# Horse Meat **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 17, 2010, 3:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/horse-meat/546989 "2010-07-17T03:18:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Markxxx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5daacb/32.png) [@Markxxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Markxxx)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2010, 3:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/horse-meat/546989/1 "2010-07-17T03:18:50Z")
I was watching a rerun of _All In The Family_ where Gloria serves the family [horsemeat](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horse_meat) > [@](#): > > Edith: Horse?? > Gloria: What difference does it make > Edith: Well…The Queen rides a horse > Gloria: It’s meat just like beef or chicken > Edith: But the Queen don’t ride a chicken Who here has tried it? I haven’t. Does it taste like chicken? I mean doesn’t everything taste like chicken? ---
**Author:** ![BaneSidhe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/c5a1d2/32.png) [@BaneSidhe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BaneSidhe)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2010, 4:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/horse-meat/546989/2 "2010-07-17T04:45:14Z")
It really says something about chicken when every meat that you’re not sure about the taste of “tastes just like chicken.” ---
**Author:** ![foolsguinea](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foolsguinea/32/14751_2.png) [@foolsguinea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/foolsguinea)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2010, 5:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/horse-meat/546989/3 "2010-07-17T05:31:22Z")
I can’t imagine horse tasting like chicken. I mean, I can imagine it, in the sense that I can imagine ridiculous things; like ArianeB coming out of my monitor into reality & attacking people with creatures from the Flash game _Elements_; or making love to a woman whose sweat tastes precisely like raspberries. But I would expect, rather, that horse is to mutton as duck is to chicken, if you will–much stronger & _browner_ than chicken. Not that I would eat horse; I am a disciple of Col. Potter: “Horses are noble creatures.” ---
**Author:** ![tingbudong](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tingbudong/32/520_2.png) [@tingbudong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tingbudong)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2010, 5:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/horse-meat/546989/4 "2010-07-17T05:51:08Z")
Had some in Xinjiang Province awhile ago. It was quite well done and had been marinated…somewhat similar to venison (if you’ve had that). ---
**Author:** ![Wolverine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/ba9def/32.png) [@Wolverine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wolverine)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2010, 5:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/horse-meat/546989/5 "2010-07-17T05:52:26Z")
I haven’t yet even though I’m curious as well. I know you’re looking for Doper’s opinions, but Joel Stein had a good article in Time a few years ago about both the difficulty of getting horse meat in the U.S. and the general taste. It’s worth a read. [Horse - It’s Whats for Dinner](http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1587279,00.html) Relevant passage - > [@](#): > > When I opened my package, I couldn’t believe how deeply red the meat was…It turned out to be pretty awesome–a sweet, rich, superlean, oddly soft meat, closer to beef than venison. > > Read more: [http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1587279,00.html#ixzz0turIWL8F](http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1587279,00.html#ixzz0turIWL8F) ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2010, 5:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/horse-meat/546989/6 "2010-07-17T05:55:53Z")
I’ve had horse sausage in Hungary (_lókolbasz_). It was very lean and fairly tough for sausage. Couldn’t tell you how it tastes on its own, but it didn’t particularly make for a good sausage–you need fattier meat for that. Comparisons to venison sound pretty apt to me. ---
**Author:** ![Olentzero](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/90ced4/32.png) [@Olentzero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Olentzero)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2010, 6:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/horse-meat/546989/7 "2010-07-17T06:37:15Z")
I’m going to have to agree with Joel Stein on this one. I’m pretty sure the stuff I had was smoked as well, but he describes it fairly accurately. In fact it was quite good and I’d definitely eat it 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:** [July 17, 2010, 11:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/horse-meat/546989/8 "2010-07-17T11:57:57Z")
I’ve had horsemeat in Limoges, France and donkey in Rizhao, China. The horse was better, but it may have been bred specifically for that purpose, and not rewarded for a lifetime of faithful service with a trip to the slaughterhouse like the donkey. ---
**Author:** ![capybara](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/capybara/32/202_2.png) [@capybara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/capybara)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2010, 12:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/horse-meat/546989/9 "2010-07-17T12:39:14Z")
I’ve had quite a bit of horse in Belgium and in BC (where I knew of a butcher who carried it). Nothing like chicken in the least. Joel Stein’s description is pretty right-on. ---
