What exactly is in Soup No. 5 or Soup #5, a soup made from bull’s testes or penis. The dish originates from Filipino cuisine. It is believed to have aphrodisiac properties. People around the world eat the penises of bulls, sheep, and goats, without a quiver.

Keeping to the theme of eating all the animal that began with our post on lamb’s testicles, we now present our readers with another idea to get used to. Penis meat is eaten and enjoyed in the Middle East, Latin America, and the Far East as an ordinary meat and as a boost to virility.

Farmer’s home-made sausages may include sheep, goat, or steer penis.  Each species’s penis has its own flavor. It stays a little rubbery even after long cooking, though.

Bull Penis Stew Recipe

Our researches haven’t turned up the truth about supposed Eastern European penis stew, but there are recipes from Bolivia and China.

The one recipe circulating around the Internet was taken word for word from a small out-of-print collection of Yemenite recipes, Yemenite and Sabra Cookery, by Naomi and Shimon Tzabar. The Bull Penis recipe goes like this:

1 pound of penis, ram’s or bull’s
3 tbls. oil
1 large chopped onion
2 garlic cloves, peeled and chopped
1 tsp coriander seeds, crushed
1 tsp salt
freshly ground black pepper

Scald the penis, then drain and clean.
Place the penis in a saucepan, cover with cold water, and bring to a boil.
Remove any scum, then simmer for 10 minutes.
Drain and slice.
Heat the oil in a large skillet.
Add the onion, garlic, and coriander and fry until the onion is golden.
Add the penis slices and fry on both sides for a few minutes.
Stir in the remaining ingredients with a good grinding of pepper, add enough water to cover, and bring to a boil.
Lower the heat, cover, and simmer for about 2 hours, or until tender.
Add a little water from time to time if necessary to prevent burning.

Cleaning urine from the penis

Most Westerners don’t know how to clean penis for cooking. The following video from the National Geographic Society makes that clear: the cook slits it open, removes the urethra, and rinses the meat several times under running water to remove any trace of urine.

Hard to swallow the idea? It’s understandable. A study titled Udders, Penises, and Testicles by Robert Rotenberg and published in the 2008 Ethnology (links to PDF) magazine says why:

“…udders, penises and testicles are difficult to separate from the self and hence persistently problematic as foods. …The similarity renders them as self, instead of as foods.”

True. Every man we’ve spoken to about penis as food has crossed his legs.

More Middle-Eastern food:

• Kibbeh recipe
• Baba Ganoush recipe

Yemenite & Sabra Cookery, by Naomi and Shimon Tzabar, Sadan Publishing, 1979, ISBN 965-234-001-4.

The post Bull penis stew recipe – or Soup #5 appeared first on Green Prophet.

One testicle or two? Waste not, want not. It’s all good meat.

Affluent societies view an animal as so many fillets. But meat-eaters in traditional (read: less privileged) societies don’t turn their noses up at offal – kidneys, liver, head meat, tripe, sweetbreads, ears, and trotters. Testicles and penis meat too.  Those bumpy, funky bits are just as healthy and delicious as as any other part of the animal.

What’s the difference between a lamb’s ribs and, say, his testicles? No reason to throw good meat out. Think whole-animal cooking and sustainable food and read about home animal slaughter on Green Prophet.

In the Middle East, turkey testicles are commonly grilled and served in a pitta along with other grilled meats. Try a “me’urav yerushalmi” in any Israeli shwarma joint – the little dark round pieces are turkey testicles. With the Middle Eastern love of lamb and goat meat, the tasty reproductive organs naturally appear on plates as kabob.

Thousands attend annual testicle festivals in Idaho, Montana, and Illinois, starring turkey, hog, bull, and lamb testicles – usually breaded and fried.  Lamb fries are lunch in New Zealand when lambs are castrated on the farm. In fact, wherever people love meat and hate waste, testicles are on the menu.

A couple of Americans fry hog testicles in plenty of hot sauce – mountain oysters

Curious to try testicles yourself? Your local supermarket is unlikely to carry them. Look for them at Halal butchers. Make sure the glands are firm and pink. If fresh, cook them within 48 hours. Frozen ones should be cooked immediately after thawing. Plan on half to one testicle per serving.

If the tough outer membrane hasn’t been removed, you will have to slit it through and remove the meat inside. Grilling the testicles whole, it’s not necessary to remove the membrane. Many people like to soak the skinned glands in cold salty water to leech the blood out first.

Dip them in batter  and fry in deep oil, or cover them in flour seasoned with salt, pepper, and crushed garlic and fry in butter. Or soak them in your favorite marinade as you would for any other BBQ and cut them up to grill on skewers. Any way you choose to cook testicles, squeeze some fresh lemon juice over them before serving. Delicious.

Middle-Eastern Recipes from Green Prophet:

Kibbeh

Baba Ganoush

Eggplant Soup

Photo of lamb testicles for kabob by Shahrokh Dabiri via Flickr.

The post Eat The Whole Animal: Lamb’s testicles and hog balls appeared first on Green Prophet.