# Serving animal dishes with the head attached...ewww...why? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [February 17, 2021, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/serving-animal-dishes-with-the-head-attached-ewww-why/933156 "2021-02-17T19:40:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2021, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/serving-animal-dishes-with-the-head-attached-ewww-why/933156/61 "2021-02-18T16:13:40Z")
Or if from Frostbite Falls, MN ---
**Author:** ![Mundane\_Super\_Hero](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mundane_super_hero/32/6304_2.png) [@Mundane\_Super\_Hero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mundane_Super_Hero)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2021, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/serving-animal-dishes-with-the-head-attached-ewww-why/933156/62 "2021-02-18T16:15:23Z")
> [@puzzlegal](#): > > My freshman roommate wouldn’t eat anything that looked like it used to be an animal. So she’d eat hamburger, but not steak. She also knew this was an irrational preference on her part. > > I wonder if she still eats meat? At any reunions, offer her salad instead. In a bag. With arm outstretched. And with your weight on your back foot… in case you need to run. /s ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2021, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/serving-animal-dishes-with-the-head-attached-ewww-why/933156/63 "2021-02-18T16:19:48Z")
> [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](#): > > Head cheese is just meat jello with spices added. Yum! In my universe, “[headcheese](https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=headcheese)” is something else entirely. ---
**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:** [February 18, 2021, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/serving-animal-dishes-with-the-head-attached-ewww-why/933156/64 "2021-02-18T16:24:26Z")
> [@Acsenray](#): > > And I love sucking on shrimp/prawn heads. A Vietnamese restaurant I used to go to had grilled whole prawn onna stick. I mean, it even had its antennae. I’d take it off of the stick and eat the head, then the tail, and then the middle. Delicious. Most shrimp we eat are peeled, but with the tails on. My wife thinks I’m a little weird for eating the tails. I like them, and I figure I’m getting some extra calcium. ---
**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:** [February 18, 2021, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/serving-animal-dishes-with-the-head-attached-ewww-why/933156/65 "2021-02-18T16:32:00Z")
> [@Summerday](#): > > Then I started feeling really guilty I always feel a little guilty/sad when I kill crabs for dinner. But not enough that I’ll give up eating them. ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2021, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/serving-animal-dishes-with-the-head-attached-ewww-why/933156/66 "2021-02-18T16:33:00Z")
And cow tongue tacos are amazing. ---
**Author:** ![lobotomyboy63](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobotomyboy63/32/2900_2.png) [@lobotomyboy63](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lobotomyboy63)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2021, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/serving-animal-dishes-with-the-head-attached-ewww-why/933156/67 "2021-02-18T16:43:22Z")
Sorry if I missed it upthread but I’ve heard some Europeans leave the heads on in market so consumers know what they’re getting. Like I can tell a poodle from a schnauzer, some know breeds of chicken…and which are best to get for a stew or for grilling etc. IIRC there was an episode where Anthony Bourdain ate at a restaurant that had a special “invitation only” section. The build up was something like, “After chefs have had a hard day of cooking, where do THEY go to eat?” Anthony is seated and they serve him a sheep’s head. He skewers an eyeball with his fork, eats it, says it’s awesome, and keeps on going. Barbacoa is from the cheeks…yes please. Lengua (beef tongue) is very good when prepared right. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2021, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/serving-animal-dishes-with-the-head-attached-ewww-why/933156/68 "2021-02-18T16:45:07Z")
My gf ordered the special at a brewery, Tacos de Lengua. I got pulled pork nachos. I asked her how her tacos were and she told me they were fantastic. I asked her if she knew what she was eating and she admitted she did not. As we finished our lunch, she looked up Tacos de Lengua on her phone and her jaw dropped. ---
**Author:** ![Saintly\_Loser](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saintly_loser/32/4045_2.png) [@Saintly\_Loser](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saintly_Loser)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2021, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/serving-animal-dishes-with-the-head-attached-ewww-why/933156/69 "2021-02-18T16:57:42Z")
> [@madmonk28](#): > > And cow tongue tacos are amazing. As is a cold tongue sandwich, on rye bread, with mustard. Available at your local old-fashioned Jewish deli. ---
