Cooking Penguin

Apparently, the British operate a post office in Antarctica. It serves tourists from cruise ships who want to impress their friends by posting something from the bottom of the world. At some point in its recent history, the ground surrounding the post office has become home to a bunch of gentoo penguins. They're cute but filthy. They're constantly fouling the path from the landing to post office so the staff have to scrub it every day so the tourists won't drag the mess into the post office.

I was watching a TV program about the facility and wondered if anyone ever eats the penquins. Then I wondered if I could find a recipe for penguin. No luck. Apparently, they're protected so no one cooks them. However, early explorers did eat them and their reports don't make the bird seem very appetizing. Some said it was gamey and fishy. Others said it's a cross between beef, duck and cod. The only thing close to a recipe was a comment by a guy who said they taste best when sliced thin, battered and fried like Wiener Schnitzel.

Never had penguin, but I've had seal. Texture was a bit like liver. I like liver so I enjoyed it.

Not sure how something can be like cod and have a gamey taste unless they are talking about texture. Cod doesn't have much of any taste. I like duck though I do not make much of an effort to eat it because it is not readily available.

Penguin recipes

"The meat of young shags, seals and penguins makes excellent eating, but in the natural state is rather too highly flavoured to be palatable. It should therefore be washed thoroughly and hung in the fresh air for a few days (in the case of shags, a couple of weeks), before cooking. The meat is further improved by blanching. Remove all blubber before cooking and replace the fat with beef suet when cooking."

Roast Penguin

Ingredients:

Penguin breasts
Butter
Beef suet
Dried onions
Flour
Gravy granules
Salt and pepper to taste

Method:

Season the penguin breasts well with salt and pepper and dip each piece in melted butter. Roll in flour and fry in beef suet to seal the meat, turning once. When each side is crisp, place in baking tray and pour over the fat from the frying pan. Sprinkle with dried onion and cook in the oven on medium heat until tender. For the gravy – stir a teaspoon of flour into the cooking fat then add a spoon-full of gravy granules and sufficient water or stock to thicken.

Escallops of Penguin

Ingredients:

Penguin breasts
Dried onions
Milk
Batter mix
Flour
Beef suet
1 tin of condensed mushroom soup
Salt and pepper to taste

Method:

Cut the penguin breasts into thin slices and soak in milk for about two hours. Pat dry, season with salt and pepper and flour the penguin escallops. Mix the onions into the batter. Dip the meat in the batter and deep fat fry. Pour the heated soup over the battered penguin as a sauce.

Sautéed Penguin

Ingredients:

Penguin breasts
1 cup of dried onions
1 tin tomatoes
1 tin tomato soup
4oz. butter
Mixed herbs
Salt and pepper to taste

Method:

Cut the penguin breasts into small pieces and fry in the butter until brown then add the onion. Drain the tomatoes and mash half the tin into a purée, then stir into the meat and onion mixture. Add salt and pepper and some mixed herbs and the tomato soup. Simmer until the meat is tender and the sauce had thickened.

More penguin recipes (although this link is satirical): The Penguin Recipe Page