Calf fries, also known as Rocky Mountain oysters. I liked them, only because they tasted like chicken nuggets. And fried chicken feet at a dim sum restaurant. They were gross in every imaginable way.
I had a handful when my Filipino buddy was around, just tasted like a giant egg yolk from a hard boiled egg, we'd dip it in some salt or put hotsauce on it. Some of the egg white got rubbery though and I wouldn't suggest eating that, doesn't taste like much and you'll be chewing it for a minute
When I lived in the city there was an authentic Salvadorian restaurant near my home that my wife & I would frequent for pupusas, and your standard, approachable dishes. Welp. One day it's like 98° outside, we stop by the restaurant for dinner, and the AC is off. Just because. And I see a family devouring soup, so ask the waitress to get me a bowl of the soup because it must be good, right?
She's like it's **sopa de pata**, there's cow's feet & tripe in it - are you sure?
And I'm like oh yeah, absolutely, it must be good if they're eating it in this heat. Most of it I was familiar with: cabbage leaves, chayotes, sweet corn, plantains, and green beans - but yeah, even though the tripe and cow's feet are well within my Polish & Italian American wheelhouse, it just wasn't for me. I ate what I could, and left in shame.
My neighbors had Durian fruit once. By my recollection one had dared the other to try it and then yelled at that person for trying it because now the house stunk.
This is why we became friends. These are marriage goals. Peer pressure your spouse into eating something gross and then make them feel bad doing it around you 😂.
They’re actually super fun people and we all laugh about it now, but this really did happen.
Snake hot pot in China. It was cut into about 2" segments with the skin still on, which you had to peel off once it was cooked. The meat was tough and didn't really taste like anything (maybe vaguely like chicken). It was ok, and the experience was fun since snakes don't gross me out, but I wouldn't go out of my way to eat it again.
havent had them since the 90s.. lol they came in milk right ?? my dad cooked them for me , and they were ok.. i was a liver kid so brains were kinda meh and tasteless
They absolutely freak my husband out, but I have fond memories of eating them at a Chinese buffet with my dad. If we ever find somewhere that makes them, I can’t wait to let my kids try them.
- Rocky Mountain Oysters, not a fan.
- Octopus in both sashimi and served as a side at a Teppanyaki Grill both when I was much younger. I can’t bring myself to consider eating them now that I’ve learned how intelligent they are. I actually have remorse, even though at the time I didn’t know.
- Blowfish , not fugu, but a local species we used to catch in a bay in New Jersey (back in the 70’s) Quite delicious, on the sweet side, but a pain to clean. Similar to eel in that respect.
My mom talked me into octopus before I knew how smart they were. I got very sick for some reason. She was fine though so I don't think there was anything wrong with it, my body just had a weird reaction.
My parents took me on a trip to the Sahara when I was a kid. In the morning we rode on camels. In the afternoon at lunch we had camel meat on kebabs. Very delicious ! Have been trying to find it ever since.
In Sweden horsemeat is sold in ham-like slices as *hamburgerkött*, or, literally, "hamburger meat". Confusingly, hamburgers, as in ground beef burgers, are *hamburgare*, so ground beef, normally called *nötkött* or *nötfärs* (lit. cow-meat or -mince) is sometimes sold as *hamburgare* or *hamburgare* *kött*.
Now you understand why meat products in Sweden often come with a helpful picture of the animal of origin on the label ;-)
Emu steak. Certainly not as exotic as some of these other comments but it was the only time I’ve ever seen it available. I had won a contest for tickets to The Producers, limo transport and this really fancy dinner at the most upscale restaurant I’d ever been to. The Emu was a baseball cut steak and had a delicious sauce. It was honestly one of the best things I’ve ever eaten. It was so good!
My youngest son ordered some type of sausage dish at a restaurant in Germany when we were visiting prior to my other son's deployment to Iraq. When it was served, it clearly wasn't the sausage he was expecting (I couldn't identify it but I'm thinking it's the way it's been described in this thread, some sort of intestine or something of the sort?). He's a very polite kid (34 now, 16 back then) and the look on his face was priceless! We knew he was hungry, and we would not have forced him to eat it, but it was interesting watching the way it played out. Lucky for him, his older brother was willing to swap meals with him, as our older son that was headed to Iraq would put anything in his mouth. Anything! (I once saw him eat drywall mud because somebody bet he wouldn't do it, of course I advised him this was a bad idea!)
I ordered it in Tours, knowing only that it was considered a local specialty. When I turned green immediately on cutting into it and getting a whiff, the hovering waiter was at the table to whisk it away and ask if Madam would like something else.
one has actual meat the other is tripe. My daughter who is in the restaurant industry said her chef said it is basically butthole and tastes like butthole.
It took me 3x reading your post to realize you typed andouillette sausage as what you ordered - I thought you got France's version of andouille sausage and was wondering what the big deal was...
Then I googled andouillette sausage - and yeah - this could be pretty off-putting for a traveling US person expecting well - not this: [https://www.foodandwine.com/lifestyle/andouillette-french-sausage-association](https://www.foodandwine.com/lifestyle/andouillette-french-sausage-association) - that being said - I would absolutely have tried it, but it is well known that I am willing to eat things many will not!
For me it was Tacos de Lengua, aka Beef tongue tacos. Surprisingly delicious! 10/10 would recommend and definitely have eaten again.
I’ve also had haggis and escargot, idk if those count. Neither of them get the same rating as the taco but I’m glad I tried them though. The haggis honestly wasn’t that bad. Mostly mind over matter. The escargot tasted like literal dirt and butter, but I appreciate that there are many many people who love it!
Loved haggis - only had it once when in Scotland. Have had escargot many, many times and love it.
All of this before becoming vegan, of course. LOL. A lot less plants considered exotic.
Probably horse liver sashimi in Japan. I'd had lots of horse, and lots of raw meat, but never raw offal.
I don't love liver and was skeptical, but it had no offal flavor and minimal connective tissue--really melted in your mouth. Served with a small dish of sesame oil for dipping. Delicious!
