Rodents...Pest or Delicacy ?

Yuck ! When I read this article I almost threw up !

Apparently, in a region of Venezuela, rodents are a true delicacy. In other South American countries, capybara, the world's largest rodent is hunted for its hide.

If you are planning a visit to Venezuela, keep in mind that rodents are prized as a holiday treat.

In Venezuela, the meat of the capybara can get prices that are almost double that of beef. Part of that price is how difficult it is to hunt the capybara, and part of it is the flavor, which is "more like rabbit than chicken, though when dried with sea salt in Venezuela it acquires a fishy flavor."

To catch them, they are often hit with clubs or harpooned. This makes many visitors to the country resist eating the rodent, if not for the other long list of reasons. If you can get past the first wave of fear, you might like it. Many people in the United States claim, “Tastes just like rabbit, or chicken”.

OK HERE IS AN ACTUAL RECIPE - NOT KIDDING !

Creamed Mice

Skin, gut and wash some fat mice without removing their heads. Cover them in a pot with ethyl alcohol and marinate 2 hours. Dice a piece of salt pork or sowbelly and cook it slowly to extract the fat. Drain the mice, dredge them thoroughly in a mixture of flour, pepper, and salt, and fry slowly in the rendered fat for about 5 minutes. Add a cup of alcohol and 6 to 8 cloves, cover and simmer for 15 minutes. Prepare a cream sauce, transfer the sautéed mice to it, and warm them in it for about 10 minutes before serving.

Visiting Venezuela ? Anyone ?