After having much success eating raw beef, fish, insects, and even a little bit of rabbit, I decided that my gut was ready to take on the next challenge: raw chicken. I’m not totally sure why this meat ranked so high on my “risk factor” list, maybe because of all the bad things you hear about chickens (bird flu, etc.) and that most commercial chickens live in extremely uncomfortable and unsanitary conditions, but I sourced some trusted bird meat from the Austin Whole Foods and broke it out last night for dinner. I had some Chef Tony creole seasoning on standby in case things took a turn for the worse. Raw chicken flesh is actually the most tender raw meat I’ve yet to eat. It is very easy to chew and goes down fairly easy. It’s really not much on taste though. And while the tastebuds on the front of my tongue didn’t seem to have a problem with this bird, the ones on the rear as I was swallowing objected a bit. I little Chef Tony’s fixed the taste problem, but not the swallowing one. I’m guessing it has to do with the texture of the meat. At any rate, it wasn’t the worst experience, but it wasn’t the best either. I remember getting used to raw eggs and having a similar sensation. It was an acquired taste for sure. Chicken is going to have to be the same thing, or else I’ll just cook it. There is a certain beauty about the simplicity of tearing open a package of raw chicken and grubbing it down though. Plus, it makes you realize more of what you are eating. When you cook a chicken breast and spice it all up and add sauces it’s easy to forget that it was once an animal that died for you eat. Eating it raw, you are very, very aware of what you are eating, and in that sense have more respect for the animal, as it should be.
In unrelated news, I randomly signed up for a 5k trail run race this Saturday here in Austin. That’s only 3.125 miles for you non metric folk. That’s just the right distance to get some good caveman sprints in while having some fun.
The payout for the Pro category at Warda were messed up. After the officials fixed them, it put me in the money!! $38.43 payout for a $40 race!! If I keep it up, I might be able to recoup half the costs I put into this sport! It was my first payout since moving up to the elite ranks, so I’m just happy with that!