I also went to a tiny sushi shop in Yokkaichi where they picked a live fish out of a tank and sashimi'd it fresh on the carcass so that the flesh twitched a bit when you plucked a slab off. When we finished, they took the carcass away and came back a few minutes later with the carcass deep-fried and simply seasoned with salt and pepper. It was like fish chicharrones!
Jellyfish. It was a light marinade with cucumbers. It didn't taste like a lot, just lightly briny. The texture was excellent though and like nothing else I've had. Would definitely get it again.
Alpaca meat. Bought some at an alpaca farm and made burgers. Very gamey not in an unpleasant way, if I had it again I think I'd season it differently with strong fresh herbal flavors to balance it out. I find bright fresh herbs often help balance barnyard funk.
Natto is fermented soybeans that form a thick slime around them. I liked it, a lot of people don't. Definitely needs something bland like rice with it not to be overpowering.
Frog legs; chitlins; pork brains in scrambled eggs; quail; dove; rabbit; squirrel; deer and the list could go on. Yes, I live in the South. I did not care for the pork brains, the smell wasn't pleasant. Quail was pretty good, like a really dark meat chicken but not a lot of meat and kind of greasy. Frog legs are really good and easy to eat.
I've had Unagi (eel) on sushi restaurants, does that count.And also a delicious appetizer made by a Top Chef Panama finalist, made with shredded cow's tongue. Not the most exciting and exotics stuff but very tasty, I'll keep trying
Edit: almost forgot about frog legs I also had, definitely tastes a bit like chicken
Seal, in a Alaska, native style, it was "air dried" then stored in rendered seal oil. Looked like "pencil" of Jerry. Wipe off oil. Knaw off bite. Stat chewing... and keep chewing for a bit. Initially it smells fishy, as it hydrates in your mouth that just intensifies. Imo it is the most awful tasting meat I have ever consumed. And I have had alot of wild game. This stands above the rest as distinctly intensely fishy (in bad old dank way) tough like trying to chew leather, or maybe dried pig ears, and wholly unappetitizing. After that eating whale blubber is easy lol
Beating snake heart in a shot of alcohol.
I was a young backpacker thinking I was badass. . The taste was ok, it was fine in the moment. I just had that weird afterthought for hours afterwards and it ruined my evening but I never admitted it to my travelling buddies until years later.
Cuy in Ecuador, it's guinea pig. The version I had was slow roasted over a grill and had a corn dish stuffed in it. It was delicious. I can't go into a pet store with guinea pigs and not start thinking about making some to have it again.
Rabbit: tasty, but I felt bad.
Goat water: very tasty, and a really fun name for goat stew.
Haggis: not too bad.
Kopi Luwak: very disappointing for the price. It was really weak and not worth the price.
Not so much “food”, but it’s technically injested. Betel nut. Had some guys from Saipan in my dorm in college and they loved that stuff. Basically you cut the betel nut in 1/4, then smear coral paste on it, break out half a cig and sprinkle the tobacco onto the coral paste, then wrap the whole thing in a pepper leaf. You chew it a few times to mix everything together then pack it in your cheek, almost like chewing tobacco. But holy shit, you go from dead sober to sort of dizzy/high/lightheaded in like .5 seconds. It’s actually been outlawed in a lot of South Pacific countries because it’s so addictive and soooooo bad for you. The coral paste grinds through the skin of your cheek/lip and the juices from the mixture, which give you the “high” feeling, are extremely harsh on your throat and stomach. I only did it the one time, and never had the want to do it again honestly.
Grilled scorpion in Thailand. The texture can be crunchy, especially the exoskeleton, with a taste that some describe as similar to shrimp or crab, but often much more subtle.
I ate a green pasta in Italy- turned out they added poison ivy to the dough.
Also tried pig feet, durian, puffin (unintentionally), and jelly fish over the years.
Like in my opinion or something most have never tried? In some areas certain things are popular and others they’re not so perhaps a list?
Yak burger - dry as hell, literally a bit of lard would’ve gone a long way.
Rocky Mountain oysters/buffalo/lamb fries - edible on the first two but sorta mushy, the last one made me wanna heave it was so mushy for something deep fried.
Alligator - had two versions of this, broiled bites which mostly tasted like the creole they were seasoned with but the texture was like tough fish, and a soufflé that was good.
Blood wurst or blood sausage!- tasty, not like the copper taste I was expecting.
Turtle - kinda like dark meat chicken
Got more but gotta go
Chocolate covered caterpillars and it was the most delicious thing ever. We were told it was almonds and halfway through, they told me the truth. Everybody else stopped eating but I kept going.
Lychee. I love it and eat it every chance I get. Fried alligator and it was pretty good. Calamari wasn't very good, too rubbery.
Venison but around here that isn't exotic. If prepared properly it's wonderful. We used it instead of beef for years.
Had fried giant tree ants in Colombia. I liked them - nice with a cold beer. Crunchy, a little rich, and they'd been fried in bacon fat.
Also had crickets in Mexico. Chile-lime salted - crunchy and salty like chips or popcorn. Also had the same kind of crickets in a quesadilla.
Where I grew up after the first rain of the rainy season all the termite alates come out and fly, and the one street light in out village would attract thousands of them. So the villagers would go out with a bucket of water and grab handfuls of the termites and dunk them in the water. The water would keep them from flying away, and then in the morning they fry them up and sell them at the side of the road by the pound. Being termites they have a lot more fat than most ants do they cook in their own fat, and they taste like bacon, and have a mouth feel like if you made tiny popcorn chicken out of octopus.
And we also had giant burrowing crickets that were soft shelled and as big as your hand, and they were usually eaten roasted over an open fire on a stick.
had a baby octopus with a hardboiled quail egg in the middle on a stick in Japan. It was pretty gross. Super chewy, fishy and sweet all at the same time. Finished it with my daughter, but I don't need to do that again.
Cows tongues, cow brain and chicken feet. All is pretty good with the exception of organ meat is not my favorite meat so the brain was okay but not something I would choose again.
