggis" made of tripe? If so, the Scots are better authorities on this subject about eating something really inedible. We civilized Irish, of, course, never touched such "food". (Just kidding -to the Scots whom I never want after me! Everybody else -believe me!)

I like to consider myself adventurous where food is concerned. I will ty most anything at least once. It isnt a matter of how unusual the food is in regards to the taste. Just because something is really strange dosnt mean it isnt good. On the other hand some of it just tastes like shit as previously mentioned. Most of it depends on how it was killed, the meat was handled and then prepared. If you strapped an eland to the front of your bakkie and drove 2 days home I am sure it would taste like crap as well. My point is even the best meat can be ruined by poor handling. The reverse is also true. A "lesser" piece can be made into something quite good if prepared well. Truthfully the most unusual stuff I have eaten has been various places in Asia . That said I find that in most cases every region usually has their own version. A lot of what is seen as delicacies in my mind isnt. Why is it a delicacy? Because usually there is just one or 2 of something.
Steve, chitlins although tastie sure let the whole nebourhood know if someone is cooking them.

Johan, I agree with your tastes. Those are some mighty fine eating. It just dosnt mean I wont try something else.

I just re-read the one nut buff story while watching biathalon on the tele. I started laughing so hard the wife asked what was happening. She thought she missed something.

quote:

Originally posted by Gerrypeters375:
I ate a corn meal dish every morning as my breakfast. I think it was called "mealy-mealy" in the Chirisa safari District of Zimbabwe where I was. Delicious and I credit it for never having either diarrhea or constipation or any kind of stomach upset in the bush. "Guru" seems to be like tripe. Don't the Scots eat their "haggis" made of tripe? If so, the Scots are better authorities on this subject about eating something really inedible. We civilized Irish, of, course, never touched such "food". (Just kidding -to the Scots whom I never want after me! Everybody else -believe me!)

I hunted out of a camp in Chete, and when I visited the trackers camp on night (they had their own camp away from the main camp), they all had an iron pot of "mealy meal" over the fire. It looked like regular corn meal mixed with water, and cooked long enough to crust over on the top. They also had the skinned hyrax I had shot that day skewered on sticks roasting over the fire, and the Tiger Fish that we had caught in Lake Kariba were being cooked also. All in all, it looked like a good meal. I believe they called the "mealy meal" "sadza".

I had toast and coffee every day for breakfast.

quote:

Originally posted by Gerrypeters375:
"Guru" seems to be like tripe.

I just did a "google search" of tripe, and indeed tripe is "guru" in Zimbabwe. Thanks everyone.

quote:

Originally posted by RBHunt:

quote:

Originally posted by Gerrypeters375:
I ate a corn meal dish every morning as my breakfast. I think it was called "mealy-mealy"

I hunted out of a camp in Chete, and when I visited the trackers camp on night (they had their own camp away from the main camp), they all had an iron pot of "mealy meal" over the fire. It looked like regular corn meal mixed with water, and cooked long enough to crust over on the top.

I believe they called the "mealy meal" "sadza".

Mealy-meal is the dry "corn meal" that is mixed with water and cooked to make the sadza(Zimbabwe & Botswana), nshima(Zambia), or paup(SA? & namibia) that is the staple of nearly every meal for millions of Africans.

I believe the mealy-meal is different from our corn meal in that it is processed by being soaked in lye to remove the hull and germ from the kernels before they are dried and ground into flour, where our corn meal retains some of the hull and germ.

As far as common foods here in the US, grits and polenta are similar to the sadza/nshima/paup that is made in Africa.

If you want to make sadza here in the US you can buy the Masa flour that is used for making tortillas and tamales. It is sold in Mexican markets.

My wife is from Zambia and she says the sadza we make using masa flour is the same as the nshima she ate every day back home.

Most internet sites vaugely describe the preparation of sadza as being "complicated" and an "art form". I believe this is because there in generally no written recipe used in its preparation. Truth is, it's not that hard to make, I have even impressed my wife by making it a time or two.

