# Eating Brains? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [January 15, 2015, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eating-brains/709871 "2015-01-15T03:06:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![vomit\_comet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/73ab20/32.png) [@vomit\_comet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vomit_comet)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2015, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eating-brains/709871/1 "2015-01-15T03:06:32Z")
We barbecue 50 - 80 # pigs quite often and the fellow that usually takes the head to consume at his will wasn’t going to be around this most recent time. I never really discussed it or don’t remember if I did because we were probably loaded but I have always heard that brains are ‘good’, presumably meaning nutritious. I know this pig was well done as the skin was really crispy, in fact more crispy - almost burnt to a point where I thought it didn’t taste good, the meat was very delicious but the skin, which I usually like just wasn’t a pleasing smell or taste. I don’t know if the odor from the skin turned me off but I couldn’t bring myself to have a go at the brains. I don’t know if the fella that usually takes the head eats the brains or not but I just wanted opinions on it. Would you eat them like just scoop them out or would you not trust the cooking through the skull and fry them again or just toss them in the trash? ---
**Author:** ![excavating\_for\_a\_mind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e8c25b/32.png) [@excavating\_for\_a\_mind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/excavating_for_a_mind)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2015, 3:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eating-brains/709871/2 "2015-01-15T03:39:40Z")
Username/post combo, at least that’s what I’d become. ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2015, 3:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eating-brains/709871/3 "2015-01-15T03:45:43Z")
You should watch this: [Raw Brain Taste Test - YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CGjm9KVGkS4) (Buzzfeed editor tasting raw animal brains). I have had animal brain before (cooked; it makes them firmer, but I’d imagine the flavor is the same) and I agree with his assessments. For the most part it doesn’t really taste like anything; it’s mostly about texture. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2015, 3:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eating-brains/709871/4 "2015-01-15T03:45:54Z")
[You know who else doesn’t like brains?](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f_1Omqh2P0Y) ---
**Author:** ![vomit\_comet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/73ab20/32.png) [@vomit\_comet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vomit_comet)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2015, 4:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eating-brains/709871/5 "2015-01-15T04:07:28Z")
> [@DCnDC](#): > > You should watch this: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CGjm9KVGkS4](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CGjm9KVGkS4) (Buzzfeed editor tasting raw animal brains). > > I have had animal brain before (cooked; it makes them firmer, but I’d imagine the flavor is the same) and I agree with his assessments. For the most part it doesn’t really taste like anything; it’s mostly about texture. Why have I not seen this guy before, he must have something good going on, like 130 times more subscribers than me. ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2015, 7:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eating-brains/709871/6 "2015-01-15T07:25:44Z")
Hyoomans no like brains! Unlock basement door, bring brainz here for safekeeping. I would be perhaps unnecessarily worried about spongiform encephalopathies. I am not squeamish about eating tongue, cheeks, face, whatever otherwise, but I have not yet tried this… delight. I know what you mean about freshly roasted pig skin. It tastes pretty good, and the fat is nice, but the texture is off a bit. Hurts my teeth. The last one I had, at some point someone replaced the eyes/filled the sockets with strawberries. Instead of hiding the shame it made it worse, like some thriller movie where the crazy person scratches out the eyes on photographs. ---
**Author:** ![Sophistry\_and\_Illusion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b3f665/32.png) [@Sophistry\_and\_Illusion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sophistry_and_Illusion)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2015, 9:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eating-brains/709871/7 "2015-01-15T09:01:21Z")
I had (cooked) calf brain once at a restaurant. It tasted fine–quite rich. But the texture was a bit of a turn-off–a bit like ricotta cheese or cottage cheese, IIRC. So I think once was enough for me. ---
**Author:** ![chiroptera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/df705f/32.png) [@chiroptera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chiroptera)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2015, 9:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eating-brains/709871/8 "2015-01-15T09:23:23Z")
[Philippines brains recipes](https://www.google.com/search?q=philippines+brains+recipe&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8)! I went to the wedding of a Filipino couple once. They served a huge meal of traditional Filipino food and one dish was a pork brain stew. It was thick and sticky. I imagine many cuisines use brains and all the other parts of animals that we in the US typically don’t eat. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2015, 9:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eating-brains/709871/9 "2015-01-15T09:23:50Z")
I’d worry about Mad Pig Disease. > [@Sophistry\_and\_Illusion](#): > > I had (cooked) calf brain once at a restaurant. It tasted fine–quite rich. But the texture was a bit of a turn-off–a bit like ricotta cheese or cottage cheese, IIRC. So I think once was enough for me. I’d still worry. Cooking doesn’t kill or destroy prions. ---