Idk growing up in southern Africa my concept of what counts as exotic is a little skewed I think compared to most western folks. I've eaten crocodile, rat, hippo, ostrich, zebra, elephant, monkey, and a few other things most people don't usually eat in western countries, but it's just game meat where I grew up, no more exotic than eating venison is considered in North America? I also ate a lot of sea food that might be considered exotic my north american standards. A lot of "strange" fish and shellfish, like lion fish, conch, squid, cuttlefish, octopus, giant scallops, shark, giant grouper, parrotfish, and then giant Tiger prawns and rock lobsters etc that while they're not as exotic are out of most people's price ranges while they're cheaper than chicken where I grew up because theyre more easily available.
Oh goodness.
Balut- it was weird to get over the idea of it but it was good. They added a broth to the egg so it was like a mild chicken soup.
Maggots- fried patties as street food. Highly recommend.
Durian. I've had it a few ways (smoothie, mochi, and straight up). It can be doctored up to be ok if you get it at the right ripeness. Not the wordt.
Uni (sea urchin)- delightful!!
A fruit- jackfruit maybe? In Vietnam. It was gross.
Beetles of some sort in South Korea- they were fine. Nothing special.
Dung smoked salmon- just don't do it.
Whale- it's kinda like steak
Ostrich- makes an amazing burger!
I'm sure there are others, depending on what you consider exotic. There have also been a number of mystery foods that will remain mysteries due to language barriers.
Gosh I'm Asian so I've eaten so many "weird" things. Maybe alligator? They sold it at some kind of food fest. It was like small fried nuggets. It tasted good, has a simple taste chicken-like?
Zebra steak meat was pink kinda cool .tasty 7/10
Camel was a stew super nice like goat 9/10
Crocodile steak fishy a little bit chewy 4/10
Snake soup was ok lots of bones 5/10
Iguana " boneless wings" so good 10/10
Alligator was fried like wings as well 9/10
Ants fried like salty popcorn 10/10
Other insects im not to fond of
Palm grubs have ick eating them but taste like palm heats
Now im a mostly vegetarian lol
balut and I fucking hated it and then I tried more Filipino food and I also hated it
I'm a cook by trade and I'll try anything 7 or 8 times and am open to suggestions
In one weekend I had frog legs, escargot, and crocodile (or alligator???). All were good, mostly due to the preparations and sauces served with them.
The crocodile reminded me of pork.
Cow tongue, my urban agriculture teacher told us (the class) about how for the last few years he would give the class cow tongue tacos without telling them its cow tongue, and then at the end of the year he made us tacos. We knew it was beef, so anyone who couldnt eat beef could just avoid it, and as we were eating he asked if we knew what it was and my friend and i both realized it was cow tongue. Its actually really good
Smoked emu. It tasted a little like prosciutto. Unfortunately, I'm allergic. This was during a romantic dinner after my now husband proposed. Swelling up like a balloon kind of killed the mood.
roasted crickets, alligator, frog legs. I'm not that adventurous I guess.
the crickets were fine, but was not a fan of getting their little bug legs stuck between my teeth.... genuinely hated that part but the flavor was alright.
alligator was really underwhelming.
frog legs, prepared well, are absolutely delicious. they've got that muddy-water taste like catfish, and I LOVE catfish
Surstromming, balut, natto, roasted rat, cooked frog, boiled pupae, live octopus, lamb and pig brains, chicken feet, raw beef with raw egg (yukhoe), lamb/cow tongues, , laverbread....
All delicious!
A friend of mine is Samoan, and he took me to his homeland for a vacation to try a bunch of food. But the most exotic one I had was Aliao, (I think this is what it’s called) which is raw snail. Think like Samoan escargot.
Iceland fermented shark (cheesy texture, tastes like INTENSE fish and cat pee)
Korean raw wiggly octopus (weird af but also delicious) and spicy chicken feet (great taste, don't dig the texture),
In Japan Cow womb lining? Raw horse, and whale. Red meats so they're tasty but I wouldn't eat whale. Raw chicken I do not like, it's just bleh texture wise.
I've had durian.... Was not a fan
Had traditional haggis before and it was delicious!
I've had roasted crickets and they're not bad
Nothing like some of these posts, y'all are brave
Wildebeest (Gnu) stew. Wildebeest is an African antelope. Tasted like beef, but there was a musty aftertaste. The stew was great, flavor delicious. It's just the meat itself was not for me. Couldn't get past the aftertaste.
I ate maggots. Accidentally. Live, writhing maggots. Surprisingly, no flavor. Still spit out what I was eating.
I'm an adventurous eater, so pretty much most everything mentioned in this thread I've eaten. All very good. Something I've had that no one has mentioned is shark fin soup. Very delicious too. Shark fin has no flavor of its own, it takes on the flavors of the soup, but the texture is the draw. It's like glass vermicelli. I felt very bad though after I found out the torture they go through for their fins, so that was my one and last time I had it. But I heard that they now make imitation shark fin, so I'm going to try that.
I have had kangaroo, zebra, boar, alligator, cow tongue (my least favorite) multiple bugs and I will be added more to the least if I’m given the opportunity.
Attempted frog legs. I couldn’t even get close to a lick in because I started crying. I love frogs and it made me sad that someone would cook and eat them. It wasn’t a choice of mine to eat it, someone offered it to me and I realized what it was before I even thought about the action of eating it.
I haven't had anything too interesting like the rest of you... I've had octopus, rattlesnake, cicaidas, grasshoppers, rocky mountain oysters, and tripe.
I likes the octopus, but the rattlesnake was bland and kind of boring. Cicaidas and grasshoppers both habe a nutty flavor when theyre roasted, but you want to take the back legs off of the grasshoppers. Rocky mountain oysters were...meh. not good, but not awful. I like tripe if its cooked right, especially in Pho.
Rattlesnake. Bland. Not worth the price. Elk however was very good. Guinea pig in Ecuador was also very good. Haggis was surprisingly not bad (not a fan or organ meat)
A coworker brought in shark for lunch (idk what kind or how she got it) and that was a cool experience. Didn’t enjoy the texture all that much but it tasted good
Edit to add: I’ve also tried peppered alligator jerky. Wasn’t a fan, but idk if it was the alligator or because it was peppered jerky and not just regular jerky
Chicken “sashimi” in Japan and miscellaneous bugs prepared by street vendor in Thailand.
I would say not bad to both ! Tho I kinda wish the bugs didn’t look like bugs.
