Animals eaten young [edited title]

[kayaker]

My gf made a huge pot of lamb and barley soup, which got us discussing the consumption of young animals. Of course there is veal (cow babies) and suckling pig. In lands where horse-meat is eaten (lookin' at you, Francois), is there a market for foal? What other animals are specifically enjoyed young?

[Marley23]

I edited the thread title for clarity. It was originally "Eating the young."

[Ruby]

What about those embryo chickens (ducks?) they eat in Asia? Can't get much younger than that.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Balut_%28egg%29

ETA: Corrected location and added link

[Beadalin]

Meat chickens are slaughtered at 8 weeks, usually. Sometimes they make it to 12 weeks.

Turkeys are slaughtered at 12 weeks, though some go to 26 weeks.

[Drunky Smurf]

What about eggs? Caviar? or do those not count since they are unborn? I can't think of anything else really.

[Walkabout]

When I was in Slovenia, one restaurant had foal on the menu. I still regret not trying it.

[pancakes3]

baby corn? tadpole soup? [/smartass]

[cromulent]

"Baby eels" are routinely eaten (well, not in the U.S., but in Spain and various Asian countries), although I really don't know if those are infant eels or just a smaller variety.

[Left Hand of Dorkness]

Hushpuppies.

[TriPolar]

Pate made from a goose force fed baby seal meat. (this was a suggestion from a 'cruelest food' discussion, maybe nobody actually makes it that way).

[kayaker]

When I was in Slovenia, one restaurant had foal on the menu. I still regret not trying it.

Cool! That was really what we were wondering about. I've never had horse, but a friend (an anatomy professor) had it in Mexico. He had ordered "ribs" and his knowledge of anatomy told him the source.

[thelurkinghorror]

I can't believe the OP ate baby barley before its time.

Cornish game hen seems like some mystical bird to people, but no, it's just young chicken. Same with poussin; these are either synonyms or slightly different ages,

[purplehorseshoe]

I can't think of *any* animal that's routinely eaten by humans that isn't also eaten when it's young.

(The definition of routinely has been left as an exercise to the reader, but I'm willing to bet that in those areas where cats, dogs, and rats are eaten, people also eat the young versions of each.)

[Mangetout]

"Baby eels" are routinely eaten (well, not in the U.S., but in Spain and various Asian countries), although I really don't know if those are infant eels or just a smaller variety.

They are juveniles. The eels live in rivers, but migrate to the sea to spawn (the opposite of what salmon do), so at a certain time of year, the rivers are (or used to be) teeming with millions of juveniles swimming upstream from the sea, and they're very easy to just scoop out with a net.

I ate them in Spain a couple of years ago - they're nice.

[Dallas Jones]

The popularity of Baby Back Ribs is the reason you never see an adult Back in the wild anymore.

And then there is the tragedy of the Tater Tots.

[aceplace57]

I've never heard of anyone eating a fawn (young deer). Illegal to hunt. Also, very little meat.

[KarlGrenze]

Meat chickens are slaughtered at 8 weeks, usually. Sometimes they make it to 12 weeks.

Six weeks for chickens, at least in US. Twelve weeks is old age to be slaughtered in the broiler (meat chicken) world. Those that survive that long are usually selected for breeding the next generation of broilers. And yes, they may be culled anywhere along the process, but 12 weeks is less common, 6 weeks is more common in "all in/all out" operations.

[Nava]

There is an ongoing campaign in Spain to avoid eating too-young fish.

Goats are eaten as "lechales" same as lamb: the word literally means "suckling".

[WhyNot]

Not so much around here, but caterpillars are a favorite snack in some parts of the world, usually fried and salted. I'm not sure if they're baby moths or baby butterflies, but they're immature somethings.

[kayaker]

The first fancy meal I made for my gf was osso buco. It was fabulous, possibly the best meal I've ever made. As we were sitting around sipping wine after the meal, my gf was asking about the difficulty factor. I said that the hardest part was tracking down the veal shanks.

"WHAT?!":eek:

She explained that she hadn't had veal in 30 years, for the reason most carnivores who avoid veal cite.

