I love TexMex food. It is the authenticity I grew up on, but it is not authentic Mexican. I have two restaurants where I do eat authentic. In one, in San Antonio; no one speaks English. The menu is in Spanish. In the other, they speak some English and the menu is in English and Spanish. You can usually tell it is authentic by the language spoken at the tables around you and by the absence of other gringos. To me, authentic means cabrito (goat), or a Mexican stew with fresh lime squeezed over it, or a whole fish. It is not TexMex. I also shop in local Mexican markets. They have the best fresh vegetable areas. Their vegetables are never as pretty as Walmarts, but they are much fresher and somehow taste better. The fresh meat areas are totally different with a wide selection of marinated meats that I can't duplicate at home. I once bought a large piece of fresh fried pork skin (we call it cracklins). It still had most of the hair intact on one side. I don't know what most people do, but I pull the hair before I eat it.
Ted
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thanrose
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Aha ha hahahaha, Ted!
I'd imagine pulling the hair would make sense.
Is it crumbly, though? For instance I eat a Chinese shrimp preparation where I actually eat the shell and all. It's cooked at such a searing high heat that it becomes crunchy and pleasant to eat. I'd guess the hair on cracklins could be, too.
One of my old foraging mentors ate grasshoppers and crickets on several continents. I've had some fried cricket from the Yucatan, but that's the extent of my gustatory experience regarding winged hoppers.
Generally, it's best if you find out how the locals eat something first. Like the naive fools who eat the cone of wasabi because it looks less offensive than the sashimi next to it, you don't always know what you are getting into.
I guess eating my garden critters would be relatively safe in terms of them growing in a healthy environment, but I'll have to stop naming them first.
I'd imagine pulling the hair would make sense.
Is it crumbly, though? For instance I eat a Chinese shrimp preparation where I actually eat the shell and all. It's cooked at such a searing high heat that it becomes crunchy and pleasant to eat. I'd guess the hair on cracklins could be, too.
One of my old foraging mentors ate grasshoppers and crickets on several continents. I've had some fried cricket from the Yucatan, but that's the extent of my gustatory experience regarding winged hoppers.
Generally, it's best if you find out how the locals eat something first. Like the naive fools who eat the cone of wasabi because it looks less offensive than the sashimi next to it, you don't always know what you are getting into.
I guess eating my garden critters would be relatively safe in terms of them growing in a healthy environment, but I'll have to stop naming them first.
You punched a lot of my hot buttons.thanrose wrote:Aha ha hahahaha, Ted!
I'd imagine pulling the hair would make sense.
Is it crumbly, though? For instance I eat a Chinese shrimp preparation where I actually eat the shell and all. It's cooked at such a searing high heat that it becomes crunchy and pleasant to eat. I'd guess the hair on cracklins could be, too.
One of my old foraging mentors ate grasshoppers and crickets on several continents. I've had some fried cricket from the Yucatan, but that's the extent of my gustatory experience regarding winged hoppers.
Generally, it's best if you find out how the locals eat something first. Like the naive fools who eat the cone of wasabi because it looks less offensive than the sashimi next to it, you don't always know what you are getting into.
I guess eating my garden critters would be relatively safe in terms of them growing in a healthy environment, but I'll have to stop naming them first.
1. Cracklins should always be crispy but not crumbly. I will keep pulling the hair though.
2. I've eaten the shrimp in the shell. They taste good, but I can't get past the thought that I am eating the shrimp shell. The shell always seems like I am crunching on plastic. Now if you know how to prepare soft shell crab, I will fight you for those.
3. I haven't eaten Chapulines (grasshoppers), but I would if I was in Mexico where they are commonly eaten. They know how to prepare them. I don't know how plus I think they are a different species than my backyard grasshoppers.
4.I eat sashimi in order to have an excuse to eat the wasabi. After my nose stops running, my eyes stop watering, and I can catch my breath; I eat another. I am a glutton for punishment.
5. I'm not going to eat my garden critters because they would no longer be able to eat the bad bugs in my garden. If frogs came out in the winter, they might be in danger.
Ted
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