Sleepless nights filled with imaginings of ancient American foods tend to
stimulate solutions to some problems, and even make one drool.

Long ago in Veracruz I had the good fortune to live part of the time in an
ancient hacienda built some three hundred years ago. It was mostly jungle,
abandoned for many years. Once in a while the rancher and a few friends
would tie a rope around the dog and we'd go hunting for armadillo. The dog
would bark, we humans would look for the slight raise on the earth which
indicated an armadillo was scratching his way to freedom... so they thought!
So with a pole hole digger we'd move ahead of the slightly raised mound and
dig. Sure enough, the armadillo would poke it's head through in quest of
freedom and we'd lasso it with a wire threaded through a pipe making a noose
the poor critter could not escape.

We'd butcher and then put it on a three tree branch spit just over the
flame, and later a little lower over the coals. Shell side down. Meat side
up. We'd add ground chile Serrano mixed with onion, garlic and cilantro to
blend with the meat. Toward the end we'd cover with banana leaves to keep
the steam inside the shell.

Then came the feast. The best tacos I have ever had in my whole life. Fresh
tortillas hand pattied by the rancher's wife and family, red salsa, green
salsa and chipotle salsa on the side and strings of freshly cooked
armadillo. The taste is unique. One layer of meat will be similar to
chicken, another layer similar to port, another similar to iguana --- but
not overpowering. Remember, an armadillo is a root-eater so the meat is
among the best in the world.

Back to my problem. There are no more armadillos for hunting in Mexico. They
have been consumed. So the only armadillos I see now are road kill on the
Texas highways which leads me to the conclusion that the only place on earth
for me to enjoy another armadillo taco is to migrate to Texas for the event?

Wayne
www.pueblaprotocol.com

Wayne Lundberg wrote:

> Back to my problem. There are no more armadillos for hunting in Mexico. They
> have been consumed. So the only armadillos I see now are road kill on the
> Texas highways which leads me to the conclusion that the only place on earth
> for me to enjoy another armadillo taco is to migrate to Texas for the event?
>
> Wayne
> www.pueblaprotocol.com

As a Texan i have hunted armadillos many times, after bbq'ing them they
tasted just like ham. Although you DO have to watch out for rabies as
they are a carrier of the disease.


Grizzman

"Wayne Lundberg" > wrote in message
...
> Back to my problem. There are no more armadillos for hunting in Mexico.
> They
> have been consumed. So the only armadillos I see now are road kill on the
> Texas highways which leads me to the conclusion that the only place on
> earth
> for me to enjoy another armadillo taco is to migrate to Texas for the
> event?

No. Not true.

They still eat them in Louisiana, but there they are called "possum on the
half-shell".

Wayne Lundberg wrote:

>Sleepless nights filled with imaginings of ancient American foods tend to
>stimulate solutions to some problems, and even make one drool.
>
>Long ago in Veracruz I had the good fortune to live part of the time in an
>ancient hacienda built some three hundred years ago. It was mostly jungle,
>abandoned for many years. Once in a while the rancher and a few friends
>would tie a rope around the dog and we'd go hunting for armadillo. The dog
>would bark, we humans would look for the slight raise on the earth which
>indicated an armadillo was scratching his way to freedom... so they thought!
>So with a pole hole digger we'd move ahead of the slightly raised mound and
>dig. Sure enough, the armadillo would poke it's head through in quest of
>freedom and we'd lasso it with a wire threaded through a pipe making a noose
>the poor critter could not escape.
>
>We'd butcher and then put it on a three tree branch spit just over the
>flame, and later a little lower over the coals. Shell side down. Meat side
>up. We'd add ground chile Serrano mixed with onion, garlic and cilantro to
>blend with the meat. Toward the end we'd cover with banana leaves to keep
>the steam inside the shell.
>
>Then came the feast. The best tacos I have ever had in my whole life. Fresh
>tortillas hand pattied by the rancher's wife and family, red salsa, green
>salsa and chipotle salsa on the side and strings of freshly cooked
>armadillo. The taste is unique. One layer of meat will be similar to
>chicken, another layer similar to port, another similar to iguana --- but
>not overpowering. Remember, an armadillo is a root-eater so the meat is
>among the best in the world.
>
>Back to my problem. There are no more armadillos for hunting in Mexico. They
>have been consumed. So the only armadillos I see now are road kill on the
>Texas highways which leads me to the conclusion that the only place on earth
>for me to enjoy another armadillo taco is to migrate to Texas for the event?
>
>Wayne
>www.pueblaprotocol.com
>
>
>
>
Got plenty in Florida! If you don't mind 'em being a bit ripe, I can
mail you a few!

