New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:

Horsemeat

post #1 of 14
2/7/11 at 8:13am
Thread Starter 

I read that Nebraska might soon be making it legal to sell horsemeat. I expect other states to follow suit, so I want to be ready, just in case. Anyone know a good way to cook it?

Reply

Featured Stories on ChefTalk.com

A clinical look at how a restaurant runs
Great product that allows you to manually adjust the sharpening angle for each knife
Follow ChefTalk on Pinterest!
post #2 of 14
2/7/11 at 11:46am

Pretty much the same you'd cook grass fed beef or some really lean beef.

Reply
post #3 of 14
2/7/11 at 1:08pm

When there was a lot of mad cow around we stopped eating beef, as did many othewr italians. Horsemeat has always been eaten here, and there are special butchers for it, but during that period it became more common and now supermarkets carry it too. I bought it often. It was traditionally considered particularly good for children, with it's higher nutritious value.

 

Anyway, yeah, you can cook it like beef.  It's more tasty - more like real beef and not hormoned up artificially fattened beef.  Note that it gets blackish on exposure to air, but that's ok. 

"Siduri said, 'Gilgamesh, where are you roaming? You will never find the eternal life that you seek...Savour your food, make each of your days a delight, ... let music and dancing fill your house, love the child who holds you by the hand and give your wife pleasure in your embrace.'"
Reply
post #4 of 14
2/7/11 at 1:17pm

Marinate it and cook like cuts of beef. It is a bit tougher thats why I marinate

Chef EdB
Over 50 years in food service business 35 as Ex Chef. Specializing in Volume upscale Catering both on and off premise .(former Exec. Chef in the largest on premise caterer in US  with 17 Million Dollars per year annual volume). 
      Well versed in all facets of Continental Cuisine...
Reply
post #5 of 14
2/7/11 at 4:58pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by siduri View Post
 Note that it gets blackish on exposure to air, but that's ok. 


That's a good thing to know! That would have probably freaked me out and I would have wasted a perfectly good piece of meat.

 

Good to be forewarned that it might be tough, too. I can deal with that, as long as I am aware of the possibility.

 

I tried to find someone locally to butcher horses for me, but they all tell me it's illegal for them to butcher them. It's not illegal to eat it, but you have to butcher it yourself. It might be worth the effort, especially since I can often get free horses.

Reply
post #6 of 14
2/7/11 at 9:13pm

Yes, it gets black. It can be a little tough, but that's mostly because it's so lean.

 

A suggestion: smoked horsemeat is unbelievably fabulous -- a specialty of certain areas of Kyushu, the second or third island of Japan, depending on who's counting. Not that you must smoke it, but take into account that the total flavor thing works very well.

 

If you are doing your own butchering or something, bear in mind that an old nag is going to be like an old hen: lots of flavor, kind of tough and stringy. Cut and cook it appropriately.

Reply
post #7 of 14
2/7/11 at 9:31pm
Thread Starter 

Hubby does the big butchering, but I break it down and package it. I could cure some of it, too. I have made cured, smoked hams and bacon, so that's another possibility.

Reply
post #8 of 14
2/7/11 at 10:19pm

There you go: cured, possibly smoked horsemeat. It'll be very dark, but it's terrific.

Reply
post #9 of 14
2/7/11 at 11:43pm

We have been able to get horse meat for a long time.

I don't like it very much though. I found the taste a bit too sweet and overwhelming.

I have no idea what cut is was as the horse steak tasted fine.

Life is too short to drink bad wine
---Anonymus---

Reply
post #10 of 14
2/8/11 at 6:59am

As I know, The meat of the horse is hard than the meat of the beef, is it true?

Reply
post #11 of 14
2/8/11 at 12:12pm

The horse steaks i've had were not tough or hard. 

"Siduri said, 'Gilgamesh, where are you roaming? You will never find the eternal life that you seek...Savour your food, make each of your days a delight, ... let music and dancing fill your house, love the child who holds you by the hand and give your wife pleasure in your embrace.'"
Reply
post #12 of 14
2/8/11 at 3:24pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by HomeMadeCook View Post

As I know, The meat of the horse is hard than the meat of the beef, is it true?



Depends on the horse, how much exercise he got, etc... the horse meat I've had wasn't hard.

Reply
post #13 of 14
2/8/11 at 4:52pm
Thread Starter 

Maybe it would be a good idea to grain them out before butchering, like they do cattle. It fattens them, but, more importantly, it limits their exercise.

Reply
post #14 of 14
2/9/11 at 10:50pm

Thus the curing and smoking routine. Horses, these days, work for a living. That has ups and downs. Flavor is up, tenderness is down. So do something that draws on the flavor and downplays the texture, and you're all set.

Reply
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:
  Return Home
  Back to Forum: Food & Cooking

Featured Stories on ChefTalk.com

A clinical look at how a restaurant runs
Great product that allows you to manually adjust the sharpening angle for each knife
Follow ChefTalk on Pinterest!