Regional Foods: Rocky Mountain Oysters!
When I watched as the chef at the Mountain Oyster Festival in Colorado took out a mallet and began pounding a handful of bull’s testicles flat on a thick slab of butcher block, I did turn a bit pale and I had to bend over and "breathe" for a few minutes!
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PrintI’m not a squeamish guy. I can clean fish, gut deer, and dress bloody wounds with the best of them. I usually cut out my own stitches, welcome the needle when I need shots, and I watched the video of the tiny little teeth that tore the bad cartilage out of my wife’s hip during her operation. However, when I watched as the chef at the Mountain Oyster Festival in Colorado took out a mallet and began pounding a handful of bull’s testicles flat on a thick slab of butcher block, I did turn a bit pale, and I had to bend over and “breathe” for a few minutes!
No, I’m not kidding. Bull’s testicles are a “treat” in Colorado and Wyoming. They’re also known as Mountain Oysters, Bulls Eggs, Calf Fries, and Bull Bites. They are very similar in texture to a large chunk of calamari and the taste depends largely on how they are prepared.
I sampled several different plates of “oysters,” and while the taste was mild, I just couldn’t seem to get past their “point of origin” so to speak… I mean, to look at a plate of eight of these egg shaped morsels, (fried to a deep golden brown), all my mind’s eye could see were four emasculated bulls, standing over by the fence staring deeply into my soul with sadness and scorn. Lots of scorn!
These little jewels are typically pounded until they are flat, and then sliced thinly so they resemble a basket of French Fries. They’re battered in light oil and Panko bread crumbs, then deep fried and served with some sort of dipping sauce (ranch, marinara, or a spicy aioli of some kind). Sometimes they’re just pounded flat, fried, and then served like a cutlet. I tried both of these, and I tried the “whole fried” version as well; picture a deep fried orb, the size of a large duck egg.
If you like calamari, and if you can get past the imagery, I recommend them. At the very least, you should try them so you can add it to your “list” of bizarre foods.
Have you tried anything super weird lately? Do you have a favorite regional food? Is there a food on your “bucket list” that you want to try before you leave this mortal world? Please leave a comment at the end of this blog and I’ll do what I can to research, eat, or feature it!
EXTRA: If you have questions for Ken regarding business travel, hotels, airplanes, etc, please send him a “Tweet” on his twitter account. You can also follow Ken on Twitter @foodbreeze!