Bubba


--
You wanna measure, or you wanna cook?

Gotta watch out for Bubonic Plague here in Texas. Armadillos are the
primary vector for that disease here.
Every year we gat about 15 cases of plague, caused by some yahoo posing for
a picture holding the armadillo he just shot. (The fleas know he is dead
before the armadillo does, and they just relocate from the 'dillo to the
hunter.)


"Wayne Lundberg" > wrote in message
...
> Sleepless nights filled with imaginings of ancient American foods tend to
> stimulate solutions to some problems, and even make one drool.
>
> Long ago in Veracruz I had the good fortune to live part of the time in an
> ancient hacienda built some three hundred years ago. It was mostly jungle,
> abandoned for many years. Once in a while the rancher and a few friends
> would tie a rope around the dog and we'd go hunting for armadillo. The dog
> would bark, we humans would look for the slight raise on the earth which
> indicated an armadillo was scratching his way to freedom... so they
thought!
> So with a pole hole digger we'd move ahead of the slightly raised mound
and
> dig. Sure enough, the armadillo would poke it's head through in quest of
> freedom and we'd lasso it with a wire threaded through a pipe making a
noose
> the poor critter could not escape.
>
> We'd butcher and then put it on a three tree branch spit just over the
> flame, and later a little lower over the coals. Shell side down. Meat side
> up. We'd add ground chile Serrano mixed with onion, garlic and cilantro to
> blend with the meat. Toward the end we'd cover with banana leaves to keep
> the steam inside the shell.
>
> Then came the feast. The best tacos I have ever had in my whole life.
Fresh
> tortillas hand pattied by the rancher's wife and family, red salsa, green
> salsa and chipotle salsa on the side and strings of freshly cooked
> armadillo. The taste is unique. One layer of meat will be similar to
> chicken, another layer similar to port, another similar to iguana --- but
> not overpowering. Remember, an armadillo is a root-eater so the meat is
> among the best in the world.
>
> Back to my problem. There are no more armadillos for hunting in Mexico.
They
> have been consumed. So the only armadillos I see now are road kill on the
> Texas highways which leads me to the conclusion that the only place on
earth
> for me to enjoy another armadillo taco is to migrate to Texas for the
event?
>
> Wayne
> www.pueblaprotocol.com
>
>

----- Original Message -----
From: "Grizzman" >
Newsgroups: alt.food.Mexican-cooking
Sent: Friday, May 27, 2005 4:00 PM
Subject: An ancient Mexican taco that can only be done in Texas now


..--snip--
> As a Texan i have hunted armadillos many times, after bbq'ing them they
> tasted just like ham. Although you DO have to watch out for rabies as
> they are a carrier of the disease.
>
>
> Grizzman

Is anybody raising them commercially? It may not be possible, and there
might not be a market for them, but??

Bubba is offering to mail me a few. I'll check this out with him.

Wayne

"Grizzman" > wrote in message
...
>
>
> Wayne Lundberg wrote:
>
> > Back to my problem. There are no more armadillos for hunting in Mexico.
They
> > have been consumed. So the only armadillos I see now are road kill on
the
> > Texas highways which leads me to the conclusion that the only place on
earth
> > for me to enjoy another armadillo taco is to migrate to Texas for the
event?
> >
> > Wayne
> > www.pueblaprotocol.com
>
> As a Texan i have hunted armadillos many times, after bbq'ing them they
> tasted just like ham. Although you DO have to watch out for rabies as
> they are a carrier of the disease.
>
>
> Grizzman

How are they cooked in Louisiana? I would imagine gumbo?

