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"Green Hare"

post #1 of 12
5/9/11 at 2:49am
Thread Starter 

I was chatting to a 'foody' the other day and one of the things she was saying is that there is a group of people in Europe that kill then bury a domestic animal underground for storage. Apparently they treat it a particular way...and by that I mean nothing that you would consider hygienic.

The animal is literally put in a hole and covered with dirt or mud, left there for months and then dug up and eaten later on. Has any one else heard of such practice?

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post #2 of 12
5/9/11 at 3:10am

Which 'group of people' in Europe'?

 

I'm in Europe, but a different place to Siduri, who is also in Europe, and a different place to Welshchef who is also in Europe or KK's family who are in another part of Europe.....

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post #3 of 12
5/9/11 at 3:28am

Gravlax (buried Salmon) were buried in the sand (middle ages) and consumed later. The only food in Europe I can think of.

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post #4 of 12
5/10/11 at 2:08pm
Thread Starter 

I will try to dig up more info....

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post #5 of 12
5/10/11 at 2:13pm

It's a bit like us Europeans saying that ALL Australians live on Wichetty grubs!

 

(Having visited there quite a few times, I know that's not true - but the Australian addiction to adding 'colour' to drinks and food is all too common)

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post #6 of 12
5/10/11 at 3:04pm
Thread Starter 

Ishbel it's nothing like, not even close. A group could be enthusiasts, a community, scientists and yes I have also travelled so I know how big Europe is. As I said I will try to find out some more about the topic.

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post #7 of 12
5/10/11 at 3:17pm

Perhaps you will acknowledge that, as a 'European' I've got a right to be concerned at your comment?

 

You may have travelled, but your post was pretty weird.

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post #8 of 12
5/11/11 at 12:11am
Thread Starter 

I thought the same thing. Who in their right mind would kill an animal, bury it then dig it up months later. Have they not heard of fridges? I know that there is a group of "scientists / nutritionists / (researchers) studying the technique that these people use. What is of interest is the bacteria and why don't these people get sick. 

 

The comment was not aimed at you or any other European person. It was a statement that simply gave a geographical location to this mysterious group of people that practice some rather interesting techniques. The fact that I mentioned Europe (rather than Australia) should make it more believable, for humidity, temperature are one your side and cultural practice are far more alive there than here in Australia. We are Australian so we do have "a culture", but we simply copy what every one else is doing.

 

A great indicator is the activity that surrounds market places in Europe. What a wonderful vibe, here in Oz we are still "cutting our teeth" when it comes to cultural activities.

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post #9 of 12
5/11/11 at 1:33am

There appeared to be plenty of street markets around when I last visited Australia - great produce at The Rocks in Sydney, ditto Melbourne and rural NSW at Mogo.  Good produce, cheeses and other comestibles like home-made chutnies and jams.

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post #10 of 12
5/11/11 at 2:55am

You would not by any chance talking about antiquated freezing processes which were practiced  would you ? and if so it was not only in Europe.

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post #11 of 12
5/11/11 at 4:34pm
Thread Starter 

Chef B,

Not sure, I will chat to Jodi again in the next week or so. Jodi works for Tetsuya which is where she first herd of the whole thing. I will post some more when I have chatted to her.

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post #12 of 12
5/11/11 at 6:03pm

Icelandic Hákarl (from a type of shark) is the only thing I can think of that is still made this way today. The reason for the burying is to remove toxic substances from the flesh, both via the pressing out of fluids and through fermentation. It reportedly smells very bad but tastes OK. I personally would want to try it if I got the chance and don't consider it particularly unhygienic compared to, for example, most appallingly-farmed chicken you would buy in the supermarket.

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