Just start with two cups of cold water in a large pot. Stir in about half a cup of masa flour then place over medium heat. Once it begins to boil slowly add in more masa flour until you have a fairly stiff porridge. Turn the heat down to low and let this simmer(bubble and pop) for about half an hour. In Africa a woman would sit or stand over the pot and "paddle"(stir) it the whole time. That is what my wife does, but when I cook it I just stir it every few minutes. In Zambia they add a bit more mealy meal in just as it is finished cooking to thicken it up and add some texture. I have not seen this done in Zimbabwe, Botswana or Namibia. Serve with stewed meat, chicken or fish and southern style greens. The meat and vegetables that accompany sadza are referred to as the "relish" denoting the sadza as the main focus of the meal.

After spending three consecutive months in Zambia I become addicted to sadza. It really does add a different feel to a meal. The smell of it cooking takes never fails to take me back to Africa.

And Gerry, if you ate sadza alone(without relish) the kitchen staff probally had a good laugh at the musangu(white guy) as no self respecting African would eat sadza by itself unless they were starving.



sadza

nshima

quote:

Originally posted by ddrhook:
goat sausage two kinds called matura in kenya. one kind made with small intestine other kind with large intestine second kind tastes kinda like shit

I often hear people say the bold print in the quote above, and the first thought that crosses my mind is, HOW DO THEY KNOW?

Gentlemen I'm as adventurous as the next guy, but I will not eat anything RAW in Africa, PERIOD! Too many parasites in animals there! I shot a zebra once, and when we looked at the bullet hole, there were three or four very thin worms swiming in the blood in the bullet hole! I certainly would not eat a piece of raw tissue from the zebra Though I enjoy zebra steaks grilled over mopani coals to pink center! Sadza, and fried eggs is a great breakfast!

Steve I saw that show with the guy tasteing the contents of the Caribou stomach! The name of that show was an episode of "WORLD TREKKER" In the USA it is a show shown by "public television". That guy will try anything!

A few years back, a buddy and I shot an eland. The trackers lit a fire and started cooking something. The PH wanted us to try what they were cooking. It turned out it was eland anus or rectum, I call it eland asshole. It didn't taste bad, just very chewy. When no one was looking I spit it out.

Well, just a word to the wise, having taken multiple college hours in Food toxicology,

Cats- are notorious for worms, a man here in the USA contracted trichinosis (commonly found in raw pork) from eating cougar jerky. Beware!

I can't imagine eating any raw meats in africa, completely irresponsible, and any PH that solicits that to clients should really have his head examined. There are some serious bugs that can wreak havoc on the body.

quote:

Originally posted by Oryxhunter1983:
Well, just a word to the wise, having taken multiple college hours in Food toxicology,

Cats- are notorious for worms, a man here in the USA contracted trichinosis (commonly found in raw pork) from eating cougar jerky. Beware!

I can't imagine eating any raw meats in africa, completely irresponsible, and any PH that solicits that to clients should really have his head examined. There are some serious bugs that can wreak havoc on the body.

Very good advice there. One should never eat that kind of thing in Africa and even when it's well cooked, anyone who eats cat meat of any kind is asking for trouble.

I also make a point of never eating anything that eats people..... and that includes crocodile.

There is a book written years ago by Berton Roueche' (spelling??), called "Eleven Blue Men", that is fascinating....stories of sleuthing by the US Public Health Service ...food parasitism, toxin poisoning, disease spread, etc. Author followed that book with a second "The Orange Man", that was interesting also, but less so than his first book.

hell, this might be slightly off topic, but, if you can get around the SE Asia condiment nuoc mam(AKA rancid fish sauce), I believe you can handle anything

Most of that salami that everyone loves is pretty much all zebra. Puts even some of the city africans off when they find that out. Oh well, more for the rest of us. I have typically stayed away from cats, although Im sure I ate some well disguised chopped parts in Asia. I have eaten a lot of dog though.Again in SE asia not africa. I have had barbecued monkey on a stick. The meat could truly be anything unless you look close. They singe off the hair over the coals. Then meat is cut up into 1 to 2 inch cuts. Threaded on whatever wood kabbob-type spears available. Back on the charcoal basted with either terriaki, hot garlic sauce, or other numerous barbeque sauces. The spicier the better. The only thing that does bother me is that the speared little paws look just a little too human in my mind

quote:

Originally posted by shakari:

quote:

Originally posted by JBrown:
Is it common to eat tripe raw?