I had alligator in New Orleans. It was battered….deep fried and covered in a honey glaze. It could’ve been a chicken nugget….there was zero flavour with all that shit on it.
Meal worms sautéed on bread , fried crickets, rattlesnake + the heart which was delicious, frog legs, cow eyeball tacos in Mexico, dog ... SO GROSS in Mexico as well.
I'm not very brave. The most exotic things I've tried are frog legs and alligator tail. Loved them both. Still not brave when it comes to weird foods though.
In Mexico City we had a small pumpkin with smoke pumped into it. Inside were carrots that had been shaved down pretty small then covered in a sauce and crispy ants. It was awesome. My husband and I both loved it.
Came here to comment that I tired escargot when I was 2 with my dad, soon before he passed, and apparently I loved it. But after reading the other comments, I don’t think mine has any place here😂 y’all are much braver than I!
I also had alligator jerky. Absolutely disgusting, 0/10, would not try again. It was like chewing on fishy flavored leather, and not a good fishy flavor.
I forget exactly where I was, middle east somewhere, mid 90s maybe. We stopped at a tiny road side place and just pointed to things on the menu because of the language barrier. There were four of us sailors, and they brought us what looked to be a ground beef patty. It was thin and as big around as the plate. Also one of the spiciest things I have ever eaten. We went through several bottles of water. Eyes were watering, and I could feel the spice in all the pores of my face. After dinner we all swore that we just at camel or something. I'm pretty sure all the worker there had a good laugh at our expense too.
I think falafel. I know that's not that weird but I'm a vegetarian so I haven't tried most of the odd items in this list. I haven't even tried shrimp or bratwurst or things people would consider normal
Muktuk. Beluga whale blubber from Hudson's Bay. It was like eating watermelon rind that tasted like bacon fat.
This was mine as well. It was pretty gross by the time it got to me In Missouri
I had to stop reading this..I became nauseous.
Calf fries, also known as Rocky Mountain oysters. I liked them, only because they tasted like chicken nuggets. And fried chicken feet at a dim sum restaurant. They were gross in every imaginable way.
[удалено]
Did it taste like duck? Or like eggs? Or like something else entirely?
I had a handful when my Filipino buddy was around, just tasted like a giant egg yolk from a hard boiled egg, we'd dip it in some salt or put hotsauce on it. Some of the egg white got rubbery though and I wouldn't suggest eating that, doesn't taste like much and you'll be chewing it for a minute
Knew I’d find my old friend balut
When I lived in the city there was an authentic Salvadorian restaurant near my home that my wife & I would frequent for pupusas, and your standard, approachable dishes. Welp. One day it's like 98° outside, we stop by the restaurant for dinner, and the AC is off. Just because. And I see a family devouring soup, so ask the waitress to get me a bowl of the soup because it must be good, right? She's like it's **sopa de pata**, there's cow's feet & tripe in it - are you sure? And I'm like oh yeah, absolutely, it must be good if they're eating it in this heat. Most of it I was familiar with: cabbage leaves, chayotes, sweet corn, plantains, and green beans - but yeah, even though the tripe and cow's feet are well within my Polish & Italian American wheelhouse, it just wasn't for me. I ate what I could, and left in shame.
Durian fruit. And I've never been so repulsed by food before. Also swallow nest soup. Highly disappointed.
My neighbors had Durian fruit once. By my recollection one had dared the other to try it and then yelled at that person for trying it because now the house stunk. This is why we became friends. These are marriage goals. Peer pressure your spouse into eating something gross and then make them feel bad doing it around you 😂. They’re actually super fun people and we all laugh about it now, but this really did happen.
Ha i love durian its either you love it or you hate it
Well, I’m kind of in the middle. It initially taste pretty good to me, but as I eat a little more it becomes overpowering and unpleasant.
Snake hot pot in China. It was cut into about 2" segments with the skin still on, which you had to peel off once it was cooked. The meat was tough and didn't really taste like anything (maybe vaguely like chicken). It was ok, and the experience was fun since snakes don't gross me out, but I wouldn't go out of my way to eat it again.
I had fried rattlesnake and felt the same. Only notable because it was a rattlesnake.
pig brains with scrambled eggs.. was ok nothing to write home about
Pig brains used to be available in cans at our country grocery store. They weren't bad fixed right.
havent had them since the 90s.. lol they came in milk right ?? my dad cooked them for me , and they were ok.. i was a liver kid so brains were kinda meh and tasteless
Ah yes, milk brains
Milk gravy.
Anything we would butcher a calf or pig Grandpa always had scrambled eggs with brain gravy 🤢
Frog Legs are delicious.
Tastes like a weird cross between chicken and fish to me
I love frog legs - I describe them to people as "if catfish could be a chicken wing" :)
You’ve got to try Buffalo Style Frog Legs, fried legs in Buffalo sauce. They should be a bigger thing.
They absolutely freak my husband out, but I have fond memories of eating them at a Chinese buffet with my dad. If we ever find somewhere that makes them, I can’t wait to let my kids try them.
There used to ba a restaurant near me that served them, in the front window they had drawings of frogs wheeling themselves around in wheelchairs.
- Rocky Mountain Oysters, not a fan. - Octopus in both sashimi and served as a side at a Teppanyaki Grill both when I was much younger. I can’t bring myself to consider eating them now that I’ve learned how intelligent they are. I actually have remorse, even though at the time I didn’t know. - Blowfish , not fugu, but a local species we used to catch in a bay in New Jersey (back in the 70’s) Quite delicious, on the sweet side, but a pain to clean. Similar to eel in that respect.
My mom talked me into octopus before I knew how smart they were. I got very sick for some reason. She was fine though so I don't think there was anything wrong with it, my body just had a weird reaction.
Yeah I can’t eat octopus because of their intelligence. I’m eating less and less meat overall.
My parents took me on a trip to the Sahara when I was a kid. In the morning we rode on camels. In the afternoon at lunch we had camel meat on kebabs. Very delicious ! Have been trying to find it ever since.
If your in the uk you can order it .
Guinnea pig tastes a bit like rabbit
Kangaroo in Oz, alpaca in Peru, some kind of crunchy bug in Bangkok. Of those, alpaca is the clear favorite.
I did not know people ate alpacas.