Wayne

"Thurman" > wrote in message
...
>
> "Wayne Lundberg" > wrote in message
> ...
> > Back to my problem. There are no more armadillos for hunting in Mexico.
> > They
> > have been consumed. So the only armadillos I see now are road kill on
the
> > Texas highways which leads me to the conclusion that the only place on
> > earth
> > for me to enjoy another armadillo taco is to migrate to Texas for the
> > event?
>
> No. Not true.
>
> They still eat them in Louisiana, but there they are called "possum on the
> half-shell".
>
>

How are they cooked in Louisiana? I would imagine gumbo?

Wayne

"Thurman" > wrote in message
...
>
> "Wayne Lundberg" > wrote in message
> ...
> > Back to my problem. There are no more armadillos for hunting in Mexico.
> > They
> > have been consumed. So the only armadillos I see now are road kill on
the
> > Texas highways which leads me to the conclusion that the only place on
> > earth
> > for me to enjoy another armadillo taco is to migrate to Texas for the
> > event?
>
> No. Not true.
>
> They still eat them in Louisiana, but there they are called "possum on the
> half-shell".
>
>

I'd take you up on a shipping deal except that half the fun of eating an
armadillo is cooking with a bunch of people sipping beer, singing and having
a good time while the critter cooks. And I don't have any friends nor family
around here that could enjoy an armadillo taco... Thanks!!!

Wayne

I'd take you up on a shipping deal except that half the fun of eating an
armadillo is cooking with a bunch of people sipping beer, singing and having
a good time while the critter cooks. And I don't have any friends nor family
around here that could enjoy an armadillo taco... Thanks!!!

Wayne

Not good news.

Wayne

Not good news.

Wayne

"Wayne Lundberg" > wrote in message
...
> Sleepless nights filled with imaginings of ancient American foods tend to
> stimulate solutions to some problems, and even make one drool.
>
> Long ago in Veracruz I had the good fortune to live part of the time in an
> ancient hacienda built some three hundred years ago. It was mostly jungle,
> abandoned for many years. Once in a while the rancher and a few friends
> would tie a rope around the dog


Well, if it's an ancient Mexican taco you're looking for, getting a rope
around a dog is a pretty good start!

Peter

"Peter Dy" > wrote in message
...
>
> "Wayne Lundberg" > wrote in message
> ...
> > Sleepless nights filled with imaginings of ancient American foods tend
to
> > stimulate solutions to some problems, and even make one drool.
> >
> > Long ago in Veracruz I had the good fortune to live part of the time in
an
> > ancient hacienda built some three hundred years ago. It was mostly
jungle,
> > abandoned for many years. Once in a while the rancher and a few friends
> > would tie a rope around the dog
>
>
> Well, if it's an ancient Mexican taco you're looking for, getting a rope
> around a dog is a pretty good start!
>
> Peter
>
Hi Peter. Are you suggesting there were no ropes nor dogs in ancient
America?

Just in case... cotton and henequen is native America and has been spun for
centuries before the conquest into all kinds of stuff from rope to garments.
And dogs were the first real refrigerators in that you fed the dogs
leftovers, making them fat. Then when you did not have enough food, you
killed the dog and ate it. Dogs were also pets, hunter's aids and
companions.

Wayne

"Wayne Lundberg" > wrote in message
...
> "Peter Dy" > wrote in message
> ...
> >
> > "Wayne Lundberg" > wrote in message
> > ...
> > > Sleepless nights filled with imaginings of ancient American foods tend
> to
> > > stimulate solutions to some problems, and even make one drool.
> > >
> > > Long ago in Veracruz I had the good fortune to live part of the time
in
> an
> > > ancient hacienda built some three hundred years ago. It was mostly
> jungle,
> > > abandoned for many years. Once in a while the rancher and a few
friends
> > > would tie a rope around the dog
> >
> >
> > Well, if it's an ancient Mexican taco you're looking for, getting a rope
> > around a dog is a pretty good start!
> >
> > Peter
> >
> Hi Peter. Are you suggesting there were no ropes nor dogs in ancient
> America?
>
> Just in case... cotton and henequen is native America and has been spun
for
> centuries before the conquest into all kinds of stuff from rope to
garments.
> And dogs were the first real refrigerators in that you fed the dogs
> leftovers, making them fat. Then when you did not have enough food, you
> killed the dog and ate it. Dogs were also pets, hunter's aids and
> companions.
>
> Wayne
>
>

No I think he was implying that the dog would make acceptable tacos.

