Deep Fried Guinea Pig Dinner
Peruvians eat more than 65 million guinea pigs every year. That should answer any question about edibility.
Sixty-five million guinea pigs (a 2005 figure) is more than two rodents for every every man, woman, and child in that county. Peruvians have been consuming the pseudo-porcines for some four thousands years. The furry piglets… (figlets?) …reportedly provide half of the needed daily protein for Peruvians. Known as Cavy, Cuy and a lot of other native names, they have more protein and less cholesterol than beef, pork, or chicken (21% protein, 8% fat.) They’re also vegetarians, eat grass and behave much likes cows… except they aren’t milked… While run-of-the-house Cavy weight one to two pounds specially bred livestock guinea pigs can weight up to seven pounds. And they aren’t pigs, nor are they from Guinea.
Just like Ma used to make
Scientifically they are Cavia porcellus, and are not found in the wild. Cavia (KAY-vee-ah) is Dead Latin for Cabiai which is what the Galibi Indians called them. The Galibi Indans were once native of French Guiana, which is possibly where the Guinea part of the name came from. Porcellus (poor-SELL-us) is Dead Latin for “little pig.” Cavy are somewhat shaped and colored like pigs and have among their various sounds grunts hence porcellus. When all of that is combined and abused into English we get Guinea Pig. They also have a huge number of names mangled in various other languages ranging from Meerschweinchen in German (sea piglet, because they also make grunting noises like a dolphin) Helanzhu (荷蘭豬) in Chinese (which means Holland Pig) to the Spanish conejilo de Indias (little rabbit of the Indies.) Later the ruderal rodents were used for a lot of medical research and lent their common name to anyone who was being used for an experiment.
Guinea pigs on the Barbi
As you may guess I am in contact with a lot survivialists. I have talked with quite a few who have argued earthworms are a good thing to raise for food. I will admit native American ate them, and you can read about that here. And some have argued mushroom raising is the key to survival should society fall apart, or aquaponics. But none have ever mentioned raising guinea pigs yet they are among the most prolific, easiest and least costly of all table meats to raise. They outbreed rabbits and can be raised indoors in suburbia on vegetable table scraps. A concern of 22 breeding guinea pigs (two guys and 20 girls) will meet the protein requirments for a family of four annually producing 160 to 200 guinea pigs a year. That same stock if not eaten immediately can produce 6,000 guinea pigs within two years. Many Peruvians have a home business of raising guinea pigs. However, it must be said they are not neat animals and do require cage policing. One of the odd things about guinea pigs is like humans they cannot make vitamin C and must get enough of it in their diet or get scurvy. Some common plants are toxic to guinea pigs. They include: Parsley, wild mustard, dandelions, blackberries, coriander, and green potato peels. And like humans and monkeys, they can also get poison ivy rashes.
Part of the world views them as pets
Of course the other culinary issue is they are cute, in a Bambi’s-not-for-dinner sort of way, and are pets. Eating or killing them for food in California is illegal because they are a pet animal. While they are edible in New York State the city of New York made them illegal… too salty? No, they were being served at Euadorian festivals in the city and someone frowned upon food that resemble the city’s infamous wharf rats. I can hear the bureaucratic argument now: Without proper inspection you don’t know whether you’re eating a wholesome guinea pig or a disgusting wharf rat thus…
California law “prohibits any person from possessing, importing into the sate [or exporting from the state] selling, buying, giving away, or accepting any carcass or part of any carcass of any animal traditionally or commonly kept as a pet or companion with the sole intent of using or having another person use any part of the carcass as food.” The same law also prohibits the killing of pet/companion animals for food. That would cover not only guinea pigs in California but dogs, cats, pot-bellied pigs, horses, pet chickens, iguanas, pigeons and the like… thought you Californians should know. Oh, and deceased, flash frozen, ready to cook guinea pigs cannot be imported into Canada, as of March 2011. The problem is not the guinea pig per se. Canada does not allow any meat to be imported from Peru as of this writing. You can read about the official Canadian Guinea Pig Swat Team here. On the other hand, raising and dispatching guinea pigs for food for your own personal use is allowed in Australia. Guinea pig meat can also be imported into the United States, where not prohibited.
Guinea pigs are usually served flat with head and feet on.