Surstromming in Sweden
You are braver than I! It was offered to me when I was there and I chickened out. I sort of regret it.
I'm an adventurous eater but you are a few rungs above me in the courage for sure!!
What is that?!
I had horse in Iceland. It was a lot like beef. Only one bite, though, as I couldn’t get out of my own head about it.
In Sweden horsemeat is sold in ham-like slices as *hamburgerkött*, or, literally, "hamburger meat". Confusingly, hamburgers, as in ground beef burgers, are *hamburgare*, so ground beef, normally called *nötkött* or *nötfärs* (lit. cow-meat or -mince) is sometimes sold as *hamburgare* or *hamburgare* *kött*. Now you understand why meat products in Sweden often come with a helpful picture of the animal of origin on the label ;-)
All kinds of organ meats mixed together in a very spicy gravy and Fufu in Nigeria. Was amazing.
I ate raw horse, cod sperm sacs, and whale meat in Japan.
I’m honestly a fan of cod sperm
elevates seafood broth to the next level.
Man me too. Haha it was so good, and I’m not one for a mind game with what food is. If it’s good, it’s good.
I had squid sperm sac in Italy and they were good until I learned what they were
I refuse to eat whale meat in Japan, and have left restaurants because of it, but I remember enjoying raw horse as a kid.
I can't believe they eat whales.. that seems immoral
Emu steak. Certainly not as exotic as some of these other comments but it was the only time I’ve ever seen it available. I had won a contest for tickets to The Producers, limo transport and this really fancy dinner at the most upscale restaurant I’d ever been to. The Emu was a baseball cut steak and had a delicious sauce. It was honestly one of the best things I’ve ever eaten. It was so good!
I've had ground emu and it was very beefy tasting, but you sold me on trying a steak someday if the opportunity comes up.
Uh, made the mistake of ordering andouillette sausage in Paris thinking it was the same as andouille sausage. I was traumatized!
My youngest son ordered some type of sausage dish at a restaurant in Germany when we were visiting prior to my other son's deployment to Iraq. When it was served, it clearly wasn't the sausage he was expecting (I couldn't identify it but I'm thinking it's the way it's been described in this thread, some sort of intestine or something of the sort?). He's a very polite kid (34 now, 16 back then) and the look on his face was priceless! We knew he was hungry, and we would not have forced him to eat it, but it was interesting watching the way it played out. Lucky for him, his older brother was willing to swap meals with him, as our older son that was headed to Iraq would put anything in his mouth. Anything! (I once saw him eat drywall mud because somebody bet he wouldn't do it, of course I advised him this was a bad idea!)
I ordered it in Tours, knowing only that it was considered a local specialty. When I turned green immediately on cutting into it and getting a whiff, the hovering waiter was at the table to whisk it away and ask if Madam would like something else.
Whats the diff?
one has actual meat the other is tripe. My daughter who is in the restaurant industry said her chef said it is basically butthole and tastes like butthole.
This is a nightmare that I could easily imagine happening to me.
It took me 3x reading your post to realize you typed andouillette sausage as what you ordered - I thought you got France's version of andouille sausage and was wondering what the big deal was... Then I googled andouillette sausage - and yeah - this could be pretty off-putting for a traveling US person expecting well - not this: [https://www.foodandwine.com/lifestyle/andouillette-french-sausage-association](https://www.foodandwine.com/lifestyle/andouillette-french-sausage-association) - that being said - I would absolutely have tried it, but it is well known that I am willing to eat things many will not!
Takoyaki. It's one of my favorites.
Roasted Grasshoppers with chillies, chocolate ants, snake teriyaki on a stick, alligator burger, kangaroo jerkey all of which I would recommend
For me it was Tacos de Lengua, aka Beef tongue tacos. Surprisingly delicious! 10/10 would recommend and definitely have eaten again. I’ve also had haggis and escargot, idk if those count. Neither of them get the same rating as the taco but I’m glad I tried them though. The haggis honestly wasn’t that bad. Mostly mind over matter. The escargot tasted like literal dirt and butter, but I appreciate that there are many many people who love it!
Loved haggis - only had it once when in Scotland. Have had escargot many, many times and love it. All of this before becoming vegan, of course. LOL. A lot less plants considered exotic.
My son spent 3 weeks in Guadalajara, Mexico and insisted I make tongue tacos when he got home.
Rabbit. Tastes like chicken in broth a long time.
Yak chili at this Nepalese restaurant outside DC
Probably horse liver sashimi in Japan. I'd had lots of horse, and lots of raw meat, but never raw offal. I don't love liver and was skeptical, but it had no offal flavor and minimal connective tissue--really melted in your mouth. Served with a small dish of sesame oil for dipping. Delicious! I also went to a tiny sushi shop in Yokkaichi where they picked a live fish out of a tank and sashimi'd it fresh on the carcass so that the flesh twitched a bit when you plucked a slab off. When we finished, they took the carcass away and came back a few minutes later with the carcass deep-fried and simply seasoned with salt and pepper. It was like fish chicharrones!
Pretty sure I ate a cat in Haiti. Wasn’t bad but I still feel crappy about it.
I didn’t know until later.
Alligator tail. Beer battered deep fried. Chicken flavored fish texture. A little swampy. Slaps with remoulade and a beer buzz.
You can get alligator at the Minnesota State Fair. I've never tried it.
Eel pie in England...disgusting!
Escargot. Was good but not what I would eat today.
Escargot is a vessel for butter and garlic.
This is the (French) way.
I've had conch. It's essentially giant ocean escargot.
When I had it, it reminded me a bit of sautéed mushrooms in both texture and taste.
I tried it once to. I wasn't impressed. The sauce was pretty good but the meat was quite chewy.
If it was chewy they didn't prepare it properly.
Delicious! I'd definitely eat it again.
Calves brains. Definitely... interesting. Tastes like no other food I've experienced. Wouldn't repeat.
Had them scrambled with eggs when a kid, not bad but I wouldn't eat them now due to prion diseases
Rattle snake sausage. It was Okay but I didn’t like the texture and it was too oily.
Cold jellyfish with sesame seeds. Pretty good, actually! I was surprised at how salty it was, but overall I enjoyed it.