**Author:** ![stui\_magpie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stui_magpie/32/11010_2.png) [@stui\_magpie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stui_magpie)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2015, 10:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eating-brains/709871/10 "2015-01-15T10:46:49Z")
I tried sheeps brains once. ONCE. Yuck, pass, never again. ptooie. I like liver and kidneys, I’d eat tripe under duress, but brains are in the same category as oysters, never getting in my mouth again. ---
**Author:** ![Bill\_Door](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/50afbb/32.png) [@Bill\_Door](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bill_Door)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2015, 12:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eating-brains/709871/11 "2015-01-15T12:43:39Z")
Damn, my mother used to make scrambled eggs and calves’ brains that were delicious. No comparison to the headcheese she made, though. A cold headcheese sandwich on toasted rye bread. Yummy. Now I’m hungry. ---
**Author:** ![John\_DiFool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_difool/32/19543_2.png) [@John\_DiFool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_DiFool)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2015, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eating-brains/709871/12 "2015-01-15T14:09:11Z")
I’d beware of getting kuru. ---
**Author:** ![SpeedwayRyan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce7236/32.png) [@SpeedwayRyan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SpeedwayRyan)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2015, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eating-brains/709871/13 "2015-01-15T14:23:03Z")
> [@excavating\_for\_a\_mind](#): > > Username/post combo, at least that’s what I’d become. Your username fits here pretty well too, ya know. ---
**Author:** ![Doctor\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doctor_jackson/32/32_2.png) [@Doctor\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doctor_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2015, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eating-brains/709871/14 "2015-01-15T14:40:04Z")
> [@vomit\_comet](#): > > …but I have always heard that brains are ‘good’, presumably meaning nutritious. [Nutritious](http://caloriecount.about.com/calories-pork-fresh-brain-i10097)? Not so much. While pork brain is high in protein (it is essentially protein and fat, not much else) and vitamin C, a 3 ounce serving contains as much cholesterol as one should eat in an entire week (2169mg) :eek: Not exactly a “heart healthy” food… I have not tried eating brains of any kind, but know many people who do. It would seem that a little goes a long way. ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2015, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eating-brains/709871/15 "2015-01-15T14:43:52Z")
> [@Doctor\_Jackson](#): > > [Nutritious](http://caloriecount.about.com/calories-pork-fresh-brain-i10097)? Not so much. While pork brain is high in protein (it is essentially protein and fat, not much else) and vitamin C, a 3 ounce serving contains as much cholesterol as one should eat in an entire week (2169mg) :eek: Not exactly a “heart healthy” food… > > I have not tried eating brains of any kind, but know many people who do. It would seem that a little goes a long way. Well, so long as they’re reasonable about it. I mean, it’s not like they’re eating the eyes, after all. ---
**Author:** ![aruvqan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aruvqan/32/2891_2.png) [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2015, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eating-brains/709871/16 "2015-01-15T16:33:20Z")
I have done the pork brains and eggs thing once … and while I would not voluntarily eat them I will be polite and eat them if served. They had an objectionable texture [sort of lumpy snot in the normal scrambled hard egg texture] and a sort of organy/livery taste I don’t like. I will amend - you could probably use them in place of liver in a beef pate recipe [one can find recipes for a rustic pate that uses finely ground beef with liver as the enrichening ingredient, typically combined with a large dollop of fat.] The taste and texture could perhaps be amended to be less objectionable to us people that normally don’t do offal. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2015, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eating-brains/709871/17 "2015-01-15T16:40:41Z")
While I’m game to try just about anything, I’ve never eaten brains. Initially this was because they’re like a million percent cholesterol. Nowadays I’d rather not risk CJD, no matter how small that risk is. ---
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2015, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eating-brains/709871/18 "2015-01-15T16:44:18Z")
5 years from now I’m going to revive this thread officially making it a Zombie Thread about eating brains. Can’t wait. ---
**Author:** ![Jonathan\_Chance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jonathan_chance/32/701_2.png) [@Jonathan\_Chance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jonathan_Chance)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2015, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eating-brains/709871/19 "2015-01-15T17:30:39Z")
> [@Ethilrist](#): > > Well, so long as they’re reasonable about it. I mean, it’s not like they’re eating the eyes, after all. How you doin’, buddy? How’s it been? ---
**Author:** ![vomit\_comet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/73ab20/32.png) [@vomit\_comet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vomit_comet)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2015, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eating-brains/709871/20 "2015-01-15T18:58:06Z")
> [@Shakes](#): > > 5 years from now I’m going to revive this thread officially making it a Zombie Thread about eating brains. > > Can’t wait. Looking forward to it. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eating-brains/709871.md?page=2)