Two-month old guinea pigs that will be used for food are not fed for at least 15 hours. They are then knocked senseless from behind, their jugular cut then hung upside down to drain. This renders the meat white when cooked. The whole guinea pig is dipped in near boiling water for 20 seconds. This makes the hair easy to remove. The hair is then removed. The animal is slit from anus to neck without cutting visera to avoid cutting the gall bladder. The visera is removed and the cavity rinsed (also the site of where much stuffing is stuffed or to hold sauce.) Head and feet are removed for aesthetic reasons but there is no consumption reason to remove said. Head, heart, lungs, liver and skin are also edible. In their native countries guinea pigs are usually cooked and served splayed. Different sensibilities determine plating in other areas. Younger guinea pigs are fried or grilled and the like. Older ones are roasted or stewed. Guinea pig is somewhat chewy and is usually served hot because the meat softens on cooling. The morsels are served numerous ways and when folks in Peru wax on about how their mother used to cook the guinea pig is the topic de jour. Down home cooking, Peruvian style.
If you prefer guinea pigs in your lap as pets and find the notion of eating one close to cannibalism there are many non-profit havens for the rescue, rehabilitation and adoption of guinea pigs, particularly in California. It is a good cause because we humans have a tacit agreement with the animals we domesticate as pets. They give us companionship and in exchange we don’t eat them. There is probably a guinea pig rescue near you if you want a little pet rather than a little meal. Just search for guinea pig and rescue.
For the more cuisine minded:
Cuy Chaqtado
Fried Guinea Pig (Ayacucho-style)
1 guinea pig, de-haired, gutted, and cleaned
1/2 c. flour
1/4 – 1/2 t. ground cumin
salt and black pepper to taste
1/2 c. oil
Pat dry the skin of the guinea pig and rub in the cumin, salt, and pepper. Preheat oil. Dust the carcass with the flour and place it on its back in the oil, turning to cook both sides. Alternately, the guinea pig can be cut and fried in quarters.
Serve with boiled potato or boiled manioc root, and a salad of cut tomatoes and slivered onions bathed in lime juice and a bit of salt.
Cuy Picante Huanuqueño Style*
*Ingredients: *
*- **2 large guinea pigs*
*- **1 tablespoon crushed garlic*
*- **1½ teaspoon salt *
*- **1½ pepper*
*- **1½ teaspoon cumin powder*
*- **2 tablespoons aji panca (a Peruvian deep-clay red chile, liquefied in a blender)*
*- **2 tablespoons aji mirasol (a Peruvian dark yellow chile, liquefied in a blender)*
*- ** 1 cup cooking oil or margarine *
*- **10 scallions *
*- **The guinea pigs’ hearts, livers (and in an authentic version, also the intestines, thoroughly cleaned) *
*- **1 tablespoon of crushed peanuts*
*- **8 yellow potatoes boiled and skinned*
*Preparation: *
*Cut and quarter the guinea pigs, salt and pepper, then fry until golden brown. Put aside in a warm dish. In a heavy skillet, lightly greased with a few splashes of oil, combine the garlic, aji panca and aji mirasol over high heat. Mixing and scraping the ingredients from the bottom of the pan to keep it from sticking; continue until the mixture is thoroughly cooked to a golden brown. Chop the scallions, separating the white bulbs from the green stalks. Add the finely chopped scallion bulbs to the pan with the cumin. In a separate pan, combine the hearts, livers and peanuts and cook until thoroughly done, then place in a food processor or blender to liquefy. Add and mix with aji-garlic mixture in heavy skillet. Add guinea pig pieces, cooking for 10 to 15 minutes. Let stand for at least 15 minutes. Serve over sliced boiled potatoes sliced.
Serves four.*
“Picante de cuy” – Guinea Pig with spices
The whole guinea pig is marinated overnight in spices, including cumin, black pepper, paprika and dried red chillies.
Red and yellow peppers are also liquidised and added to the marinade just before cooking.
After marinating, the meat is barbecued and served whole, but split in two like a fillet.
“Cuyes en salsa de mani” – Guinea pigs with peanut sauce
The guinea pig is seasoned whole with salt and pepper and then slowly deep fried in vegetable oil.
