Andrew Zimmern Reveals The One Food Squeamish Eaters Are Really Missing Out On - Exclusive
Would you rather not think about what your dinner had been up to before it made its way to your plate? If you get queasy just passing the live lobster tanks in a seafood restaurant, we have news for you: Andrew Zimmern says you're missing out on some of the most amazing flavors the world has to offer. The longtime host of The Travel Channel Show, Bizarre Foods, and his new and Emmy award-winning series, The Zimmern List, told Mashed that some of the most delicious-tasting foods in the world are not really for the faint of heart.
His case in point? Baby birds. "In rural Vietnam, Thailand, Cambodia... there's a lot of street food by the side of the road," Zimmern explained. "And people congregate, and you can always tell these sort of crossroads, because an outdoor sort of market pops up... there's a lot of food served on the side of the road in these areas." So many of the dishes served at these makeshift road stops are delicious, but the very best treat, according to Zimmern, is a newborn chick.
What makes baby birds taste so amazing, according to Zimmern
Before you get outraged about eating a chick, do keep in mind that many of us eat eggs on the daily, which technically are even "younger" than chicks. But, chicks are not foods that you'll likely find served anywhere except these rural villages, Zimmern said. "You don't see a lot of it in the city, because they have so many ducks and chickens, laying eggs, many of which are fertilized," he explained. "They grow a lot of little chicks. But they know that only so many grow to maturity, and they can only sell so many."
These baby birds make for a delicious meal, Zimmern added. "They don't have a lot of hangups about food," he said, referring to dwellers of these rural areas. "So whether it's small little birds, fully-grown, to be the size chicks, ducks or chicken chicks, or goose chicks. They take the little babies, and they pluck them, clean them, marinate them, and then deep-fry them. And then they put them in a bag, with a little bit of ...seasoning, and hand it to you. You just hold the little beaks and heads and eat everything, because all the bones have yet to be firm." Yep, you heard that correctly: you hold the baby bird by its beak while you chow down. "It is the best tasting chicken, duck or goose you'll ever have," Zimmern said. "It is the... absolute best version of that. Baby anything is good. So it is something that I think everyone should try, because it's quite delicious."
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