West African Food
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EXOTIC DELICACY
in
GHANA!
Bushmeat is a term that is used to often describe wild game meat in Africa. And while there some types of bushmeat that are not good or unsafe to eat - grasscutter - also known as a greater cane rat, is safe and one of the most popular types of bushmeat to eat in West Africa. It’s a delicacy!
So while we were driving on our way to Elmina, Ghana, along the side of the highway, we stopped at some hunters, and bought a grasscutter.
Later in the day, we met up with our host family, and we drove over to the Elmina fishing market. The market was amazing, bright and colorful, and energetic, with some unique fish and seafood available from the Atlantic. We bought some fish to go along with our grasscutter, and then we continued back to the house to start cooking.
First for lunch, Mama made us a dish called Eto, a mash up of yam and palm nut oil, topped with eggs. It was a little on the dry side for me, but it was an honor to have a chance to try that special Ghanaian dish.
For dinner we prepared the fish and grasscutter. The fish was made into Ghanaian groundnut or peanut soup, which is one of the best dishes I at in Ghana. The grasscutter was made into a bushmeat grasscutter light soup which included chilies, garlic, onions, ginger, and tomato.
Finally, for the main start of the meal Mama made omo tuo, Ghana style rice balls.
How does grasscutter taste? The greater cane rats run around the fields and eat grass, so unsurprisingly some parts kind of taste like grass. But they are a white meat, and have a similar look to chicken, but the meat is even sweeter. It was also surprisingly fall apart tender. I thought it was amazing!
Across West African food, grass cutter is a very popular meat, and a delicacy eaten on special occasions.
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