I've often thought that if people had to personally kill the animal that they want to eat, we would have a lot more vegetarians! We did it growing up on a farm in Wisconsin, but I couldn't do it now.
This is so cool. Thanks for sharing this bit of Portuguese culture. Like you, I prefer my meat, unidentifiable. But I can't wait to try it as you make it sound so delicious. I'm excited to try a plethora of new tastes, sights and sounds. I hope you have a great week.
I will be touring Coimbra, Setubal, Santurem, Leiria, and Tomar when I'm there in October. I still haven't 100% made the commitment as my parents are mid-70s and it looks like the government is going to extend the path to citizenship to 10 years, so I would potentially miss the last decade (or much of it) of their lives. They live 60 seconds from me now, so I've gotten spoiled. Either way, I'm going to have a grand adventure in October! :)
I have seen some unappetizing things in the butcher here in Portugal too. I’m not a big seafood eater but Seafood is huge in Portugal.
We visited a Michelin Star -1 star restaurant just near our small city of Tondela in Tonda. We went with others from our Expat group. I was determined to try a taste of everything. So I tried fried octopus. I already knew I didn’t like grilled Octopus because I tried it in Greece. My husband likes grilled and fried. I tried pig Cheek. It wasn’t terrible but I couldn’t get past that it was the cheek although I do love Pork Belly cooked in the oven at home and seasoned well. I tried Green eggs and wasn’t impressed I prefer my own pickled eggs instead. I tried a dish with goat not impressed. My own meal was Duck with veggies and rice and golden raisins and can’t remember what else but it was really good.
Overall, my husband does most of the cooking in our house and is excellent. I can cook and like to try recipes. But I think that I could live without meat but I’m not willing to give some meats. 😂
As a kid my father and another had pigs and occasionally bought a slaughtered cow. My daddy grew a large garden and he fished as much as he could. We had fish for days and I rarely ate it. It gives me nightmares too. I like Salmão, Albacore Tuna, and whitefish. I might eat an occasional fried shrimp. He also hunted and I remember him skinning rabbits, squirrels, and doves. Looking back I didn’t eat any of it even as an adult. It just wasn’t appealing to me.
I'm so glad you enjoyed the story. As a chef, I do want to defend pork cheeks. The head of a pig is mostly meat and, being close to bone, the meat is very tender. It is just meat with nothing yucky in it, so the idea of it shouldn't sway you. I make lovely pork cheeks for dinner parties, because they are succulent and flavorful beyond any meat I've ever tried. I wish I could show you a picture. Your mouth would water.
Lol, my daddy raised pet rabbits to eat as well. I didn't want to be around when he was butchering them and never ate any of them he cooked. I did try some one time that was "chicken fried" but I didn't know the rabbit. My grandpa, dad and his brothers would go out and shoot wild game and animals, including rabbits. They were very poor as well. My dad said the tame ones tasted a lot better. My daddy used the droppings in his garden. My dad grew up in South Dakota.
The whole idea of "living off the land" fascinates me, but the land, for me, had better be Asia! If you notice, I eat Asian cuisine several times a week.
I've often thought that if people had to personally kill the animal that they want to eat, we would have a lot more vegetarians! We did it growing up on a farm in Wisconsin, but I couldn't do it now.
I couldn't do it. Not even fish.
The question I have is, does it taste like chicken?
I prefer not knowing where the meat comes from, but I have delicate taste buds.
I think it's more flavorful than chicken. More like half between turkey and pork.
Are you a finicky eater?
I grew up a meat and potatoes kid, but with Heather I've expanded my diet and waistline.
But, no cottage cheese, little squash, no salmon, no brothy soups, no rye breads.
That's not too bad of a list.
This is so cool. Thanks for sharing this bit of Portuguese culture. Like you, I prefer my meat, unidentifiable. But I can't wait to try it as you make it sound so delicious. I'm excited to try a plethora of new tastes, sights and sounds. I hope you have a great week.
I forget. Where are you going to live?
I will be touring Coimbra, Setubal, Santurem, Leiria, and Tomar when I'm there in October. I still haven't 100% made the commitment as my parents are mid-70s and it looks like the government is going to extend the path to citizenship to 10 years, so I would potentially miss the last decade (or much of it) of their lives. They live 60 seconds from me now, so I've gotten spoiled. Either way, I'm going to have a grand adventure in October! :)
I have seen some unappetizing things in the butcher here in Portugal too. I’m not a big seafood eater but Seafood is huge in Portugal.
We visited a Michelin Star -1 star restaurant just near our small city of Tondela in Tonda. We went with others from our Expat group. I was determined to try a taste of everything. So I tried fried octopus. I already knew I didn’t like grilled Octopus because I tried it in Greece. My husband likes grilled and fried. I tried pig Cheek. It wasn’t terrible but I couldn’t get past that it was the cheek although I do love Pork Belly cooked in the oven at home and seasoned well. I tried Green eggs and wasn’t impressed I prefer my own pickled eggs instead. I tried a dish with goat not impressed. My own meal was Duck with veggies and rice and golden raisins and can’t remember what else but it was really good.
Overall, my husband does most of the cooking in our house and is excellent. I can cook and like to try recipes. But I think that I could live without meat but I’m not willing to give some meats. 😂
As a kid my father and another had pigs and occasionally bought a slaughtered cow. My daddy grew a large garden and he fished as much as he could. We had fish for days and I rarely ate it. It gives me nightmares too. I like Salmão, Albacore Tuna, and whitefish. I might eat an occasional fried shrimp. He also hunted and I remember him skinning rabbits, squirrels, and doves. Looking back I didn’t eat any of it even as an adult. It just wasn’t appealing to me.
Your story was great. Thank you
I'm so glad you enjoyed the story. As a chef, I do want to defend pork cheeks. The head of a pig is mostly meat and, being close to bone, the meat is very tender. It is just meat with nothing yucky in it, so the idea of it shouldn't sway you. I make lovely pork cheeks for dinner parties, because they are succulent and flavorful beyond any meat I've ever tried. I wish I could show you a picture. Your mouth would water.
Lol, my daddy raised pet rabbits to eat as well. I didn't want to be around when he was butchering them and never ate any of them he cooked. I did try some one time that was "chicken fried" but I didn't know the rabbit. My grandpa, dad and his brothers would go out and shoot wild game and animals, including rabbits. They were very poor as well. My dad said the tame ones tasted a lot better. My daddy used the droppings in his garden. My dad grew up in South Dakota.
The whole idea of "living off the land" fascinates me, but the land, for me, had better be Asia! If you notice, I eat Asian cuisine several times a week.