Phagomania: Horses For Courses

So if you are one of those people who have of late frequently been saying, ‘It’s not the horse meat that’s the issue, but how it got there,’ then it’s time to put your money where your mouth is. Let’s take a look at our options.

The world’s top three horse meat producers are China (140,000 tonnes), Mexico (126,000 tonnes) and Kazakhstan (114,000 tonnes). But you will find horse meat on the menu in the majority of European countries. The Italians are particularly big fans, firing out horse dishes quicker than you can say ‘Mama mia! Scusami, è questo cavallo?’, with a vast range of recipes: stews, steaks, ravioli, salami and sausages. The classic dish is Pastissada de caval with polenta – a kind of beef bourguignon meets Hungarian goulash. But essentially, if you are looking to get creative with horse in the kitchen, you can take any European beef dish and substitute horse meat in the recipe. It’s why it’s so easy to slip in a bit of horse in there under the radar (or, you know, 100% of it).

Apparently Christianity struggled to catch on in Iceland because the natives were reluctant to give up on eating horse. Although banned, it was later lifted. Today, sausages such as bjúgu, a smoked horse sausage, prevail.

Although it may sound more like a drunken, ad lib Borat impersonation, they do very ‘like’ the horse meat in Kazakhstan. They farm it like we would cattle. Beshbarmak, the national dish, is boiled horse and mutton with huge flat noodles and onions, served with potatoes and a broth made from boiled sheep’s head. However it is with Karta that they really outdo themselves – dried, smoked then boiled inside-out horse... rectum.

Over in Japan, we are never let down in the gastro-challenging department. With a variety of horsey options, Basashi is the most popular. This is essentially horse meat sashimi i.e. sliced raw, with the usual yummy sushi accompaniments. They also tempura loins of it. Mmm. And for afters, Basashi is so popular that we can treat ourselves to Basashi ice cream. Neigh way? Yes way.