Eating horsemeat?

[Ireth]

At some point in Summer's Pawn, a few of the characters will be swept away down a very swollen river along with their horse. The people will survive, but the horse will drown and many of their provisions will be lost or ruined. I have three questions: If they are low on food and ill-equipped to hunt, would it be advisable for the characters to butcher the horse and eat its meat? Are there any health risks involved that they should note? What exactly would horsemeat taste like when cooked?

 

[Shockley]

Horse meat is extremely healthy, and reportedly delicious. It's an important part, if I remember correctly, of Icelandic cuisine.

 

[Amanita]

There shouldn't be any health risks that don't exist with other kinds of meat. The aversion against eating horse meat is more due to cultural things than to actual danger or bad taste. Depending on your characters' view on horses this might not be a problem at all.
In some parts of Germany dishes with horse meat are a local speciality and there are horse butchers in most larger cities. I haven't tried it myself however because being closely involved with horses I don't really want to. It's not an issue of "never" though especially not in a life or death situation.

 

[Saigonnus]

I was just going to say if they use it for dog food and there are no adverse reactions for the dogs... why not people food?

 

[Ireth]

Thanks, guys. Useful points all around. ^^

 

[Caged Maiden]

My grandmother grew up in WWII Germany and that's what you did with old animals... you ate them, so of course with tougher meat, it's always easier to stew it because it isn't tender, but I think desperation might necessitate your characters being very practical about their dead mount.

If you don't know how to butcher an animal properly, it's probably easier to look at big muscles like the legs, and I'm not sure how they're cooking said meat, but over a fire, you could easily roast it on the bone.

If it were me, and I've never done this, but I watched a guy butcher a goat once, I'd cut the legs off at the joints and roast the upper parts over a fire until they were well blackened. The problem with meat is in its storage. There is no health risk to butchering a horse and heating the meat, in fact, horses don't carry any parasites except in their digestive tracts that I'm aware of, so technically, they could eat it raw. However, cooking is one of the things which separated humans from other primates, and the full nutrition of meat cannot be obtained unless the meat is cooked, so knowing that, I would make an effort to cook it. We don't have the digestive systems of true carnivores.

 

[Ireth]

My grandmother grew up in WWII Germany and that's what you did with old animals... you ate them, so of course with tougher meat, it's always easier to stew it because it isn't tender, but I think desperation might necessitate your characters being very practical about their dead mount.

Pretty much my thoughts on the matter.

If you don't know how to butcher an animal properly, it's probably easier to look at big muscles like the legs, and I'm not sure how they're cooking said meat, but over a fire, you could easily roast it on the bone.

I think roasting over a fire might be easiest, as they don't have vegetables or seasoning to make a stew. Technically there are wild plants growing all around, but since my characters know nothing about which plants in Faerie are safe or dangerous, they're just going to stick with the horse meat and what little they can salvage from the provisions they already had -- that would probably limit them to fruit and perhaps a small amount of dried meat. I can't see bread of any sort surviving a flooded river.

The biggest problems I can see would be carrying whatever meat they can't eat in one sitting, and eating it all before it goes bad, as well as avoiding bacterial contamination at any point. They'll be trekking through the woods in mid-May, going on foot with no idea where they're actually headed. Delays will be very likely, and the heat will no doubt affect the meat after long periods, especially with no salt or other spices preserving it. (I don't imagine collecting the characters' tears would yield very much brine for pickling, even if they had containers of some sort.)

If it were me, and I've never done this, but I watched a guy butcher a goat once, I'd cut the legs off at the joints and roast the upper parts over a fire until they were well blackened. The problem with meat is in its storage. There is no health risk to butchering a horse and heating the meat, in fact, horses don't carry any parasites except in their digestive tracts that I'm aware of, so technically, they could eat it raw. However, cooking is one of the things which separated humans from other primates, and the full nutrition of meat cannot be obtained unless the meat is cooked, so knowing that, I would make an effort to cook it. We don't have the digestive systems of true carnivores.

*nodnod* Good advice. For extra practicality, I was thinking of also having them make the horse's heart, lungs and stomach into a sort of haggis, albeit a bland one. That would lessen the amount of stuff they'd need to bury in order to keep predators from catching the scent of their butchery and following it.

 

[TWErvin2]

I believe I in a book about the U.S. Civil war, commenting a way to tell the difference between horse meat and beef from cattle was the color of the fat. It's more white with cattle and yellowish with horses. Probably could be verified. I don't recall if there was any commentary on the taste difference.

I do recall that rat was horrid tasting, according to some of the POWs.

 

[Caged Maiden]

Well, pilgrims carried pounds and pounds of Bacon to eat, so other than wrapping it in paper, how did they keep that fresh?

I didn't mean make a stew, BTW I meant boiling it to get it tender. Nothing is worse than trying to eat the old plough horse, but that's exactly what my grandmother's family did. Stew takes a lot of fuel because it boils for a long time, so it isn't the go-to food for travelers. Perhaps they can beat it up with rocks to tenderize the muscles.

