January 01, 2008

Eating Meat, Lots of Meat

There's a character I've been wanting to write for a while but probably won't until the next book. He's a vegetarian. It's pretty central to his character, and I want to make sure I do it justice. But thinking about it made me realize just how not a vegetarian I am.

I started counting the number of different kinds of meat I've eaten. Once I lost track for the third time, it was time to write it down. I've probably forgotten some, but here's the list. (*) designates a critter I've cleaned or otherwise taken apart. (**) means it was live when I got it.

Mammals
  • Cow
  • Pig
  • Sheep
  • Deer*
  • Elk
  • Bison
  • Goat
  • Yak
  • Rabbit
  • Squirrel*
Birds
  • Chicken
  • Turkey
  • Duck
  • Goose
  • Pheasant
  • Pigeon
Fish
  • Cod (and other "whitefish")
  • Sunfish**
  • Crappie**
  • Bass**
  • Trout
  • Salmon
  • Tuna
  • Shark
  • Swordfish
  • Tilapia
  • Mahi mahi
Other
  • Snapping turtle
  • Alligator
  • Snail
  • Crawfish
  • Shrimp
  • Lobster
  • Crab
  • Clam**
  • Oyster
  • Mussel**
  • Scallop
  • Conch
  • Squid
  • Octopus
I don't remember eating eel, frog, rattlesnake or bugs, but they've certainly been offered. It's possible I've had them too. I'm sure I left off some fish, though I'm not a big fish fan, and I'm probably missing some game birds.

Forty-one animals, with probable omissions and not counting varietals. That's a lot of meat.

3 comments:

Landon said...

I love to eat a wide variety of meat as well. My favorite is snapping turtle

Stephanie Zvan said...

Hmm. Our snapping turtle was wild-caught (while avoiding running over it) and strongly swamp-flavored. Decidedly not my favorite.

jcc said...

when eating wild caught turtles it is important to keep them alive for two or three day depending on size in a cooler or tub with fresh water. Changing the wter twice a day atleast. this give the turtle time to clean itself out and makes a huge difference in how they taste.