Wayne Lundberg wrote:

> And dogs were the first real refrigerators in that you fed the dogs
> leftovers, making them fat. Then when you did not have enough food, you
> killed the dog and ate it.

Well, if dogs weren't exactly refrigerators, at least they were like
"meals on legs" for humans for the last 40,000 years...

Humans weren't the first animals to store food by feeding another
animal and eating it when there was a shortage of food.

Take the Bald Eagle or the Golden Eagle for instance. They will mate
and lay multiple eggs and hatch out and feed two eaglets. The first to
hatch will usually get the larger share of the food, and the smaller
one will go hungry. But, if the larger one should die, the parents will
feed the larger one to the smaller one, and that's like an insurance
policy for survival. Frequently, though, the larger eaglet kills and
eats its smaller sibling...

And Roadunners live in Mexico and the USA too. A pair of Roadrunners
might hatch out a dozen youngsters. It's hard to find enough food for
all of them, so the largest, most aggressiveget fed, and eventually the
runts get eaten by the parents. Nature is harsh, and humans don't have
a monopoly on cruel practices...

"painless" > wrote in message
...
>
> "Wayne Lundberg" > wrote in message
> ...
>> "Peter Dy" > wrote in message
>> ...
>> >
>> > "Wayne Lundberg" > wrote in message
>> > ...
>> > > Sleepless nights filled with imaginings of ancient American foods
>> > > tend
>> to
>> > > stimulate solutions to some problems, and even make one drool.
>> > >
>> > > Long ago in Veracruz I had the good fortune to live part of the time
> in
>> an
>> > > ancient hacienda built some three hundred years ago. It was mostly
>> jungle,
>> > > abandoned for many years. Once in a while the rancher and a few
> friends
>> > > would tie a rope around the dog
>> >
>> >
>> > Well, if it's an ancient Mexican taco you're looking for, getting a
>> > rope
>> > around a dog is a pretty good start!
>> >
>> > Peter
>> >
>> Hi Peter. Are you suggesting there were no ropes nor dogs in ancient
>> America?
>>
>> Just in case... cotton and henequen is native America and has been spun
> for
>> centuries before the conquest into all kinds of stuff from rope to
> garments.
>> And dogs were the first real refrigerators in that you fed the dogs
>> leftovers, making them fat. Then when you did not have enough food, you
>> killed the dog and ate it. Dogs were also pets, hunter's aids and
>> companions.
>>
>> Wayne
>>
>>
>
> No I think he was implying that the dog would make acceptable tacos.


Yeah. I was stressing the "ancient" part: Pre-hispanic Mexicans ate dog.

Peter

"krusty kritter" > wrote in message
ps.com...
>
> Wayne Lundberg wrote:
>
> > And dogs were the first real refrigerators in that you fed the dogs
> > leftovers, making them fat. Then when you did not have enough food, you
> > killed the dog and ate it.
>
> Well, if dogs weren't exactly refrigerators, at least they were like
> "meals on legs" for humans for the last 40,000 years...
>
> Humans weren't the first animals to store food by feeding another
> animal and eating it when there was a shortage of food.
>
> Take the Bald Eagle or the Golden Eagle for instance. They will mate
> and lay multiple eggs and hatch out and feed two eaglets. The first to
> hatch will usually get the larger share of the food, and the smaller
> one will go hungry. But, if the larger one should die, the parents will
> feed the larger one to the smaller one, and that's like an insurance
> policy for survival. Frequently, though, the larger eaglet kills and
> eats its smaller sibling...
>
> And Roadunners live in Mexico and the USA too. A pair of Roadrunners
> might hatch out a dozen youngsters. It's hard to find enough food for
> all of them, so the largest, most aggressiveget fed, and eventually the
> runts get eaten by the parents. Nature is harsh, and humans don't have
> a monopoly on cruel practices...

Very interesting! One of the more incredible stories of other-than-human
animal husbandry can be found in the realm of the ants who actually protect
and herd aphids until ripe and ready to eat.

