I know most of us want to the true flavor of Africa when there and will try most anything once...Being open to local culinary delights, what was the strangest meal you’ve had while on safari? Did you try anything that you now look back on with amazement?
I haven't had anything extremely odd, but a dinner of "Tongue and Tail" isn't what we have here in Georgia that often. The combo of a cape buffalo's tail and tongue was what my PH's asked our cooks to make in an attempt to give me something "different." Well I tried it, but can't say I've talked my wife into making it here.
How about you? Was there a meal to remember on your hunt?

Vic,

I don't know if any of these rate as "strange", maybe just traditional.

Sadza and boiled kapenta eaten with fingers from a communal pot with a camp construction crew.

Sadza and boiled brisket of buffalo (shot the day before) with the hunting crew. Some of the meat was prepared by laying it on a rock and hacking it into pieces, then boiling it with some spices until the mealies were done. We dined in the shade around the sadza pot. The balance of the meat was thrown directly on the fire to char until it was time to go. The crew finished it off before we made it back to camp that evening.

I shot a couple of geese over Lake Kariba. We asked the cook to prepare one for dinner. He served us some unrecognizable hunks of protein coated in a bitter gravy. It looked like he had taken an axe and hacked the bird into little pieces like he was mad at the thing.

On a PAC hunt, we ate sugar cane, peanuts and roasted mealies for dinner. One night, a man from the village brought us a handful of tiny wild plums that were very sweet.

I thought the broiled tomatoes for breakfast was different . . .

White Rhino sausage (in South Africa).

-Bob F.

Gemsbok brains mixed into sausage and stuffed into a large intestine.

Ka-bobs brined in the open air at 85 degees for 3 days and then BBQed. Nothing beats rotten BBQ.

I got to try appetizers of slices of elephant heart made into something like a tiny hamburger. Not bad but the meat was a little tough, I noticed I was the only one that tried it.

Kyler

Mopane Worms

Tim

UGALLI and BEANS !

SAFI SANA

r.
seloushunter

Leopard that I had taken. Wasnt that bad.

AKA, man I want to try that the only problem is I haven't gotten my Chui. As to food eaten not totally strange to me is my
favorite breakfast in Africa Impala liver and kidneys with eggs and toast. The first time I had it the PH just sat there and like a little kid moved the L & K around his plate. I ask him if he didn't care for organ meat and he said "Not my thing mate".

Giraffe steaks.

Leopard. It was spiced up quite a bit and cut into strips as an appetizer.

I heard eating cats puts you at risk for trichonosis. Have you guys heard this?

Looking back it was not that strange, but eating zebra seemed strange at the time. As I stated in the other thread, it was quite good. My PH learned that I like liver, and made an effort to keep and cook the liver from the animals I took; however, only the gemsbuck liver made it to the table, which was good. We left camp before I could try the kudu liver and not sure what happened to the others.

quote:

Originally posted by Jorge400:
We left camp before I could try the kudu liver and not sure what happened to the others.

All I can say is I know I didn't eat them.

Actually I like liver on occasion but not too often. These did not show up on the menu to my knowledge.

Impala liver. Absolutely delicious. I wanted to try a poffadder, but somehow it didn't happen. Maybe on the next trip in 2007. Merry Christmas and a safe and Happy New Year

Spring:

In Zimbabwe I ate "mealy-mealy" every morning for breakfast. I loved it! I always thought it was the reason why I never had diarrhea (nor constipation) In camp the cooks were fascinated by the white man who loved "mealy-mealy". I was lucky enough to have an outfitter who was Italian and whose wife was a charming continental Italian lady who had taught the staff how to grow greens in a small garden out in the real bush. Thus I always ate well. (I did eat buff as shish-kebab. Does that count?) I ate impala also (shot as camp meat) Since I ate it with a sauce I can't say what it would have been like plain! (Would us Americans eat veal if it wasn't veal parmigiana?)

When my 14 year old son shot his first african animal, a nice springbok, the bushmen immediately removed the heart and built a fire right there on the spot and cooked the heart on a stick and encouraged my son to eat part of the heart as a rite of passage from boy to man. He ate it and said it tasted pretty good too.

They also took blood from the animal and smeared streaks of blood on both of my son's cheek's. He was so proud walking around with blood streaks on his face.

Proud day for his dad too.

In Tanzania the camp manager killed a puff adder and the cook reluctantly did something to it. It reminded both Sadie and I of dried fish that was not very good.

Mark

Ate the taco-looking dewlap of the Hartemanns Mt. Zebra and the colon of a Red Hartebeest.

I think it was a tradition that they cook these two items for most hunters. More of a novelty than a meal.

I couldn't eat more than one bite of the colon. No sir ... not for me.

I killed a Cape Buffalo once in the Luangwa Valley, and because we already had two animals in the Bakki, the boys cut the buff in half around the middle, so they could load it. Of course the intestines were salvaged as usual. What struck be as odd at the time was the boys cut the large stomach open, and cleaned it out, but the small stomach was put into the bakki full of it's puke green contents. This poped back into my mind that night when a platter of buffalo steaks were brought to the evening table, then the Tea boy set a bowl of some souce that was to go on the steaks. The souce looked exactly like the contents of the small stomach they had placed in the bakki that morning.

