Weekend Barbecue idea

I’ve been seeing a lot of tasty looking “barbie” ideas bandied about lately so I thought I would offer something a little different. In South America in the Inca highlands the Guinea Pig or Cuy is a traditional entree that is served with potatoes or rice and a spicy sauce.

While Queen Elizabeth I was one of the first Europeans to have a pet Cuy- Guinea Pig, I would probably not recommend slaughtering your pellet fed house pet unless you have fattened him for a few weeks on say, garden trimmings or staked him out in the yard someplace where he can “purify” himself on good wholesome fresh veggies.

Going down to Petco and buying a dozen to immediately consume is not an option considering that they probably have as much domestic “feed” in them as a Kentucky Fried Chicken. You will want to plan ahead and “feed them out” for awhile before consuming them.

The ideal solution would be an extended South American Trout Fishing expedition where you could cozy up with the “homies” and get your Cuy done up homestyle, and maybe even get out and actually catch your own. Chances are though that the locals have a little hut or pen full of these little buggers just waiting for the roasting stick.

Anyway, getting down to business. This is a recipe I found that looks pretty tasty and short of having any fresh Cuy running around I could probably find a few Columbian Ground Squirrels, or Prairie Dogs to stand in.

3 or 4 cuys

50 grams of ground toasted corn, or cornmeal

2 kilos of parboiled potatoes, cut in slices

8 cloves of garlic

6 fresh hot peppers, either red or yellow

½ cup oil

½ cup water

salt, pepper and cumin to tasteRub the cuys with a mix of the pepper, salt, pepper and cumin and bake. You can also skewer over a barbeque.Prepare a sauce with the oil, peppers, garlic and cornmeal with the water from the potatoes or broth. Cook a few minutes until the peppers are cooked. When tender, place the meat in a serving dish and spoon the sauce over it. Serve with the boiled potatoes.

Another recipe calls for:

4 cuys

1 teaspoon hot pepper

1 tablespoon pisco

garlic to taste

6 fresh hot peppers, either red or yellow

1/4 cup oil

salt, pepper to taste Season the cleaned cuys with salt, pepper, hot pepper and pisco. Fry in oil five minutes or until cooked.Serve with a hot pepper sauce, potatoes, either fried or boiled and a salad of cucumber, tomato, lettuce and onion

Guinea Pig never looked so good!

And now, about that South American Trout fishing expedition…

Tagged as: Barbeque, Cuy, Guinea Pigs