I was going to suggest organ meat. I don't think it would appeal to me, but if I was starving, I'd eat whatever was around for nutrition, so I think organ meat would be a good idea. Butchering a huge animal, most of the meat would go to waste. When you butchered a deer, you hang it for a while so the blood drains out then cut it apart. The bacterial contamination comes from the internal organs rotting, so just gut and drain it quickly and you should be able to store the muscle tissue for a few days in paper where flies can't reach it (or backpacks, or someone's shirt if need be). The maggots will grow on the shirt, but not eat through to the meat if you do it this way.

 

[Ireth]

I didn't mean make a stew, BTW I meant boiling it to get it tender. Nothing is worse than trying to eat the old plough horse, but that's exactly what my grandmother's family did. Stew takes a lot of fuel because it boils for a long time, so it isn't the go-to food for travelers. Perhaps they can beat it up with rocks to tenderize the muscles.

Ohhh, I see. That makes sense.

I was going to suggest organ meat. I don't think it would appeal to me, but if I was starving, I'd eat whatever was around for nutrition, so I think organ meat would be a good idea. Butchering a huge animal, most of the meat would go to waste. When you butchered a deer, you hang it for a while so the blood drains out then cut it apart. The bacterial contamination comes from the internal organs rotting, so just gut and drain it quickly and you should be able to store the muscle tissue for a few days in paper where flies can't reach it (or backpacks, or someone's shirt if need be). The maggots will grow on the shirt, but not eat through to the meat if you do it this way.

That's good to know.

 

[Zero Angel]

The biggest problems I can see would be carrying whatever meat they can't eat in one sitting, and eating it all before it goes bad, as well as avoiding bacterial contamination at any point. They'll be trekking through the woods in mid-May, going on foot with no idea where they're actually headed. Delays will be very likely, and the heat will no doubt affect the meat after long periods, especially with no salt or other spices preserving it. (I don't imagine collecting the characters' tears would yield very much brine for pickling, even if they had containers of some sort.)

I don't think you are going to be able to have the butchered horse sustain them indefinitely (or very long at all). Without curing the meat or salting it, they should try to eat as much as possible as fast as possible and do their best to get other supplies along the way. (maybe by using rotting meat as bait for a trap?)

Well, pilgrims carried pounds and pounds of Bacon to eat, so other than wrapping it in paper, how did they keep that fresh?

To the best of my knowledge, it was cured usually. Here's the wikipedia: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Curing_(food_preservation)

 

[Lawfire]

Smoking meat is another way of preserving it. Green hardwood in a campfire should do it. As far as organs, the heart, liver, and kidneys are often eaten.

 

[chinookpilot77]

if you look up the Army manual FM 21-76 there is a good way to preserve meat in there, if one of your characters still has a cloak. If you want to see it in action, check out my vid on youtube "campfire pig jerky". I killed a wild boar (sow actually) and smoked up a large portion of the meat over the fire. Hope it helps!

 

[Zophos]

...I was going to suggest organ meat. I don't think it would appeal to me, but if I was starving, I'd eat whatever was around for nutrition, so I think organ meat would be a good idea. Butchering a huge animal, most of the meat would go to waste. When you butchered a deer, you hang it for a while so the blood drains out then cut it apart. The bacterial contamination comes from the internal organs rotting, so just gut and drain it quickly and you should be able to store the muscle tissue for a few days in paper where flies can't reach it (or backpacks, or someone's shirt if need be). The maggots will grow on the shirt, but not eat through to the meat if you do it this way.

As stated above, the denser organs such as liver, kidneys, heart are quite edible and quite nutricious. Meat can be dried in the sun, as well. Inuits made great use of the long days to cure meat in the sun. Don't necessarily need a fire, but the purpose of smoking is to keep the bugs away and speed the drying process. Works on people, too...for a short while.

if you look up the Army manual FM 21-76 there is a good way to preserve meat in there...

Highly recommend the FMs for all manner of "way it used to be done" stuff. Very good reference on a great number of topics. Particularly like the snare-making and trapping sections.

 

[Ireth]

I don't think you are going to be able to have the butchered horse sustain them indefinitely (or very long at all). Without curing the meat or salting it, they should try to eat as much as possible as fast as possible and do their best to get other supplies along the way. (maybe by using rotting meat as bait for a trap?)

To the best of my knowledge, it was cured usually. Here's the wikipedia: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Curing_(food_preservation)

I don't plan on them needing to live on horsemeat for more than a few days, so I think they should be fine. Thanks for the link, it looks very useful.

if you look up the Army manual FM 21-76 there is a good way to preserve meat in there, if one of your characters still has a cloak. If you want to see it in action, check out my vid on youtube "campfire pig jerky". I killed a wild boar (sow actually) and smoked up a large portion of the meat over the fire. Hope it helps!

I'll give that a look. Thanks!

 

[JonSnow]

I was just going to say if they use it for dog food and there are no adverse reactions for the dogs... why not people food?

dog food... along with Taco Bell and McDonald's