# The Price of Rat Meat increases in Cambodia **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [August 27, 2008, 10:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-price-of-rat-meat-increases-in-cambodia/461401 "2008-08-27T10:19:07Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Cicero](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cicero/32/3594_2.png) [@Cicero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cicero)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2008, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-price-of-rat-meat-increases-in-cambodia/461401/21 "2008-08-28T16:13:39Z")
[QUOTE=teela brown] I did a double-take at the author of this thread; I thought sure it was one of **Siam Sam** ’s. I have a cookbook written by a couple of ladies who were determined to discover and publish recipes for every historical dish that was mentioned in Patrick O’Brian’s Aubrey and Maturin series. Since the shipmates were sometimes reduced to catching and eating the ship’s rats (“millers”) when rations ran low, the ladies decided to include some rat recipes in their book. They obtained rats from local laboratories that bred clean, fat domestic rats, asking the lab technicians to kill, skin and clean them. They reported back that the rats were actually extremely tasty no matter how they cooked them up. I suppose they should be; they’re rodents, like rabbits, and rabbit is very tasty, too. [/QUOTE] Was only me. And I don’t care how they breed prepare or cook them I will eat a rock before I will knowingly eat a rat. ---
**Author:** ![Cornelius\_Tuggerson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/13edae/32.png) [@Cornelius\_Tuggerson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cornelius_Tuggerson)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2008, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-price-of-rat-meat-increases-in-cambodia/461401/22 "2008-08-28T16:44:58Z")
A Vietnamese former coworker of mine explained that field rats are clean and tasty animals since they don’t live off of trash like city rats. I’d try one if it was on the menu. ---
**Author:** ![Mindfield](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mindfield/32/19759_2.png) [@Mindfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mindfield)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2008, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-price-of-rat-meat-increases-in-cambodia/461401/23 "2008-08-28T17:06:09Z")
Where’s **Mangetout**? I’m sure he could give us his opinion on rat meat. Me, uh … well, frankly, I don’t know that I could look at a dish of rat meat and not think of New York sewers. Maybe if you fed it to me unawares and told me it was rabbit or something. Ignorance sometimes really is bliss. ---
**Author:** ![HMS\_Irruncible](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hms_irruncible/32/7394_2.png) [@HMS\_Irruncible](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HMS_Irruncible)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2008, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-price-of-rat-meat-increases-in-cambodia/461401/24 "2008-08-28T17:09:51Z")
[QUOTE=ASAKMOTSD] I am sure that the price increase is directly attributable to the price of fuel, right? [/QUOTE] Whether it’s rat meat or smoked goat’s anus, if it has to be transported to market, its price will vary proportionately to the price of fuel. ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2008, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-price-of-rat-meat-increases-in-cambodia/461401/25 "2008-08-28T17:13:13Z")
Smoked Goat’s Anus - The Other “Why?” Meat ---
**Author:** ![DMark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@DMark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DMark)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2008, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-price-of-rat-meat-increases-in-cambodia/461401/26 "2008-08-28T21:40:07Z")
From everyone’s disgust at eating rodent, I am beginning to think now I might have been making my ratatouille incorrectly over the years. This does, however, explain why my butcher eyes me oddly ever since the day I asked for three pounds of ground rat. So how do you guys make that French dessert, Chocolate Mouse? ---
**Author:** ![3acresandatruck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/3/e79b87/32.png) [@3acresandatruck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/3acresandatruck)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2008, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-price-of-rat-meat-increases-in-cambodia/461401/27 "2008-08-28T22:16:35Z")
[QUOTE=DMark] So how do you guys make that French dessert, Chocolate Mouse? [/QUOTE] You fool! That’s chocolate _møøse_. The best møøse to üse is øne that bit yøür sister, becaüse revenge tastes sweet. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2008, 3:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-price-of-rat-meat-increases-in-cambodia/461401/28 "2008-08-29T03:19:38Z")
In the Thailand, they’ll have these rat festivals out in the countryside, I guess because field rats can harm the rice crop. They’ll build these giant straw rats, which are burned later after everyone has brought in as many field rats as they can catch. Prizes to those who catch the most. I guess some are eaten, but rat’s not really as popular here as it is in Cambodia, but there are still quite a few connoisseurs. ---
**Author:** ![FlyingRat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/59ef9b/32.png) [@FlyingRat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FlyingRat)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2008, 3:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-price-of-rat-meat-increases-in-cambodia/461401/29 "2008-08-29T03:42:15Z")
[QUOTE=teela brown] I have a cookbook written by a couple of ladies who were determined to discover and publish recipes for every historical dish that was mentioned in Patrick O’Brian’s Aubrey and Maturin series. Since the shipmates were sometimes reduced to catching and eating the ship’s rats (“millers”) when rations ran low, the ladies decided to include some rat recipes in their book. They obtained rats from local laboratories that bred clean, fat domestic rats, asking the lab technicians to kill, skin and clean them. They reported back that the rats were actually extremely tasty no matter how they cooked them up. I suppose they should be; they’re rodents, like rabbits, and rabbit is very tasty, too. [/QUOTE] Was that \*[Lobscouse and Spotted Dog](http://www.wwnorton.com/POB/SpottedD/welcome.htm) \*? AWESOME book-- I loved that they included the recipe for “Boiled Shit”. 😃 [QUOTE=3acresandatruck] [QUOTE=FlyingRat] Love to eat them ratties [/QUOTE] Isn’t that a little, um, cannabalistic? [/QUOTE] 😛 (Although I lurrv ratties-- want some as pets, in fact!-- my name has nothing to do with them, or with pigeons, but comes from my friend’s evident opinion that I can’t draw dragons worth crap.) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-price-of-rat-meat-increases-in-cambodia/461401.md?page=1)