I've never heard of it and frankly would have to be hellua hungry to try it.

It does remind me of what I'm told is a true story though.

An Aussie TV cookery show were filming a series where the chef was also a hunter and they had him travelling around the world and every country he visited, he'd hunt an animal and then cook the best parts.

He got to somewhere cold and snowy and shot an elk or a reindeer or something. (Bear in mind this is all being filmed) The guide opened the stomach and then explained that as they had so much snow, green vegetables were always in short supply and consequently, it was traditional to eat the stomach contents like a salad and also traditional for the hunter to eat some straight out of the animal. He then scooped up a big lump of it with his knife blade and offered it to the chef/hunter.

The chef shoved a load in his gob and started chewing. The the guide looked him bang in the eye and said, "only kidding".

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The series we see here, "Survivor Man" with a guy named "Bear" something shows him in the 'wilds' of a swamp here in Georgia explaining how to live in the wild and I swear, he finds a pile of fresh deer pellets - whitetail's normally crap a pile of pellets - and this yo-yo picks up a handful, pops some in his mouth and explains they are just chock-a-block full of "veet-a-mins" and really good for you.
As I once told the instructor in survial school "I might eat that - someday - but I'm not that hungry yet!" Memories of the Chagris River pop to mind!

The strange things i have eaten.

Pigs spleen it was cooked on open fire with lots of salt tasted crap. almost brought up.

I have eaten impala head was really nice curried.

Have also tried vervet monkey. Was prepared on farm by the staff. VEry gamey and tough. ATe it with long teeth.

I did put the recipie in my book african hunters cook book under for the brave section. But will not try that again.

Have had impala tounge was good.

Also a dish called hearty breakfast made from heart kidneys and liver of a duiker. also in the book.

I have had cane rate as well as porcupine.both very nice in a stew.

walky talkies . this is the heads and feet of chickens cooked in a curry.

We had Eland Brain cassarole on one of my hunts, it wasn't very good.

I'm a great fan of Alexander Lake's books but he had some dodgy recipes and here's just one of 'em:

Smoked Hippo Hams:

To the fleshy side of a 120 pound hippo ham apply 4 tablespoons saltpetre and 1 1/2 pounds brown sugar, rubbing well into the hock. Now lay ham on it's side, fleshy side up, in a wooden tub or cask and cover with 1 inch layer of good salt. Cover and set away for 6 weeks. Rub off salt, and rub in black pepper. Hang up and let drain for 8 days. Smoke with any green wood for 10 weeks. Cool. Return to tub and cover with salt mixed with 1 ounce salkpetre. After 6 days put ham in strong brine to which has been added 2 ounces each of saffron, ginger, rosemary, cummin, and 4 ounces of cloves. Soak in this brine for 7 weeks, hang up, drain well, rub with pepper and smoke again with green wood.

note: Rhino, wild pig and wart hog hams cured according to the foregoing recipe are equally delicious.

That works out that you get to eat the meat something like 6 months after it was shot...... All I can say to that is rather him than me!

quote:

Originally posted by TrapperP:
The series we see here, "Survivor Man" with a guy named "Bear" something shows him in the 'wilds' of a swamp here in Georgia explaining how to live in the wild and I swear, he finds a pile of fresh deer pellets - whitetail's normally crap a pile of pellets - and this yo-yo picks up a handful, pops some in his mouth and explains they are just chock-a-block full of "veet-a-mins" and really good for you.
As I once told the instructor in survial school "I might eat that - someday - but I'm not that hungry yet!" Memories of the Chagris River pop to mind!

Trapper did you see that guy "BEAR"on the show where he took elephant dung and sqweezed the water out of it into his mouth and drank it. That was supposedly a way to save you from dieing of thirst. My question is, for him, if the ele dung was fresh enough to still contain that much water, why not just back track the ele to where he drank the water?

RBHunter:

After reading your post I'm just glad that I never knew you when I was eating mealie-mealie!