Speaking of ants... A few years ago I was invited to teach entrepreneurship
to the Universidades Tecnologicas de Hidalgo and was invited to breakfast at
a fairly exclusive restaurant near Tula/Tepeji and my hosts insisted I try
ant-eggs. Which I did. They were cooked in a light butter and served so you
could spread them on bread like caviar or in a taco (fresh home-made
tortillas came with the dish). They were excellent! A true delight. (And
expensive! Something like $35 dollars for a dish shared by four people).

Wayne

>

Wayne Lundberg wrote:

> Speaking of ants... A few years ago I was invited to teach entrepreneurship
> to the Universidades Tecnologicas de Hidalgo and was invited to breakfast at
> a fairly exclusive restaurant near Tula/Tepeji and my hosts insisted I try
> ant-eggs. Which I did. They were cooked in a light butter and served so you
> could spread them on bread like caviar or in a taco (fresh home-made
> tortillas came with the dish). They were excellent! A true delight. (And
> expensive! Something like $35 dollars for a dish shared by four people).

Indigenous peoples around the world are not finicky about eating animal
foods that don't happen to come on saran-wrapped styrofoam trays...

http://www.uv.mx/popularte/ingles/comer.htm

That site describes some interesting vertebrate and invertebrate items
that are still eaten by the indigenous peoples of Mexico...

I don't remember if toasted corn worm tacos were mentioned on that site
or not, but mosquito larvae were mentioned...

I once ate sea cucumber and sea cucumber intestines at the Winter
Palace in Beijing, but I didn't care to sample the sea slug casserole,
so the Chinese tour guide slurped them all down. He said they were
"just like mother used to make"...

"krusty kritter" > wrote in message
oups.com...
>
> Wayne Lundberg wrote:
>
> > Speaking of ants... A few years ago I was invited to teach
entrepreneurship
> > to the Universidades Tecnologicas de Hidalgo and was invited to
breakfast at
> > a fairly exclusive restaurant near Tula/Tepeji and my hosts insisted I
try
> > ant-eggs. Which I did. They were cooked in a light butter and served so
you
> > could spread them on bread like caviar or in a taco (fresh home-made
> > tortillas came with the dish). They were excellent! A true delight. (And
> > expensive! Something like $35 dollars for a dish shared by four people).
>
> Indigenous peoples around the world are not finicky about eating animal
> foods that don't happen to come on saran-wrapped styrofoam trays...
>
> http://www.uv.mx/popularte/ingles/comer.htm
>
> That site describes some interesting vertebrate and invertebrate items
> that are still eaten by the indigenous peoples of Mexico...
>
> I don't remember if toasted corn worm tacos were mentioned on that site
> or not, but mosquito larvae were mentioned...
>
> I once ate sea cucumber and sea cucumber intestines at the Winter
> Palace in Beijing, but I didn't care to sample the sea slug casserole,
> so the Chinese tour guide slurped them all down. He said they were
> "just like mother used to make"...

What a wonderful site! It makes me wonder if I should continue with the
www.pueblaprotocol.com approach or just link everything to your suggested
site. Seems like what I wanted to do is already done! Oh well.

Thanks!

Wayne

>

"Wayne Lundberg" > wrote in message
...
>
>
> Very interesting! One of the more incredible stories of other-than-human
> animal husbandry can be found in the realm of the ants who actually
protect
> and herd aphids until ripe and ready to eat.
<snip>

Ants don't eat the aphids. They use the aphid produce.

Charlie

Slavery!

"Charles Gifford" > wrote in message
ink.net...
>
> "Wayne Lundberg" > wrote in message
> ...
> >
> >
> > Very interesting! One of the more incredible stories of other-than-human
> > animal husbandry can be found in the realm of the ants who actually
> protect
> > and herd aphids until ripe and ready to eat.
> <snip>
>
> Ants don't eat the aphids. They use the aphid produce.
>
> Charlie
>
>

"Wayne Lundberg" > wrote in message
...
> Slavery!
>

Rather, domesticated stock.