The steaks were excellent, sans souce! I politely told the tea boy I liked my steak without souce!

The chef in our camp was a Metebele man from Zimbabwe, and maybe someone here can shed light on any customary steak souce they may use that would be that color,if so, I'd be happy to hear about it.

I've eaten a lot of things in Africa, and liked most of it, but I simply couldn't force myself to try the steak souce!

Leopard meat for snacks before dinner . They didnt tell my wife until she tried it. Was actually pretty good but I think if I didnt shoot the leopard I would have to pass. I noticed Cindy Garrison will eat anything that moves while on safari!! What does that tell you??

quote:

Originally posted by Charles_Helm:
All I can say is I know I didn't eat them.

Actually I like liver on occasion but not too often. These did not show up on the menu to my knowledge.

Thorsten and I had the gemsbuck liver for lunch the day after I shot it. I believe that was the day you and Gert ventured way up north. He and Elia made sure to bring the liver along with the tenderloins of my Kudu off the mountain the evening I shot it. Since we decided to leave the next day after packing the rest of the kudu out, I assumed they would have cooked it for you and Gert. I'm sure they enjoyed it over in the staff camp.

My hunting partner and I had croc twice this last season in Mozambique. We ASKED for it. None of the staff, white or otherwise, chose to particapate.Just like chicken.... Actually it was quite good. We cut up the base of the tail and the kitchen staff deep fried finger steaks that had some type of coating.It was most like alligator and we were somewhat suprized that our PHs thought it was over the top.

Lion kidney roasted over coals with just a little salt. It's doubtful I'll ever kill another lion, so I probably won't have to suffer through that meal again.

As detailed in another thread about 1st kill traditions: kudu testicles.

I had forgot about another nasty southern african delight.

BBQd gemsbok intestine and Kori Bustard (or the no photo bird, as the PH told the Spanish couple I was hunting with).

Kori Bustard taste like rutting deer.

mine was the most strangest but was not in africa it was near china border and i had to eat it cause it was thier way to plz the guest,i had a peice of horse testical barbecued with saki the rice wine,during my himmalyan ibex hunt.

Ah, I forgot (probably because I did't find it odd).

Buffalo balls in Tanzania. There was an apprentice ph who thought he could outcook a Texan in cooking bull balls.

We went into the "kitchen" and each cooked our version of fried Buffalo testical. Gave it to the other hunters and ph's.

Needless to say, the Texan's version were the best.

When I was a Peace Corps Volunteer in the Central African Empire (now Republic) in the late seventies, I ate a lot of strange stuff: termites (sauteed, tastes like fried rice), caterpillars (deep fat fried, not too far from french fries), bats (on a skewer and roasted like a hot dog, it's god-awful), cane rat and I don't know what else. None of it killed me.

When I was in RSA we had what looked like mashed potatoes and even tasted alot like mashed potatoes with breakfast(or lunch) with eggs and sausages. I thought that was cool because I love mashed potatoes. It turns out it was some kind of corn meal.
Mike

Marula nuts...sounds simple but you get the nuts (ex-pits) from washed out animal droppings (they´ve passed through an animal once) that you pick up in the bush and then you crack open and eat the nut. Tastes a bit like almonds I guess.

This doesn't quite qualify as a meal but it was different. A light gold colored ball of tree sap we licked like sucking candy to keep your mouth moist during a long stalk. It wasn't sweet but did have a pleasant flavor.

Gunny,

Do you remember the fried corn fritter kind of things that Robbie's cook used to do for snacks? My those were tasty. Robbie also introduced us to a fruit he called cream of tartar but I can't remeber what tree it came from. Any clue? Baobab????

cewe,

I know what you mean but what we ate had the outside skin chewed off by baboons. they couldn't get at the inside because of the shell being kind of like a coconut. I don't remember the nut being all that remarkable in taste.

Mark

Mark,
I think it was a baobab but not sure. We threw sticks for ten minutes before we knocked a pod off and could taste it. I guess Im not a real cream of tarter fan.The best part was laughing at the trackers while they tried to hit the pods.

mark -the taste wasn´t very special and I kept seeing them coming out of the "cleaner"! We we´re being lazy in the bush and happened to find a few so why not?

Yes cream of tarter is made from the nut of the Baobob tree.

quote:

Originally posted by bulldog563:
I heard eating cats puts you at risk for trichonosis. Have you guys heard this?

Eat it well done, and no more worries than eating pork. I've eaten a little mountian lion before, must say it was quite good.

My strangest/best meal was Elephant fillet! It was cooked in a tomato based stew! It was fantastic!

BBQ'd honey badger - the PH had the cook make it up as a joke, but it really turned out quite good

As a thanks to their American guests, the staff of a Cairo hotel did a "Texas night," and served the meals in white cowboy hats. No one had thought to tell them that the chili they served should not have used white beans. It really was the thought that counted, and we ate it just fine.

Jaywalker