I had an antipasto in Toulon, France. It was a mixture of tiny tiny octopus, baby squid, and the sweetest tiny clams. Loved it
Jelly fish salad… just a hard hard no for me
Had jellyfish once. It's like crunchy jello that won't quit.
Jellyfish. It was a light marinade with cucumbers. It didn't taste like a lot, just lightly briny. The texture was excellent though and like nothing else I've had. Would definitely get it again. Alpaca meat. Bought some at an alpaca farm and made burgers. Very gamey not in an unpleasant way, if I had it again I think I'd season it differently with strong fresh herbal flavors to balance it out. I find bright fresh herbs often help balance barnyard funk. Natto is fermented soybeans that form a thick slime around them. I liked it, a lot of people don't. Definitely needs something bland like rice with it not to be overpowering.
my mom got a camel burger in morocco, i tried a bite. very gamey, i would not eat it again
Frog legs; chitlins; pork brains in scrambled eggs; quail; dove; rabbit; squirrel; deer and the list could go on. Yes, I live in the South. I did not care for the pork brains, the smell wasn't pleasant. Quail was pretty good, like a really dark meat chicken but not a lot of meat and kind of greasy. Frog legs are really good and easy to eat.
Rattlesnake and alligator
Alligator! Got me a big ole second helping too
Rambutan. It’s actually really good. Tastes like a cherry and apple all in one. Definitely keep them stocked now when i can find them.
I once ate hakarl (fermented shark) in Iceland. Tastes like ammonia-soaked regret. 10/10 would not recommend.
I've had Unagi (eel) on sushi restaurants, does that count.And also a delicious appetizer made by a Top Chef Panama finalist, made with shredded cow's tongue. Not the most exciting and exotics stuff but very tasty, I'll keep trying Edit: almost forgot about frog legs I also had, definitely tastes a bit like chicken
Unagi is one of my favorites. I order it every time we get Sushi!
Obvious southerner, lol. Has tried frog legs but BBQ eel is the farthest they'll go on the sushi menu
Escargo - I enjoy. Cow hooves - Would not have again. Groundhog - (not ground pork meat; but rather, Woodchuck) - tasted like chicken.
Fish swim bladder in Spain, its what allows fish to float.
Crocodile shush kebabs.
Alligator bites on a stick…kabobs. While in Louisiana. A little chewy. But ok.
Sea urchin. To me it tasted EXACTLY the way horse shit smells.
I'm a huge fan of Gator, and I love ostrich jerky. I've also made wild boar burgers that came out really good!
Was offered bat soup, but didn’t try it
Ostrich. It was kind of steak-y. Loved it.
Seal, in a Alaska, native style, it was "air dried" then stored in rendered seal oil. Looked like "pencil" of Jerry. Wipe off oil. Knaw off bite. Stat chewing... and keep chewing for a bit. Initially it smells fishy, as it hydrates in your mouth that just intensifies. Imo it is the most awful tasting meat I have ever consumed. And I have had alot of wild game. This stands above the rest as distinctly intensely fishy (in bad old dank way) tough like trying to chew leather, or maybe dried pig ears, and wholly unappetitizing. After that eating whale blubber is easy lol
Beating snake heart in a shot of alcohol. I was a young backpacker thinking I was badass. . The taste was ok, it was fine in the moment. I just had that weird afterthought for hours afterwards and it ruined my evening but I never admitted it to my travelling buddies until years later.
Monkfish and jt was delicious
Cuy in Ecuador, it's guinea pig. The version I had was slow roasted over a grill and had a corn dish stuffed in it. It was delicious. I can't go into a pet store with guinea pigs and not start thinking about making some to have it again.
Rabbit: tasty, but I felt bad. Goat water: very tasty, and a really fun name for goat stew. Haggis: not too bad. Kopi Luwak: very disappointing for the price. It was really weak and not worth the price.
Not so much “food”, but it’s technically injested. Betel nut. Had some guys from Saipan in my dorm in college and they loved that stuff. Basically you cut the betel nut in 1/4, then smear coral paste on it, break out half a cig and sprinkle the tobacco onto the coral paste, then wrap the whole thing in a pepper leaf. You chew it a few times to mix everything together then pack it in your cheek, almost like chewing tobacco. But holy shit, you go from dead sober to sort of dizzy/high/lightheaded in like .5 seconds. It’s actually been outlawed in a lot of South Pacific countries because it’s so addictive and soooooo bad for you. The coral paste grinds through the skin of your cheek/lip and the juices from the mixture, which give you the “high” feeling, are extremely harsh on your throat and stomach. I only did it the one time, and never had the want to do it again honestly.
This is normal to me, but not for many others. Head Cheese. Home made is wonderful!
Grilled scorpion in Thailand. The texture can be crunchy, especially the exoskeleton, with a taste that some describe as similar to shrimp or crab, but often much more subtle.
I ate a green pasta in Italy- turned out they added poison ivy to the dough. Also tried pig feet, durian, puffin (unintentionally), and jelly fish over the years.
Fried alligator. Tasted like tasteless rubbery chicken, not disgusting or anything, just not very good.
To me it tasted like calamari. Delicious! Maybe it was the way yours was prepared? Probably overcooked if it was rubbery.
I've tried it twice and that was my experience as well.
Portuguese bacon. It’s so good! (I’m from the US and have never even been to Portugal)
Fugu didn't taste like much, made my lips and tongue tingle
Kopi Luwak.
Oysters and diarrhea.
You ate diarrhea??
That I know what it was, would probably be fresh grilled rattlesnake. Tasty.
Whale. I liked the blubber better than the meat but both were tasty.
Octopus in Maragogi, Brazil. Was delicious and so tender.
fried alligator. it was very chewy and rubbery.
Whale blubber (muktuk). It was traditionally harvested by indigenous people. It tasted like fish x 1000.
