SC - sea otter

[Philip & Susan Troy]

Adamantius wrote:

>
>Sea birds will often acquire a distinct flavor of fat fish, mackerel,
>herring, etc.; it's been recommended if you're going to eat them to trap
>them live and feed them grain for a while. It occurred to me that sea
>otters might prove similarly fishy in flavor. Not having eaten one,
>though, I couldn't say for sure.


Oh dear. Recommended by whom?

I´m just trying to imagine some blokes I know, and who catch maybe hundreds
of puffins and guillemots and cormorants and other seabirds per day in
season, rounding up the birds instead of wringing their neck quickly and
painlessly, and herding them into a gigantic birdcage, and then feeding the
poor bastards grain (probably by pouring it down their throat through a
funnel, like when geese are force-fed) ... you know, it really boggles the
mind, at least when you are Icelandic and have been eating seabirds since
birth, practically. Yes, they can have a taste which some people might call
fishy but then you just soak them overnight in milk, or whey, or salted or
vinegar-added water, or any marinade you like.

I wouldn´t know about sea otter but I can testify that whale and seal meat
does have a somewhat similar taste to seabirds (that is, "fishy"), so I can
well believe that sea otter is the same.

Nanna