Because I've eaten a few weird, wonderful and downright massive meals in my time I thought I'd have an occasional retrospective so I can share my numerous past culinary delights with you. And what better place to start than with guinea pig, which I ate in Peru. You can read more about the dining habits of the Andeans and their love of 'cuy' here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guinea_pig#As_food But, basically it is indeed the common or garden guinea pig, as you might find for sale in your local pet shop, though if you buy one there you'll need to do the cooking yourself... Some choice facts for you:
1) "Peruvians consume an estimated 65 million guinea pigs each year, and the animal is so entrenched in the culture that one famous painting of the Last Supper in the main cathedral in Cusco shows Christ and the twelve disciples dining on guinea pig." This is true - I saw it with my own eyes.
2) "Guinea pig meat is high in protein and low in fat and cholesterol, and is described as being similar to rabbit and the dark meat of chicken." All the more reason to eat it!
3) "The Peruvian town of Churinhas an annual festival which involves dressing guinea pigs in elaborate costumes for a competition" I've seen the pictures - they look both cute AND delicious!
4) "Because guinea pigs require much less room than traditional livestock and reproduce extremely quickly, they are a more profitable source of food and income than many traditional stock animals." Now I'm starting to get ideas...
Having read about cuy before my trip I naturally decided that I simply had to try it. Now, there are a number of ways you can enjoy your cuy: broiled, roasted or even in a casserole but I decided to have fried guinea pig mainly because it comes whole. Yes, whole, including teeth and eyes. It arrived completely hairless and appeared to have been cooked spatchcock-style, that is cut down the belly, gutted and flattened, making it look like roadkill. But as well as eating them I am a bit of an animal and so a large part of me - possibly all of me - relished tearing this guinea pig quite literally limb from limb, stripping flesh from bones and even having a crunch on those. And you know what? It was bloody delicious. The meat was very delicate, quite sweet in places, though sadly there wasn't much of it, while the skin was crunchy and full of flavour. It was a very hands-on dining experience and you had to work for your meal as there were a lot of bones to work around, but that made it all the more satisfying. It was quite greasy but having been fired, this was understandable, and on the whole it really was very tasty plus it was certainly an experience and one which never fails to shock, horrify, entertain and amuse whenever I recount the story of this particular meal. If you ever find yourself being offered guinea pig then go for it, you might just like it...