**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:** [February 18, 2021, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/serving-animal-dishes-with-the-head-attached-ewww-why/933156/70 "2021-02-18T17:15:54Z")
> [@madmonk28](#): > > And cow tongue tacos are amazing. And there’s something met about tasting a tongue. (Also, eating tripe.) ---
**Author:** ![lobotomyboy63](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobotomyboy63/32/2900_2.png) [@lobotomyboy63](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lobotomyboy63)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2021, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/serving-animal-dishes-with-the-head-attached-ewww-why/933156/71 "2021-02-18T17:33:17Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > (Also, eating tripe.) I’m not a fan, but I’ve known Hispanics who trust menudo as a hangover cure. Another issue (sorry if I missed it upthread) is showing respect by using the whole animal, exercising conservation, and so on. > **[Reducing Waste and Honoring the Cow with WHOLE ANIMAL BUTCHERY](https://cartercountrymeats.com/blogs/news/reducing-waste-and-honoring-the-cow-with-whole-animal-butchery)** > > Whole animal butchery is the process of sourcing, slicing and utilizing the entire animal for meat. This process is done by hand by an experienced butcher, as each animal is different... ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2021, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/serving-animal-dishes-with-the-head-attached-ewww-why/933156/72 "2021-02-18T17:44:09Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > wife thinks I’m a little weird for eating the tails. I like them, and I figure I’m getting some extra calcium. I think you are a little weird for thinking shrimp shells are made from calcium carbonate. (It is chitin, a sugar polymer.) ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2021, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/serving-animal-dishes-with-the-head-attached-ewww-why/933156/73 "2021-02-18T17:53:13Z")
> [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > I think you are a little weird for thinking shrimp shells are made from calcium carbonate. (It is chitin, a sugar polymer.) ??? [Not mutually exclusive:](https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/agricultural-and-biological-sciences/chitin) > [@](#): > > Hard crustacean shells contain 15–20% chitin and as much as 75% calcium carbonate, along with skeletal protein. Softer shelled crustaceans, such as shrimp, contain 15–30% chitin and 13–40% calcium carbonate, plus skeletal protein. ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2021, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/serving-animal-dishes-with-the-head-attached-ewww-why/933156/74 "2021-02-18T19:43:02Z")
I’ve never seen lady fingers served with the lady still attached. I’ll be the first to admit that it’s irrational, but I could never bring myself to eat something with head still attached. If it isn’t a part I want to eat, I don’t want to see it. Chicken feet? I think not. The idea freaks me out. Food that requires dissection is out for me, so I won’t consider crab, lobster, etc. ---
**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:** [February 18, 2021, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/serving-animal-dishes-with-the-head-attached-ewww-why/933156/75 "2021-02-18T20:21:32Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > And there’s something met about tasting a tongue. (Also, eating tripe.) It should be ‘meta’. ---
**Author:** ![themapleleaf](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/themapleleaf/32/14349_2.png) [@themapleleaf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/themapleleaf)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2021, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/serving-animal-dishes-with-the-head-attached-ewww-why/933156/76 "2021-02-18T20:29:34Z")
> [@Ulfreida](#): > > Maybe others aren’t as squeamish as you are. It is just as legitimate to ask you why you want your animals delivered to your plate in such a way that you don’t have to confront the reality of what you’re eating? My point was not that seeing the animal’s head made me feel guilty or queasy about eating something that had to be killed. I have no moral qualms with eating meat. It’s just that seeing the head on makes your food UGLY and makes it look like “something dead” rather than like “something good to eat”. It’s merely a nasty, unappetizing visual. The biggest issue I have is when you’re looking at an actual SKULL, I.E. a skinned head (rabbit, sheep, etc.) or one that has been cleaned of its meat. It looks like some demonic monster. Since early adolescence I have been freaked out by the sight of animal skeletons. They scream “uncanny valley” - they arouse a “fight or flight” reflex in me; the bared pronounced teeth; the hollow eyes; the naked pate…a skinned sheep head