A bit brownwatery - but wise

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chinita

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I am reading a book about canal narrowboats. They say that you should not eat the last slice of bread but throw it into the water for the ducks.

That way, when you are penniless, starving and with no arse in your trousers - there will always be a big fat duck at the back of your boat.
 
Crewing as chef a few years ago the owners kept an emergency bottle of cheap vodka handy, I was taught that its effectual for killing tuna humanely (?) stick knife in back of neck then pour a little vodka down the hole or for when you'd run out of the good stuff. They were Russian owners..
 
I have known two men who regularly had canal ducks for supper.
One Yugoslavian liveabord because it was his only means of getting some meat, and a Belgian poacher. The guy lived half time on his mobo, using his boat as a reason to be on the canal banks at night. The last one taught me the trick to catch ducks. Unseen. It is a rather cruel but very efficient way of caching those birds.
One evening he invited me over for supper. Nooo, no duck he said, we will have rabbit. His wife was an excellent cook, the meal and wine was very good.
Rabbit stew cooked in Belgian Trappist brown beer, French red.
Both ware cheerful and giggly, after supper he told me we had just eaten a cat. He had found it in one of his noose traps so the poor animal was dead anyway.
He poured some large cognacs to make my anger go away and showed me how to see if it is a rabbit or a cat in the stew.
After that evening my view of poaching had totally changed.
On the other hand, I am fishing, catching octopus, crabs, oysters and winkles, love Murex. Ain’t that the same ?
In need, I would never be hungry, now how to survive.
 
chinita said:
Good heavens; fair put me off my kebab!
Click to expand...


Kebab ?..... no way of knowing what you eat.
Some years ago, Turkish bays. Most “ Wilde “ goats are caught for Ramadan.
I have helped catching whole herds of goats. We just chased them to a ravine ending on a small beach where they could not escape. From there the goats ware loaded directly onto the boats. Locals came ask to help, hunting the animals on those mountain slopes is dangerous and a lot of people are needed who know the area.
They are not that easy to catch, know getting caught means there end.
During the rest of year, the sick and easy to catch animals go directly to the family restaurant. Lots of animals with broken legs, they clime into trees and on ridges.
Price of meat is so high in Turkey that a “Wilde” goat is a real goldmine. Now, more and more dirt roads are cut into those mountains, goats are stolen all the time.
 
I have to correct my previous post. I have seen that a sick / wounded animal was butchered and putt in the fridge of one of the bay restaurants, however, that is a long time ago and it was the start of the season. Things are probably totally different now, from what I read the restaurants are so busy now that all meat comes from a real butcher.
The quality of meat in Turkey and Greece is excellent and if one chooses a fish out of the cages in the water, you can be sure to buy fresh locally caught fish.
 
Was looking at a flock of Canada geese this afternoon in the saltings at the back of Poole Harbour, carping away as usual. For some reason the thought of chicken nuggets and turkey twizzlers came into my mind as a possible solution to the problem.
 
Have read about the Orwell, Was never there, a shame, we sail a Bawley. I believe those boats originate from there.
The Butt & Oyster looks great. Would love to eat a bite there.
Wellll,, we passed Bocuses restaurant going South trough the canals. We passed while they had seen us coming and closed. Even took the garbage inside.
What I did eat out of canals is muskrat. ( Ondatra zibethicus ) Tastes great. There used to be restaurants famous for “Water rabbit “ now its all a bit …. lets say under the table. The “Secret” restaurants do even better business. ( In Flanders )
Things have changed. As kids we stole eggs and sucked them raw, we cached sparrows, starlings,
pigeons. To eat them. We stole potatoes and cooked them in the earth covered rest of a fire.
No computers and phones then.
 
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