**Author:** ![Markxxx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5daacb/32.png) [@Markxxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Markxxx)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2010, 12:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/horse-meat/546989/10 "2010-07-17T12:53:35Z")
I was just kidding when I said “taste like chicken.” That’s the standard phrase ain’t it? “It tastes like chicken” 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![PookahMacPhellimey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pookahmacphellimey/32/3175_2.png) [@PookahMacPhellimey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PookahMacPhellimey)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2010, 12:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/horse-meat/546989/11 "2010-07-17T12:59:13Z")
I eat it regularly. It’s a local speciality where I live. We have quite a few special equine butchers selling horse steak, horse sausage, ready-made horse stew etc. Quite a few regular butchers also sell some horsemeat and you can get [sfilacci di cavallo](http://www.cookaround.com/yabbse1/entry.php?b=60443)(died shredded horsemeat)in most supermarkets as well as having it as a pizza topping in many pizzerias. What does it taste like? Well, it’s also hard to describe the taste of anything, but I’d say it is much closer to beef than to chicken. It’s quite a bit stronger and gamier than beef, though. I really like it. ---
**Author:** ![Superfluous\_Parentheses](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8edcca/32.png) [@Superfluous\_Parentheses](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superfluous_Parentheses)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2010, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/horse-meat/546989/12 "2010-07-17T14:53:34Z")
I have it occasionally. Usually smoked and sliced on a sandwich. But yeah, it’s mostly like very lean very red beef, with a bit stronger taste but not nearly as strong as venison or other wild meat. Tasty. ---
**Author:** ![Markxxx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5daacb/32.png) [@Markxxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Markxxx)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2010, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/horse-meat/546989/13 "2010-07-17T14:56:02Z")
So what are the ways one typically fixes horse? ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2010, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/horse-meat/546989/14 "2010-07-17T15:15:43Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > I’ve had horse sausage in Hungary (_lókolbasz_). It was very lean and fairly tough for sausage. Couldn’t tell you how it tastes on its own, but it didn’t particularly make for a good sausage–you need fattier meat for that. Comparisons to venison sound pretty apt to me. Actually, reading the Stein commentary above, sweet is a good description of it. However, the horse I had in sausage form was neither soft nor really reminded me of beef. ---
**Author:** ![Superfluous\_Parentheses](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8edcca/32.png) [@Superfluous\_Parentheses](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superfluous_Parentheses)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2010, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/horse-meat/546989/15 "2010-07-17T15:49:38Z")
> [@Markxxx](#): > > So what are the ways one typically fixes horse? The same way you fix cats and dogs? If you mean, what you do with it: the horse butcher on the corner usually advertises steak, fresh sausages (for frying) and stewing meat. Horse steak used to be something of a specialty dish and is by all accounts very tasty. Smoked and thinly sliced is a typical sandwich meat over here (Netherlands). Stoofkarbonade in Belgium is often made by stewing horse meat in beer. Traditionally, Belgian fries are fried in horse fat (which is making a small comeback now that trans fats have a bit of an image problem). Also, horse gets used in cheap hamburgers, meat croquettes, and frikandel. Oh, and I note that horse isn’t kosher. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2010, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/horse-meat/546989/16 "2010-07-17T17:46:10Z")
> [@Markxxx](#): > > So what are the ways one typically fixes horse? In Japan? Sashimi. Raw pieces of horse meat. I had it served at a business dinner, and it was difficult to eat. Not delicately sliced sashimi, but chunks of raw meat. It tasted pretty much like what you’d expect a raw chunk of beef to taste like. The texture was the difficult thing for me. ---
**Author:** ![Markxxx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5daacb/32.png) [@Markxxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Markxxx)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2010, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/horse-meat/546989/17 "2010-07-18T00:54:25Z")
Of course by FIX horse I mean fix horsemeat. Not fix as in sterilize or fix as in horse race From _the George Burns and Gracie Allen Show_ (radio show) > [@](#): > > Gracie) You know my uncle ran a fix-it shop > George: Really? > Gracie) That is until they put him in jail > George) For running a fix-it shop? > Gracie) He fixed horse races …And now back to your regularly scheduled thread. Also any other horseMEAT dishes? 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![crypto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b3f665/32.png) [@crypto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crypto)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2010, 1:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/horse-meat/546989/18 "2010-07-18T01:12:33Z")
In the US, is it illegal to sell horse meat, or is it one of those things that we have decided culturally not to eat? I’ve never seen it for sale ever, and I’ve shopped at many specialty meat shops. I’d be curious to try it. My guess on flavor would be something like beef, but that’s only a WAG. If it’s legal to butcher one in the states, I’m sure I could find it. which brings up a slightly different subject and a small hijack. Can any meat be legally sold in the US? As long as the animal isn’t endangered, that is. Like dog, or cat. Anyone know?