ALAINA – TIME FOR EAR/EYEMUFFS!
A delicacy in Inca times, they ate guinea pig only during solstices and were otherwise vegetarians. Less so today. We’ve seen cuy all over Cuzco, from already prepped cuy at each vendor’s stand at the markets to menus of tourist restaurants, usually with a 1 hour wait time.
We couldn’t leave without having a try ourselves, so we went to a local restaurant recommended to us by our AirBnb host.
Not really knowing the difference between baked or fried cuy, we chose to share a plate of cuy chactado (stone fried guinea pig) because it came with a rocoto relleno (stuffed chile pepper).
Our cuy came out glamorously set atop some starchy potatoes. I have a suspicion that the white, skinless potato most visible under the cuy is one of those river-preserved potatoes. It was the densest potato I’ve ever had, more like steamed yucca, or a gummy bread/dough.
The pink drink is chicha frutilla, or a strawberry fermented corn drink. It was pretty good and I bet it would be even more delicious frozen.
But you’re probably really wondering about the cuy. Does cuy taste like chicken? Or anything familiar to our western palates?
Aside from “fried,” no. Nor did it have the greatest taste.
As you might expect, the many bones in the tiny rodent made it fairly difficult to maneuver. Surprisingly, the cuy skin was VERY thick and tough for such a small creature, though the meat itself was tender as can be. There was this flavor in the meat that I can’t describe, not reminiscent to anything I’m familiar with. Someone told us that it tastes similar to rabbit, but I’d have to disagree (plus, unlike lean rabbits, our cuy was quite fatty). Jon described the cuy as having a “sort of fishy taste,” but I suspect what he really meant was “sort of unpleasant taste.”
I tried to dissect the jaw/head area but found it too difficult to pull apart. The teeth were pretty sharp though, and the substance I could see in there looked greyish. The chest area above the toothpick-like ribs looked particularly pink (undercooked?). Needless to say we did not finish the whole animal.
Thoughtful alert there for Alaina! I’ve read of guinea pig eaten in their original homeland. Aside from seeing on Zimmerman’s “Bizzarre Foods”, have not known of the details. I think I”ll prefer to have them as pets! Thanks for sharing!
Well, at least you tried!