Charlie

"Wayne Lundberg" > wrote in message
...
> Sleepless nights filled with imaginings of ancient American foods tend to
> stimulate solutions to some problems, and even make one drool.

<drool Material snipped>

> Wayne
> www.pueblaprotocol.com

When I first moved to Mexico as a teenager I could not stand tortillas - just
didn't like them.

My mother had decided on our next trip to Los Angeles we would take our girl
(servant) Lupe. Lupe was first generation off the "farm" and we needed to get
her a passport. In the small towns in Mexico birth records were not common
since I guess most of the women had their kids at home. So we had to go to her
home town and get a (remember these?) Photostat of her Baptismal record from the
local church.

The drive was about 3 and a half hours outside of the city. Off we went. We
got to the church got the paperwork and headed back. We stopped at the local
Mercado and picked up some fresh tortillas, butter cheese, salsa and some
Barbacoa (probably goat although I was told it was lamb). Lupe sat in the back
of the car and made fresh rolled tacos.

I ate until I burst - from that day forward I learned there is nothing that can
compare to a freshly (hours old if that) made corn tortilla.

Dimitri

"Dimitri" > wrote in message
. ..
>
> "Wayne Lundberg" > wrote in message
---snip---

The only thing that beats a fresh rolled tortilla is to add just a hint of
butter and salt!

Great story... yes, it brought back wonderful memories.

Wayne

Wayne Lundberg wrote:

>----- Original Message -----
>From: "Grizzman" >
>Newsgroups: alt.food.Mexican-cooking
>Sent: Friday, May 27, 2005 4:00 PM
>Subject: An ancient Mexican taco that can only be done in Texas now
>
>
>.--snip--
>
>
>>As a Texan i have hunted armadillos many times, after bbq'ing them they
>>tasted just like ham. Although you DO have to watch out for rabies as
>>they are a carrier of the disease.
>>
>>
>>Grizzman
>>
>>
>
>Is anybody raising them commercially? It may not be possible, and there
>might not be a market for them, but??
>
>Bubba is offering to mail me a few. I'll check this out with him.
>
>Wayne
>
>
>
Sorry, Wayne...I was speaking of road kill...and in jest. I think there was a commercial adventure many (30 or so) years ago, but today I've only heard of them being raised in labs studying leprosy.

Bubba

You wanna measure, or you wanna cook?

Raising wild critters can be the worst thing human beings can do. We tried
raising pheasants back in the late 50's and had ten thousand birds ready to
ship to exclusive restaurants around the country when we were hit with a
hailstorm. One day later we were broke. All birds dead. Hit the road selling
door to door.... cemetery lots!

Wayne

Ugh! Next thing you know there will be posts of folks eating buzzards.
Armadillos are nasty little creatures that consume anything! (Come to
think of it so do catfish.) :-\

Wayne Lundberg wrote:

>Sleepless nights filled with imaginings of ancient American foods tend to
>stimulate solutions to some problems, and even make one drool.
>
>Long ago in Veracruz I had the good fortune to live part of the time in an
>ancient hacienda built some three hundred years ago. It was mostly jungle,
>abandoned for many years. Once in a while the rancher and a few friends
>would tie a rope around the dog and we'd go hunting for armadillo. The dog
>would bark, we humans would look for the slight raise on the earth which
>indicated an armadillo was scratching his way to freedom... so they thought!
>So with a pole hole digger we'd move ahead of the slightly raised mound and
>dig. Sure enough, the armadillo would poke it's head through in quest of
>freedom and we'd lasso it with a wire threaded through a pipe making a noose
>the poor critter could not escape.
>
>We'd butcher and then put it on a three tree branch spit just over the
>flame, and later a little lower over the coals. Shell side down. Meat side
>up. We'd add ground chile Serrano mixed with onion, garlic and cilantro to
>blend with the meat. Toward the end we'd cover with banana leaves to keep
>the steam inside the shell.
>
>Then came the feast. The best tacos I have ever had in my whole life. Fresh
>tortillas hand pattied by the rancher's wife and family, red salsa, green
>salsa and chipotle salsa on the side and strings of freshly cooked
>armadillo. The taste is unique. One layer of meat will be similar to
>chicken, another layer similar to port, another similar to iguana --- but
>not overpowering. Remember, an armadillo is a root-eater so the meat is
>among the best in the world.
>
>Back to my problem. There are no more armadillos for hunting in Mexico. They
>have been consumed. So the only armadillos I see now are road kill on the
>Texas highways which leads me to the conclusion that the only place on earth
>for me to enjoy another armadillo taco is to migrate to Texas for the event?
>
>Wayne
>www.pueblaprotocol.com
>
>
>
>

