

If you’re looking for some “authentic” tastes of Iceland, maybe just stick to the skyr. Hunting may have been sustainable when practiced by and for Icelanders, but it doesn’t seem wise when factoring in current environmental woes and millions of potential visitors every year. We therefore encourage all visitors to Iceland looking to indulge in the bird to be conscious of the risks the Atlantic puffin faces as a species. In 2015, the Atlantic puffin’s conservation status was downgraded from “least concert” to “vulnerable.” This was probably due to the decline of sand eels, the puffin’s main food source, forcing puffins to feed their offspring lower-energy foods, leading to fewer pufflings successfully fledging. Which is far from a negative development. It is a culinary tradition which has largely fallen by the wayside. Most Icelanders do not regularly eat puffin, and tend to write it off as too gamey, tough, and briny. Even within Iceland, it is illegal to hunt them in most of the country, aside from the north. Today they are protected in most countries, aside from Iceland and the Faroe Islands. In the past, coastal communities had to make due with all available resources, so puffins were often hunted. Enter the cute, colourful bird that has become the poster child of the tourist boom: the Atlantic puffin. And many restaurants offer a “taste of Iceland” menu featuring foods that are both palatable and (to tourists) exotic. Some emphasise the traditional crowd-pleasers like plokkfiskur and kjötsúpa. Some eateries push the smellier, pickled dishes often sensationalized abroad, like hákarl. Know the laws and always pelican hunt legally.Iceland’s tourist boom of the past several years has seen the emergence of different facets of local cuisine.

Unlike alligators, snakes, deer, and turkey, hunting is not needed to control the pelican population. The biggest con of eating pelican meat is it contributes to the declining population. It does not contain harmful antibiotics like processed chicken and other meats. Pelican meat is believed to be leaner than the meat of farm animals, such as cows, pigs, and chickens. As long as the meat is cooked thoroughly and evenly, it should not pose a health risk for you or your family and friends. Pelican meat can also be safely prepared over an open fire pit. Replace the flour with a generous size pat of butter or canola oil when baking. To add more flavor and texture when deep-frying, apply a generous coat of flour to both sides of the pelican meat, followed by a dash of salt, pepper, garlic, fenugreek, and oregano. There are two main cooking preparation options – baking and deep-frying – pelican meat.ĭeep frying and baking are two simple cooking methods for pelican meat. Since pelican is bland meat, it is recommended to utilize a combination of spices. It is possible to follow other bird meat recipes as long as the instructions call for the meat to be thoroughly cooked. Like all wild meat recipes, pelican meat should be cooked evenly and thoroughly. The results showed the vitamin E paste was as or nearly as effective as the vitamin E capsules administered to several other bird species, including the flamingo and stork. At the end of the study, the pelicans’ alpha-tocopherol concentration levels increased by 28 percent. The pelicans were administered vitamin E in paste form over a 10-month period. Pink-backed pelicans have been the base of a very important vitamin E study. The study did not focus on pelican meat nutrient but how the pelican’s body metabolized protein from several fish species, including catfish, carp, and orts. One particular study showed pelican meat to contain protein, which changed with diet. There is little evidence regarding the nutrients found in pelican meat. Puffin meat, on the other hand, is similar to duck but with a softer texture. It may also be safe to compare this fish-eating bird with other fish-eating birds like the duck, kingfisher, puffin, and cormorant.ĭuck meat has a tough, rich, salty, fatty flavor while kingfisher meat is described as being similar to lamb. Since these birds live on fresh fish, it is very easy to make this assumption. It is easy to see why people would describe pelican meat as having a fishy flavor. Which answer do you believe? In all actuality, the latter seems to be a more accurate answer. No one expected the answers to vary significantly, with some people claiming pelican taste like fish while others disagree, saying it tastes like turkey. Since this is a subjective question, you know the answers are going to vary to some degree. This is where things get a little confusing.

Can You Eat Wolverine: What Does Pelican Meat Taste Like