is just about the ugliest thing imaginable to me; a veritable bat out of hell! If given the choice between visually appealing food and such as looks back at me, I’d obviously choose the first for purely esthetic reasons. > [@JRDelirious](#): > > Note: don’t invite OP to traditional Xmas feast in Puerto Rico. Main course is whole spit-roasted pig, head to tail in its full glory. And no way the dogs are getting at any of it until everything suitable for people has been taken from it. I actually don’t mind the pig’s head on a roast pig so much, as the pig’s face tends to not look altogether grim when dead. That is, as long as people don’t start eating it. I’ve been present when people picked apart a pig’s head down to the skull and I found that pretty nasty; I’ve also been served meat from the pig’s head (by a morbidly stingy friend of mine) and it definitely didn’t seem like the choice delicacy described in some of the replies above. > [@Brayne\_Ded](#): > > These days most people will not eat brains any animal. I’m told they are delicious, but I would not eat them either , and I will eat most things. Ditto for eyeballs, and yes, some people regard them as a delicacy. I was given brain to try by my grandmother as a kid (she had cooked it for herself). It was hands down the WORST meat I have ever eaten. I can only describe the experience as attempting to eat a Martian. No thank you. ---
**Author:** ![themapleleaf](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/themapleleaf/32/14349_2.png) [@themapleleaf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/themapleleaf)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2021, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/serving-animal-dishes-with-the-head-attached-ewww-why/933156/77 "2021-02-18T20:32:22Z")
Just to add - I have absolutely no problem eating e.g. lobster whole. Not only does the face of an invertebrate display no emotion when either alive or dead, it’s comforting to know that there is no skull or skeleton underneath. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2021, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/serving-animal-dishes-with-the-head-attached-ewww-why/933156/78 "2021-02-18T20:34:13Z")
I had brain once. The flavor was okay – sort of nutty and rich – but the texture was icky. And I was a little put off by the idea it was a brain. I like tongue, and I like chewing on chicken feet, but I didn’t enjoy eating brain. I get what you are saying about the uncanny valley, but I don’t feel that way at all. I think skulls look neat, and I like chewing on bones, and I’m perfectly happy to be served meat with the head attached. ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2021, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/serving-animal-dishes-with-the-head-attached-ewww-why/933156/79 "2021-02-18T20:36:28Z")
> [@themapleleaf](#): > > It’s just that seeing the head on makes your food UGLY and makes it look like “something dead” rather than like “something good to eat”. It’s merely a nasty, unappetizing visual. The biggest issue I have is when you’re looking at an actual SKULL, I.E. a skinned head (rabbit, sheep, etc.) or one that has been cleaned of its meat. It looks like some demonic monster. Okay, not saying you have to like it, but why would you assume that any other meat-eater would necessarily have the same… > [@themapleleaf](#): > > Since early adolescence I have been freaked out by the sight of animal skeletons. They scream “uncanny valley” - they arouse a “fight or flight” reflex in me; the bared pronounced teeth; the hollow eyes; the naked pate…a skinned sheep head is just about the ugliest thing imaginable to me; a veritable bat out of hell! …Oh. Yeah, I think this is a “you” issue. Totally legit for you not to enjoy eating nondecapitated meat if you have this reaction, but I think you’re assuming that the reaction is more universal than it is. ---
**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:** [February 18, 2021, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/serving-animal-dishes-with-the-head-attached-ewww-why/933156/80 "2021-02-18T20:38:12Z")
> [@Brayne\_Ded](#): > > These days most people will not eat brains any animal. I’m told they are delicious, but I would not eat them either , and I will eat most things. Ditto for eyeballs, and yes, some people regard them as a delicacy. Brains are okay. I’ve had them both in tacos (a number of taquerias round here have them) as well as in a curry-like dish in Mumbai (it was called “goat brain fry,” I think.) It’s decent, but nothing that really sticks out and makes me think of it as particularly delicious. Eyeballs I’ve also had, once again, in tacos. Those were a big meh from me. Gelatinous texture, a vaguely organy flavor, but otherwise bland. I didn’t find them actively offensive, just kind of a letdown. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/serving-animal-dishes-with-the-head-attached-ewww-why/933156.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/serving-animal-dishes-with-the-head-attached-ewww-why/933156.md?page=5)