"Jim Davis" > wrote in message
...
Ugh! Next thing you know there will be posts of folks eating buzzards.
Armadillos are nasty little creatures that consume anything! (Come to
think of it so do catfish.) :-\

My mom use to make a chili using Armadillos and Jack Rabbits for the meat
ingredient. I don't remember the exact recipe but it probably is the same as
Texas Red, except substituting the game meat for the beef and with an
addition of a little more lard as the game meat doesn't have much fat
content. She learned to cook this during the great depression in the 30s. As
old Hank Williams Jr. sang it "a country boy can survive". We loved the
chili and never thought of it as poor folks food and we ate a lot of catfish
also. We had a big garden and most of our vegetables came from there. Dad
use to barter for work, getting paid with chickens or a pig, he was a
tractor mechanic and worked on the farmers' machinery.
--
Old Magic 1

Wayne Lundberg wrote:

>Sleepless nights filled with imaginings of ancient American foods tend to
>stimulate solutions to some problems, and even make one drool.
>
>Long ago in Veracruz I had the good fortune to live part of the time in an
>ancient hacienda built some three hundred years ago. It was mostly jungle,
>abandoned for many years. Once in a while the rancher and a few friends
>would tie a rope around the dog and we'd go hunting for armadillo. The dog
>would bark, we humans would look for the slight raise on the earth which
>indicated an armadillo was scratching his way to freedom... so they
thought!
>So with a pole hole digger we'd move ahead of the slightly raised mound and
>dig. Sure enough, the armadillo would poke it's head through in quest of
>freedom and we'd lasso it with a wire threaded through a pipe making a
noose
>the poor critter could not escape.
>
>We'd butcher and then put it on a three tree branch spit just over the
>flame, and later a little lower over the coals. Shell side down. Meat side
>up. We'd add ground chile Serrano mixed with onion, garlic and cilantro to
>blend with the meat. Toward the end we'd cover with banana leaves to keep
>the steam inside the shell.
>
>Then came the feast. The best tacos I have ever had in my whole life. Fresh
>tortillas hand pattied by the rancher's wife and family, red salsa, green
>salsa and chipotle salsa on the side and strings of freshly cooked
>armadillo. The taste is unique. One layer of meat will be similar to
>chicken, another layer similar to port, another similar to iguana --- but
>not overpowering. Remember, an armadillo is a root-eater so the meat is
>among the best in the world.
>
>Back to my problem. There are no more armadillos for hunting in Mexico.
They
>have been consumed. So the only armadillos I see now are road kill on the
>Texas highways which leads me to the conclusion that the only place on
earth
>for me to enjoy another armadillo taco is to migrate to Texas for the
event?
>
>Wayne
>www.pueblaprotocol.com
>
>
>
>

No worse than taking a pig from a typical farm pig pen and slaughtering,
dressing and eating. Or a chicken for that matter.

You have my admiration! Jackrabbits were too tough and rangey for us.
I grew up in Texas and we used to kill rabbits but the only ones we ate
were the 'swamp' rabbits. The jackrabbits were too tough and we used
them for dog food. Still recall going out in the back pasture at night
in the old '32 Chevy, shining the headlights on a jackrabbit, he'd stop
still out of curiousity, then we'd blow him away with a shotgun or 22.
They then ended up as food for my Dad's hunting dogs. Sheesh! That
goes back.