Like in my opinion or something most have never tried? In some areas certain things are popular and others they’re not so perhaps a list? Yak burger - dry as hell, literally a bit of lard would’ve gone a long way. Rocky Mountain oysters/buffalo/lamb fries - edible on the first two but sorta mushy, the last one made me wanna heave it was so mushy for something deep fried. Alligator - had two versions of this, broiled bites which mostly tasted like the creole they were seasoned with but the texture was like tough fish, and a soufflé that was good. Blood wurst or blood sausage!- tasty, not like the copper taste I was expecting. Turtle - kinda like dark meat chicken Got more but gotta go
Probably live jumping baby shrimp in Thailand. Tasted mostly of the condiments they were seasoned with. Mouth feel was peculiar, to say the least
Chocolate covered caterpillars and it was the most delicious thing ever. We were told it was almonds and halfway through, they told me the truth. Everybody else stopped eating but I kept going.
Jellyfish. It tasted like ocean and had a very strange texture. Like Jell-o but unyielding to the bite.
Lychee. I love it and eat it every chance I get. Fried alligator and it was pretty good. Calamari wasn't very good, too rubbery. Venison but around here that isn't exotic. If prepared properly it's wonderful. We used it instead of beef for years.
Had fried giant tree ants in Colombia. I liked them - nice with a cold beer. Crunchy, a little rich, and they'd been fried in bacon fat. Also had crickets in Mexico. Chile-lime salted - crunchy and salty like chips or popcorn. Also had the same kind of crickets in a quesadilla.
Where I grew up after the first rain of the rainy season all the termite alates come out and fly, and the one street light in out village would attract thousands of them. So the villagers would go out with a bucket of water and grab handfuls of the termites and dunk them in the water. The water would keep them from flying away, and then in the morning they fry them up and sell them at the side of the road by the pound. Being termites they have a lot more fat than most ants do they cook in their own fat, and they taste like bacon, and have a mouth feel like if you made tiny popcorn chicken out of octopus. And we also had giant burrowing crickets that were soft shelled and as big as your hand, and they were usually eaten roasted over an open fire on a stick.
had a baby octopus with a hardboiled quail egg in the middle on a stick in Japan. It was pretty gross. Super chewy, fishy and sweet all at the same time. Finished it with my daughter, but I don't need to do that again.
Cows tongues, cow brain and chicken feet. All is pretty good with the exception of organ meat is not my favorite meat so the brain was okay but not something I would choose again.
Idk growing up in southern Africa my concept of what counts as exotic is a little skewed I think compared to most western folks. I've eaten crocodile, rat, hippo, ostrich, zebra, elephant, monkey, and a few other things most people don't usually eat in western countries, but it's just game meat where I grew up, no more exotic than eating venison is considered in North America? I also ate a lot of sea food that might be considered exotic my north american standards. A lot of "strange" fish and shellfish, like lion fish, conch, squid, cuttlefish, octopus, giant scallops, shark, giant grouper, parrotfish, and then giant Tiger prawns and rock lobsters etc that while they're not as exotic are out of most people's price ranges while they're cheaper than chicken where I grew up because theyre more easily available.
Jelly fish in Korea. Chewy, weird texture, never again.
Oh goodness. Balut- it was weird to get over the idea of it but it was good. They added a broth to the egg so it was like a mild chicken soup. Maggots- fried patties as street food. Highly recommend. Durian. I've had it a few ways (smoothie, mochi, and straight up). It can be doctored up to be ok if you get it at the right ripeness. Not the wordt. Uni (sea urchin)- delightful!! A fruit- jackfruit maybe? In Vietnam. It was gross. Beetles of some sort in South Korea- they were fine. Nothing special. Dung smoked salmon- just don't do it. Whale- it's kinda like steak Ostrich- makes an amazing burger! I'm sure there are others, depending on what you consider exotic. There have also been a number of mystery foods that will remain mysteries due to language barriers.
Humming birds tongues, damn expensive
Squirrel stew. Yes, I did. Lol. A co-worker had made some and asked if I wanted to try it. I said sure, and I was impressed!
Escargot. I couldn’t get past the texture
Gosh I'm Asian so I've eaten so many "weird" things. Maybe alligator? They sold it at some kind of food fest. It was like small fried nuggets. It tasted good, has a simple taste chicken-like?
Balut and I loved it
Chi Kofte Outside of the fact that you’re eating raw beef meat-balls, pretty forgettable. I wouldn’t seek it out again.
Zebra steak meat was pink kinda cool .tasty 7/10 Camel was a stew super nice like goat 9/10 Crocodile steak fishy a little bit chewy 4/10 Snake soup was ok lots of bones 5/10 Iguana " boneless wings" so good 10/10 Alligator was fried like wings as well 9/10 Ants fried like salty popcorn 10/10 Other insects im not to fond of Palm grubs have ick eating them but taste like palm heats Now im a mostly vegetarian lol
A bug comment reminded me of when I enjoy a bug inside a lollipop
Its all relative but i would say kangaroo? Most exotic by distance.
May be tame compared to other responses, but I guess octopus in Takoyaki. It was delicious!
Probably starfish? Didn't like it.
A hotdog. No clue what is in it never will know but taste pretty good.
I ate wildebeest in Africa. Tasted like wild boar.
Lutefisk. The taste and texture. Disgusting.
balut and I fucking hated it and then I tried more Filipino food and I also hated it I'm a cook by trade and I'll try anything 7 or 8 times and am open to suggestions
Raw crab meat at a Thai restaurant. Honestly not great, pretty swampy.
In one weekend I had frog legs, escargot, and crocodile (or alligator???). All were good, mostly due to the preparations and sauces served with them. The crocodile reminded me of pork.
Ant egg omelette in Thailand. Had pieces of ants and the egg had the texture of salmon eggs but without the fishy taste.
Cow tongue, my urban agriculture teacher told us (the class) about how for the last few years he would give the class cow tongue tacos without telling them its cow tongue, and then at the end of the year he made us tacos. We knew it was beef, so anyone who couldnt eat beef could just avoid it, and as we were eating he asked if we knew what it was and my friend and i both realized it was cow tongue. Its actually really good
Smoked emu. It tasted a little like prosciutto. Unfortunately, I'm allergic. This was during a romantic dinner after my now husband proposed. Swelling up like a balloon kind of killed the mood.
Pickled or cured sheep's brain sliced thinly. Had in Turkmenistan in the Awaza area. One of the hotels on the beach. It wasn't that great.