We have eaten it from time to time since. ;) (she now buys "humanely raised and slaughtered organic veal")

[Crotalus]

They are juveniles. The eels live in rivers, but migrate to the sea to spawn (the opposite of what salmon do), so at a certain time of year, the rivers are (or used to be) teeming with millions of juveniles swimming upstream from the sea, and they're very easy to just scoop out with a net.

I ate them in Spain a couple of years ago - they're nice.And I thought I remembered a thread about that called "My food has many eyes", but I can't find it. Was that an Atomic Shrimp thing rather than an SDMB thread?

[purplehorseshoe]

They are juveniles. The eels live in rivers, but migrate to the sea to spawn (the opposite of what salmon do), so at a certain time of year, the rivers are (or used to be) teeming with millions of juveniles swimming upstream from the sea, and they're very easy to just scoop out with a net.

I ate them in Spain a couple of years ago - they're nice.

Most of the other baby-food-animals listed in this thread are enjoyed because in return for less meat* you get a more tender meal that is often milder/less gamy. Do baby eels taste different from adult eels in the same manner? Are they less ... eely? Less oily, maybe?



*I hadn't considered fawn (venison) till it was mentioned upthread...

[Yorikke]

Balut (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Balut_%28egg%29).

Joe

[Teacake]

I've had foal - in Slovenia! It was absolutely delicious. A little more delicate than horse, and meltingly tender. Would eat again; would recommend.

I'd also travel a long way for the baby fish they eat in Italy - "schiuma di mare", which translates as "foam of the sea". We get very excited when we see them on a menu. Last time I had them was in Taranto. Happy sigh.

[cromulent]

They are juveniles. The eels live in rivers, but migrate to the sea to spawn (the opposite of what salmon do), so at a certain time of year, the rivers are (or used to be) teeming with millions of juveniles swimming upstream from the sea, and they're very easy to just scoop out with a net.

I ate them in Spain a couple of years ago - they're nice.

Well, that's good to know. The next time (and the first time!) I eat this dish, I will rejoice in the knowledge that I am devouring actual, honest-to-goodness baby eels.

[thelurkinghorror]

This is a baby eel. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leptocephalus)

Wikipedia says:

Leptocephali themselves are rarely used as food, except in some parts of Japan. The leptocephali of the common Japanese conger, Conger myriaster, are called Noresore·のれそれ in Kochi Prefecture, Japan, and are often served un-cooked to the table, and are eaten after dipping in Tosazu mixed vinegar. It is a spring seasonal specialty.

They grow up into the recognizable juvenile "tiny eel" that Mangetout mentions.

[panache45]

What about eggs? Caviar? or do those not count since they are unborn? I can't think of anything else really.

I was going to mention these, but I thought they'd only count as animals with a "right-to-life" crowd.

[Cub Mistress]

I've never heard of anyone eating a fawn (young deer). Illegal to hunt. Also, very little meat.

Ah, but the meat is exquisitely tender. Or, so I've heard.

[BrainGlutton]

What about those embryo chickens (ducks?) they eat in Asia? Can't get much younger than that.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Balut_%28egg%29

ETA: Corrected location and added link

No younger, but, at least to Westerners, even way mondo weirder: I read a reference in one of Douglas Coupland's novels about fetal lambs -- "lambryos" -- being served at a yuppercrust dinner.

[Argent Towers]

When I was in Slovenia, one restaurant had foal on the menu. I still regret not trying it.

Was it the AM-AM Tavern in Ljubljana?

[Chefguy]

Young animal joke: A baby seal walks into a club. . .

[Teacake]

Was it the AM-AM Tavern in Ljubljana?

Though you didn't ask me where I ate it: no, it wasn't that restaurant, though it was in Ljubljana.

[Walkabout]

Was it the AM-AM Tavern in Ljubljana?

It was in Ljubljana, but I don't remember the name of the restaurant. I think it was on Mestni Trg near the square, and it seems like it was more a restaurant than a tavern.

[eenerms]

Let's not forget the baby carrots!