Anybody Eaten Lizard?

[WOOHOO]

I Was driving along yesterday when the pick up in front of me, carrying builders, screeched to a halt. Two fellas jump out and run across the road carrying bamboo sticks, and dive in to the bushes. Being a nosy sod, and seeing as there was no vehicles coming up behind me, I stopped behind them and waited to see what they were up to. They both came out seconds later carrying very small lizards, probably only 6 inches, head to tail. I have been told that they are used as a tasty snack while drinking, as we in the west would eat peanuts. My question is: has any body seen them being prepared/cooked, has anybody eaten them and finally has anybody eaten anything else in Thailand that you don't normally see on the menu. I've seen several times on documentaries, snakes and crocs being eaten and always wanted to try them both. Anybody eaten either of those, and if so where, and what were they like.

[fiddlehead]

1st of all, i know they eat them (lizards) in Issan. I don't know if i have though as i tell my wife that i don't want to eat strange stuff after the time, i got sick and she told me it was probably from the uncooked pork dinner i had and didn't know.

They also eat a lot of bugs up there including ants, slugs, beetles, etc.

I have eaten Crocadile in Australia. was quite good, a little oily.

I've had a small taste of rattlesnake at a festival once. Tasted good.

I have heard that you must skin a lizard or snake before eating. I don't know if those workers you saw ever heard that though???

Also, i used to live next door to a big construction site (who hasn't) here and noticed that most of the Burmese workers carry a slingshot in their backpocket for birds and lizards. Also when it rains they are out there at night catching frogs. They pick a lot of plants that i guess are edible and only seem to buy spices/ priks/ garlic, things like that and live off the land even when it's only a few rai. We could all learn something from them. We are in a country where edible plants grow like crazy and the natives eat the smallest animals and fish. It's a good lesson in survival.

I heard black dogs are good tasting in the Phillipines but have never been there. (why black ones, i don't know)

Haven't you ever heard the statement?: "tastes just like chicken, if it's cooked right"

[SurferBob]

Haven't you ever heard the statement?: "tastes just like chicken, if it's cooked right"

So true eh...

I've never tried lizard myself or much else that strange in Thailand, rats about as far as I've gone and were talking the huge rats found in the rural areas of Thailand. Have eaten some strange things in other parts of the world - in Belize when I was in the army we ate all sorts of strange things: snakes, grubs, spiders, bugs etc. Most tasted disgusting to me, but were good for protein etc. It's funny how in Europe and some other parts of the world we get conditioned to certain food types and anything different/outside of the 'norm' can make a lot of people squeamish... myself included!

Before Phuket I lived in a very rural area of Thailand and there all the local people, including my girlfriend and her family ate and cooked pretty much everything/anything edible .. if it moves or grows it's on the menu.

Cheers,

//Bob

*Edit* Typos of course!

Edited March 12, 2008 by SurferBob

[Nignoy]

In my early years of village living in 1960,s Yasothon province, in the dry season we would hunt monitor lizards and a form of coloured Iguana in woodlands around Leong nok tha, the bigger lizards were for thepot in the village, but the smaller ones we roasted on an open fire for lunch washed down with a vintage 3 day old Lao khao When I eat anything of that ilk today,other europeans think its yucky and they go home to eat pigs trotters,tripe and Black pudding,nothing wrong with cooked lizard meat , it aint chicken , some villagers dont have the choices we have Nignoy

[meandwi]

My question is: has any body seen them being prepared/cooked, has anybody eaten them and finally has anybody eaten anything else in Thailand that you don't normally see on the menu. I've seen several times on documentaries, snakes and crocs being eaten and always wanted to try them both. Anybody eaten either of those, and if so where, and what were they like.

While in Southern Thailand we ate, steamed horseshoe crab It was pretty good. We also had grilled fruit bat. Some of the night markets have some very funky bugs, but it's marinated in the hottest chillies known to man.

We live on a farm in South Florida. Our irrigation canal is full of alligators. The meat "tail" needs to be marinated overnight in order for me to eat it, very gamey. We all love the frog legs. There is so many types of lizards here. Iguanas grow up to 8 feet plus! They are just as gamey as alligator. When we were young we would collect sea turtle eggs and scramble them. My father still makes rattlesnake sausage.

[Explorer]

Monitor Lizard cooked in curry - taste like chicken and good with beer

Explorer

[Kimera]

I Was driving along yesterday when the pick up in front of me, carrying builders, screeched to a halt. Two fellas jump out and run across the road carrying bamboo sticks, and dive in to the bushes. Being a nosy sod, and seeing as there was no vehicles coming up behind me, I stopped behind them and waited to see what they were up to. They both came out seconds later carrying very small lizards, probably only 6 inches, head to tail. I have been told that they are used as a tasty snack while drinking, as we in the west would eat peanuts. My question is: has any body seen them being prepared/cooked, has anybody eaten them and finally has anybody eaten anything else in Thailand that you don't normally see on the menu. I've seen several times on documentaries, snakes and crocs being eaten and always wanted to try them both. Anybody eaten either of those, and if so where, and what were they like.

Well if you have been here a long time I think the answer is probably. Skin them take out the gutts and off with the head, dice up and cook same pork

[WOOHOO]

I don't follow Kimera, are you saying most people who have lived on Phuket, for any length of time have seen a lizard being skinned, gutted, diced and cooked and then eaten it? If that's the case (seems unlikely to me) then I feel very left out, where can I go to give it a try? As for rattlesnake sausages, Meandwi, that is probably the coolest sounding food on the planet. my Sunday fry up will never be the same again, until I've got my hands on some of those.

[donna]

i tried 'lan' or monitor lizard in a hilltribe in the north of the country. that meat sells for over 200thb per kg, and we were quite privileged to try it. was (of course) like chicken, but sweet.

my guide cooked it over a low fire, skin on. it was then cut up into small bite size pieces in the morning.

[BigSnake]

No thank you to the Lizard PAL.

[Nignoy]

Monitor and Croc are quite tasty sliced and marinated in, soy sauce, chili, ginger, garlic ,sliced shallots and wine vinegar,left for 12 hours and chargrilled, monitor makes quite good Laab,thinly sliced croc meat also makes excellent Jerky Nignoy

[britmaveric]

Gekkos are quite yummy!!!

[Carib]

Iguanas, is the thing where i am now, also seen as a potency thing because the male version has two of " them"..