Old Magic1 wrote:

>"Jim Davis" > wrote in message
...
>Ugh! Next thing you know there will be posts of folks eating buzzards.
>Armadillos are nasty little creatures that consume anything! (Come to
>think of it so do catfish.) :-\
>
>My mom use to make a chili using Armadillos and Jack Rabbits for the meat
>ingredient. I don't remember the exact recipe but it probably is the same as
>Texas Red, except substituting the game meat for the beef and with an
>addition of a little more lard as the game meat doesn't have much fat
>content. She learned to cook this during the great depression in the 30s. As
>old Hank Williams Jr. sang it "a country boy can survive". We loved the
>chili and never thought of it as poor folks food and we ate a lot of catfish
>also. We had a big garden and most of our vegetables came from there. Dad
>use to barter for work, getting paid with chickens or a pig, he was a
>tractor mechanic and worked on the farmers' machinery.
>
>

"Jim Davis" > wrote in message
...
> You have my admiration! Jackrabbits were too tough and rangey for us.
> I grew up in Texas and we used to kill rabbits but the only ones we ate
--snip---

Conejo. I'd go out at night with a flashlight attached to my trusty
Remington single shot .22 and kill an occasional rabbit down on the ranch in
Veracruz. For a brief spell I hunted near El Paso and all I could find were
jackrabbits no matter how I looked for cottontail. The jacks were no good
because of some kind of tumor on their bodies that made them really
non-candidates for human food.

When we finally got the ranch in Ft. Collins I went for the cottontails
which made perfect meat for Veracruz and Puebla style mole. I was able to
hunt pheasant (we were raising them, but the ones I shot were wild), duck,
goose, rabbit, quail and in the hills we would leave the shotgun and .22
behind and take a 3030 or Mouser and go for a buck deer.

Venison baked after being rubbed all over with a chile ancho blend of
garlic, chile ancho, salt, pepper and a dab of lard is the best thing you
have ever tasted. The last time I had that meal was over forty years ago and
I can still taste it!

The lard is necessary because game just doesn't have enough fat to satisfy
the human taste buds.

Wayne
www.pueblaprotocol.com

WE have them in Missouri-I am 40 miles west of St. Louis. There is a
roadkill between here and town as we speak.It isn't the odd occurance
either.
Sue
"Bubba" > wrote in message
. ..
> Wayne Lundberg wrote:
>
> >Sleepless nights filled with imaginings of ancient American foods tend to
> >stimulate solutions to some problems, and even make one drool.
> >
> >Long ago in Veracruz I had the good fortune to live part of the time in
an
> >ancient hacienda built some three hundred years ago. It was mostly
jungle,
> >abandoned for many years. Once in a while the rancher and a few friends
> >would tie a rope around the dog and we'd go hunting for armadillo. The
dog
> >would bark, we humans would look for the slight raise on the earth which
> >indicated an armadillo was scratching his way to freedom... so they
thought!
> >So with a pole hole digger we'd move ahead of the slightly raised mound
and
> >dig. Sure enough, the armadillo would poke it's head through in quest of
> >freedom and we'd lasso it with a wire threaded through a pipe making a
noose
> >the poor critter could not escape.
> >
> >We'd butcher and then put it on a three tree branch spit just over the
> >flame, and later a little lower over the coals. Shell side down. Meat
side
> >up. We'd add ground chile Serrano mixed with onion, garlic and cilantro
to
> >blend with the meat. Toward the end we'd cover with banana leaves to keep
> >the steam inside the shell.
> >
> >Then came the feast. The best tacos I have ever had in my whole life.
Fresh
> >tortillas hand pattied by the rancher's wife and family, red salsa, green
> >salsa and chipotle salsa on the side and strings of freshly cooked
> >armadillo. The taste is unique. One layer of meat will be similar to
> >chicken, another layer similar to port, another similar to iguana --- but
> >not overpowering. Remember, an armadillo is a root-eater so the meat is
> >among the best in the world.
> >
> >Back to my problem. There are no more armadillos for hunting in Mexico.
They
> >have been consumed. So the only armadillos I see now are road kill on the
> >Texas highways which leads me to the conclusion that the only place on
earth
> >for me to enjoy another armadillo taco is to migrate to Texas for the
event?
> >
> >Wayne
> >www.pueblaprotocol.com
> >
> >
> >
> >
> Got plenty in Florida! If you don't mind 'em being a bit ripe, I can
> mail you a few!
>
> Bubba
>
>
> --
> You wanna measure, or you wanna cook?
>