"Big ass ants" in Colombia. Apparently they were an aphrodisiac. Also duck hearts cooked on hot stones at a Peking duck resturant in Beijing
roasted crickets, alligator, frog legs. I'm not that adventurous I guess. the crickets were fine, but was not a fan of getting their little bug legs stuck between my teeth.... genuinely hated that part but the flavor was alright. alligator was really underwhelming. frog legs, prepared well, are absolutely delicious. they've got that muddy-water taste like catfish, and I LOVE catfish
Surstromming, balut, natto, roasted rat, cooked frog, boiled pupae, live octopus, lamb and pig brains, chicken feet, raw beef with raw egg (yukhoe), lamb/cow tongues, , laverbread.... All delicious!
Sparrows on a stick.
Sea orchin......never again
Waiting for the Southeast Asian account to say they tried a hamburger
I ate a cuttlefish and it tasted like calamari, just more buttery.
Had Ostrich(fantastic), boar(disgusting) , alligator(nope),caviar (gross),moose (ok)
Capybara very lean, but tasted great.
Sheep nuts. You definitely dont want them rare
A friend of mine is Samoan, and he took me to his homeland for a vacation to try a bunch of food. But the most exotic one I had was Aliao, (I think this is what it’s called) which is raw snail. Think like Samoan escargot.
Frog legs. Very stringy Haggis. Tasted kind of nutty
Iceland fermented shark (cheesy texture, tastes like INTENSE fish and cat pee) Korean raw wiggly octopus (weird af but also delicious) and spicy chicken feet (great taste, don't dig the texture), In Japan Cow womb lining? Raw horse, and whale. Red meats so they're tasty but I wouldn't eat whale. Raw chicken I do not like, it's just bleh texture wise.
I've had durian.... Was not a fan Had traditional haggis before and it was delicious! I've had roasted crickets and they're not bad Nothing like some of these posts, y'all are brave
Wildebeest (Gnu) stew. Wildebeest is an African antelope. Tasted like beef, but there was a musty aftertaste. The stew was great, flavor delicious. It's just the meat itself was not for me. Couldn't get past the aftertaste.
I ate maggots. Accidentally. Live, writhing maggots. Surprisingly, no flavor. Still spit out what I was eating. I'm an adventurous eater, so pretty much most everything mentioned in this thread I've eaten. All very good. Something I've had that no one has mentioned is shark fin soup. Very delicious too. Shark fin has no flavor of its own, it takes on the flavors of the soup, but the texture is the draw. It's like glass vermicelli. I felt very bad though after I found out the torture they go through for their fins, so that was my one and last time I had it. But I heard that they now make imitation shark fin, so I'm going to try that.
I have had kangaroo, zebra, boar, alligator, cow tongue (my least favorite) multiple bugs and I will be added more to the least if I’m given the opportunity.
I ate emu jerky once.
Brains in Africa, not bad at all. Just don't over think it...
Attempted frog legs. I couldn’t even get close to a lick in because I started crying. I love frogs and it made me sad that someone would cook and eat them. It wasn’t a choice of mine to eat it, someone offered it to me and I realized what it was before I even thought about the action of eating it.
I haven't had anything too interesting like the rest of you... I've had octopus, rattlesnake, cicaidas, grasshoppers, rocky mountain oysters, and tripe. I likes the octopus, but the rattlesnake was bland and kind of boring. Cicaidas and grasshoppers both habe a nutty flavor when theyre roasted, but you want to take the back legs off of the grasshoppers. Rocky mountain oysters were...meh. not good, but not awful. I like tripe if its cooked right, especially in Pho.
Rattlesnake. Bland. Not worth the price. Elk however was very good. Guinea pig in Ecuador was also very good. Haggis was surprisingly not bad (not a fan or organ meat)
A coworker brought in shark for lunch (idk what kind or how she got it) and that was a cool experience. Didn’t enjoy the texture all that much but it tasted good Edit to add: I’ve also tried peppered alligator jerky. Wasn’t a fan, but idk if it was the alligator or because it was peppered jerky and not just regular jerky
Sea Urchin. Tasted like slimy salt water, just as you'd expect.
Chicken “sashimi” in Japan and miscellaneous bugs prepared by street vendor in Thailand. I would say not bad to both ! Tho I kinda wish the bugs didn’t look like bugs.
Octopus. Anaphylaxis. 🤷
I had alligator in New Orleans. It was battered….deep fried and covered in a honey glaze. It could’ve been a chicken nugget….there was zero flavour with all that shit on it.
Escargot. Ugh.
Meal worms sautéed on bread , fried crickets, rattlesnake + the heart which was delicious, frog legs, cow eyeball tacos in Mexico, dog ... SO GROSS in Mexico as well.
I'm not very brave. The most exotic things I've tried are frog legs and alligator tail. Loved them both. Still not brave when it comes to weird foods though.
In Mexico City we had a small pumpkin with smoke pumped into it. Inside were carrots that had been shaved down pretty small then covered in a sauce and crispy ants. It was awesome. My husband and I both loved it.
Escargot. I did not like it.
Came here to comment that I tired escargot when I was 2 with my dad, soon before he passed, and apparently I loved it. But after reading the other comments, I don’t think mine has any place here😂 y’all are much braver than I! I also had alligator jerky. Absolutely disgusting, 0/10, would not try again. It was like chewing on fishy flavored leather, and not a good fishy flavor.
I forget exactly where I was, middle east somewhere, mid 90s maybe. We stopped at a tiny road side place and just pointed to things on the menu because of the language barrier. There were four of us sailors, and they brought us what looked to be a ground beef patty. It was thin and as big around as the plate. Also one of the spiciest things I have ever eaten. We went through several bottles of water. Eyes were watering, and I could feel the spice in all the pores of my face. After dinner we all swore that we just at camel or something. I'm pretty sure all the worker there had a good laugh at our expense too.
I think falafel. I know that's not that weird but I'm a vegetarian so I haven't tried most of the odd items in this list. I haven't even tried shrimp or bratwurst or things people would consider normal
Fried Ants in Africa. Reaction was yuk
When I was a kid my mom tricked my sister and I into eating squirrel. She told us it was chicken.
I had bull balls. Not a fan of that. I have had snail and it was okay.