It’s a Fowl world

I recently attended a gourmet dinner where they match the wines with the food rather than the other way around which is the more common, and easier.

The whole dinner was superb and a great example where the right wines can greatly improve a dish. It was also a first for a couple of the meats that we had.

Although I have eaten all around the world and attended numerous gourmet dinners I had never eaten Frogs Legs before the other night and had often wondered what they tasted like. I was once told they were a bit like a fishy chicken which in itself made me wondered what on earth a fishy chicken tasted like and how it would get that way.

Then it occurred to me that we often compare things to chicken – snake was described to me as being a little like chicken and having eaten it I would have to agree if you only eat bland chickens.

We also had rabbit at the dinner which was once described to me as little like chicken. At this point I knew that some people needed to experience more foods as rabbit is nothing like chicken.

The chicken that is served in the Western world is often bland and unappetizing so it can be hardly surprising that anything bland is similarly compared. If you have been fortunate enough to have eaten chicken in Africa or in Asia that has been free range you will know that it is full of flavours and should not be compared with bland meats.

I wonder if when meting someone who had never eaten chicken, should such a person exist, but had instead grown up eating frogs would his friends tell him chicken tasted similar to frogs?

What did they frogs taste like? Well they were a little salty but that may have been due to the preparation – served in a puff pastry case they were very pleasant although may have been better with a crams sauce. Definitely something to be repeated.

A stranger meat that we had that night, again for the first time for many of us, was Sweetbreads. These are the thymus, or throat glands, in our instance from calves and to be frank were one of the strangest meats I have ever eaten. Very bland in flavour and having virtually no consistency due to having been soaked in milk before frying I found them to be particularly unappetizing. I trouble to see what all the fuss is about when it comes to these meats.

One rumor was dispelled that night in that Sweetbreads are not usually gonads, or balls, as many of us had thought. Although they can be these are more commonly called Rocky Mountain Oysters – another delicacy to look forward to.