How to Cook a Cat
by Michael
(London, UK)
No..you try and cook me and you'll pay..-photo by Dan4th (Flickr - see link base of page)
17th February 2010: A top Italian food writer has described how to cook a cat on national Italian television and been sacked for it. Beppe Bigazzi offered the recipe on the Italian version of the British television program Ready Steady Cook despite being encouraged during a commercial break to stop. In Italy the programme is called La Prova del Cuoco.
Bigazzi suggested that for optimum flavour the meat should be soaked in spring water for three days before being stewed. So we are talking about a cat casserole.
He said that cat casserole is a famous dish in his home region of Valdarno, Tuscany, Italy. He has eaten cat casserole many times and he says that cat meat tastes better than chicken, pigeon and rabbit.
Later, after the phone lines nearly jammed because of a flood of complaints, he said he was joking, but not that much!
Apparently, in the 1930s and 1940s in Italy, in the countryside around Arezzo people ate cat. And cat eating was not confined to Arezzo but in times of hardship it was routinely practiced. In the city of Vicenza the people are referred to as magnagati. This means, "cat eaters" in English. To differentiate rabbit from cat, butchers used to leave the rabbit's head on! It makes you want to become vegetarian.
So for people who want to know how to cook a cat, the answer is cat casserole and any casserole recipe will probably do as long as you soak the meat as described. But don't do it, please, as it is illegal in most western countries as it would probably fall under animal cruelty laws that are fairly uniform across Europe and north America.
Note: Before I go on, I wish to make it clear that I hate the idea of eating cat meat. Why? A lot of people think it is OK as it is no different to rabbit or horse or any other animal, they argue. But I disagree strongly. Cats are domesticated wildcats. They are human companions and not farm livestock that has been bred, raised and killed under controlled conditions to be eaten - although factory farming is horrible too. It is illegal to kill cat to eat it and that apparently applies to Italy as well as England (and I am sure in many other countries).
But cat eating is not that rare. Here are some more horrible examples for the record:
- 1529: Ruperto de Nola suggested how to cook a cat. This time is was spit roasted cat basted in garlic and olive oil. The recipe included the words, "Take the garlic with oil mixed with good broth so that it is coarse and pour it over the cat and you can eat it for it is a good dish".
- In Spain hunters have historically tried to sell skinned cat as a hare to avoid the generally agreement that it is unacceptable to eat domestic or wild cat.
- 2007: the Australians' hatred of the feral cat surfaced when at a cooking contest in Alice Springs feral cats were killed and cooked. Feral cat is tough apparently. I hope some Australians chocked on it.
- China: cat meat is eaten in certain parts of China. But China's middle class dislike the practice and have pressured the authorities to ban it. Proposals are being made, it seems, to criminalise cat eating with a penalty of 15 days in prison.
In book entitled, "Extreme Cuisine" By Jerry Hopkins, Anthony Bourdain, Michael Freeman, the authors mention that under the media spotlight poor people in Argentina in 1996 where reported as eating their own domestic cats.
They also referred to another Australian feral cat story (there are many, believe me) in which in the same year of 1996, it was reported that a certain John Wamsley, the managing director of an oraganisation called Earth Sanctuaries, recommended "pussy tail stew". He suggested people catch and cook feral cats. In parts of Australia it is legal to "ground shoot" feral cats.
In China cat meat is meant to be good for health and as the people become wealthier they can pay more attention to their health.
So there you have it, how to cook a cat. A concept that is abhorrent to me and I am sure all the regulars to this website but something that is quite widespread. One final twist. Euthanised cats both feral and domestic find their way into cat food and preparing that is an all together different way to cook a cat.
Associated Pages:
Comments for | ||
| ||
| ||
| ||
| ||
| ||
| ||
| ||
| ||
| ||
| ||
| ||
| ||
| ||
| ||
| ||
| ||
| ||
|
I once went to a Sierra Club “pot luck” dinner where some jokers brought a blue plastic plate with a can of something in the middle and tortilla chips surrounding it. A few diners helped themselves to the “appetizer” and then some of us began to wonder what was in the can. It turned out to be a can of cat food.
Nice story. Interesting that they ate or at least partly ate the cat food until you wondered what it was so it must’ve tasted less than appetising but apparently edible!
Starving Venezuelans ate their pets to survive, just 2 – 3 years ago.
Or you can starve & die. ‘Splain that to your hungry kids.
Just to poke a hole in your not eating carnivores the royal. They are eaten all the time lots of seafood are carnivores,chickens,turkey,bear,mountain lion,pigs,snakes,gator, just to name a few
This isn’t bad it’s like eating meat from another animal i mean i don’t eat cat but its not cruel to eat meat and for vegans out there it’s not healthy to not eat meat mo offense but its the circle of life if we didnt kill them they would kill us
Hi Kikky. I understand you argument but I don’t think we should eat companion animals. We should eat animals that are reared specifically for eating (farm livestock) but we should treat companions animals differently. People say that their cat is part of the family, a family member. Therefore, throughout her life and after it we should treat a cat as a family member. We don’t eat family members.
There is no need to eat any dead flesh these days, there are plenty of much healthier alternatives. Most ‘food’ animals live and die horribly, they are born simply to die, how can that be right?
Animals don’t kill us, they only want to live and let live and vegans and vegetarians are very healthy people who do just that.
Yes, it is time for humans to move on and become more refined in their behavior. I guess it is about development, evolution and being civilised! We are not there yet. Some people are more advanced than others.
As long as we are trying to do our best is the main thing, it takes time but we can each do it in our own time and make a small difference and surely IF the human race survives, one day we will all be civilised at long last. But I think that day is a long long way off yet.
I am having a dispute with my my neighbors and I would like to eat their cat as a show of my discontent about the situation…I caught the cat the last day and i put a santa hat on it and took many pictures of the cat so i can send them as a Christmas card to the nabours! cue evil laughing ha ha ha ha ha coff coff…ect!!! unfortunatly the lovley cat escaped even thow i offered it some salmon and tasty bits of food to faten it up for eating party fun time we planed! is there a way i can entise the cat to come and live with us and forsake the evil nabours?..nam nam tasty cat
your sincerely
roisin and co.
p.s how long do you soke the cat again? can i cook it with out an oven?
Your comment is either meant to be funny or it is the ramblings of a madman 😉 I presume it is meant to be funny. I don’t find it funny. Leave the cat alone and try and be a decent person. Your neighbor is irresponsible though. Have you discussed the matter with your neighbor?
ever hear the saying “there’s more than one way to skin a cat? the best way i found is to grasp the cat by the neck very firmly with one hand. not too loose or it’ll spin and claw the ever livin’ $h!t outta your arm and not too tight, you’ll break it’s neck and you need it alive and concious for the next step. now with your other hand grab an handful of skin along it’s back and rip it open. the excruciating pain and burning will cause the cat to jump out of it’s skin. now it’s ready to cook. bon appetit
Are you being serious? Why are you so nasty? It seems you are some sort of sociopath or psychopath.