Editorial note: The following opinion is featured today on the Northwest Herald website.
A horse tenderloin provided a delicious meal for author Scott Reeder on a recent trip to Iceland. (Scott Reeder)
By Scott Reeder
“If you eat horsemeat, Daddy, I’m going to throw-up right in front of you.”
So decreed my 14-year-old daughter this month as we sat across from one another in a restaurant in Iceland.
I’d never tasted horseflesh before. But over the years I’ve written quite a bit about the debate in the Illinois General Assembly on whether to outlaw horse slaughter. Fifteen years ago, Gov. Rod Blagojevich signed the legislation ending the practice.
I’ve long been curious: “What exactly does horsemeat taste like?”
I grew up on a hog farm. My father was a farmer and a livestock veterinarian. And I showed cattle at fairs, knowing that eventually they would end up on someone’s dinner plate. And mind you, those calves were companions. They came when they were called, loved to be petted and were taught to walk beside me better than any dog I’ve ever taken on a leash.
I can remember eating steaks at the dinner table with my folks and my dad would ask for the platter of meat by saying, “Pass Charlie over here, would you please?” Yep, our food had names.
When you are a farmer, you live close to what you eat.
The waitress who stood over me in the Icelandic restaurant cooed, “You have to try horse, sir. It is three times more tender than beef and it tastes so good.”
Read more here.
- Scott Reeder, a staff writer for Illinois Times, can be reached at: sreeder@illinoistimes.com.
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