It is then served with a creamy peanut sauce and traditionally accompanied by white rice, fried yuccas and boiled sweet potatoes.
serve with two or five of the hudreds of peruvian potatoes(solanum tuberosa). instead of lime, try oxalis, maybe even oca. I would assume oca tast much like the rest of the plant. cuy might do well in a squirel resipee. cuy-n-dumplins any one?
Do have any info on increasing weight of the cuy?
Fattening them is rather easy. They will eat themselves to death.Just give them food they like. You do have to be a little careful. They are not rodents do there are some plants they can’t eat.
For health reasons I’m working toward eating only what I grow and raise myself. I’m already raising chickens and rabbits, so guinea pigs weren’t any trouble to add to my menagerie. Despite knowing cuy could be nutritionally valuable, I was leery of how the foreign food would taste. Let me tell you, boys and girls, it tastes great. I hadn’t expected to actually prefer guinea pig.
Of course I’m naming all of them Wendy, Ronald, Jack, and other fast food names. That way I can avoid the shocked and disgusted looks of people who wouldn’t dream of eating anything so cute.
YES! Aren’t they delicious! How do you cook them? I mainly make stews out of them.
What breed of Guinness pig do you raise? Are they the bigger Andean breeds or the smaller ones found in the states. Where did you get them from?
Have you tried eating the organs raw? It’s said raw organ meats are the most nutritious foods on the planet, especially liver
Two comments: Guinea pigs can be fed both dandelions and coriander. They are not toxic to them. We feed ours (pets, though) both of these on a regular basis. The website from a California rescue group, guinealynx.info, that gives great info on raising them suggests these greens for them. You can give them vitamin C by giving them a slice of orange or tangerine once in a while.
And they will eat and breed their little heads off if you give them the opportunity. Just be sure and keep them in a clean environment so that they don’t get fungal infections on their feet. Pine or cedar shavings as bedding can give them respiratory diseases and cause them to die young.
Can anyone recommend a specific set up for breeding these in an Australian suburban backyard? Can they co-habitate with chickens in the chook pen or do they need their own enclosure… and if so, would a bird aviary/shed with good airflow be suitable? Would love to hear from anyone in Oz who’s successfully breeding them for food. Cheers Jules
You should join our new Facebook Page. Backyard Meat Cavies, Guinea Pigs Australia (BMCA)
GP are very gentle and do not do well with chickens, who will peck and eat them just like they do rats & mice. Rabbits kick & GP have delicate little matchstick bones, bad combination. GP are much easier to handle than rabbits & rarely bite. If you keep males together you must have enough room for the non dominant one(s) to get out of sight of the dominate one, or he will mercilessly bully the subordinate, especially if females are in sniffing distance (and they have very good sense of scent).They do not do well on grain, which gets caught in their teeth& gives them bloat. They can do very well on poor grass/hay & efficiently make meat. I find the meat more flavorful than rabbit.
Green Deane, this figure of 160-200 cavy to meet protein requirements for a family of four for one year — what are the weights of these? Are they your “typical” GP at 1-2 lbs or a special breed? I’ve heard that some can reach 10 lbs!
It’s a special strain of guinea pigs developed by a university in Lima, Peru. Your average pet store guinea pig will max out around 2 pounds. However some of the guinea pig rescue groups are complaining about seeing these big ones showing up at shelters in southern California so clearly *someone* is getting them into the US. Just wish I could find out who so I could score some sows from them.
The “meat” guinea pigs are the Cuys Criollos Mojados. If you do a web search, you’ll find lots of info on them. I have one, and he is over 7 pounds.
when should you ween them?
I’m raising cuy for meat. I built pens with 1×12 with 4×4 corner posts, lay them on a concrete floor in a shed that has windows. I cut the door in half so it can be partly closed (keep out cats or other critters). I harvest fresh grass for them from the pasture, give them organic guinea pig food (found online), all organic carrots, apples, watermelon rinds, weeds from garden. I bought two pregnant sows, two young sows, two boars 3/22. By 5/1, I had 7 more. I have to say that the babies are slow to grow. It’s been 4.5 weeks and they are way too small to eat. I don’t think they will get to full size in a month.
I’m curious to know how your cuy experiment is going… would you mind sending me an email at angiedrake at hotmail dot com.
Thanks!
Sorry it took so long to answer you…I forgot to check this site to see if anyone wrote a reply. It’s been almost a year and I have 50 GPs and have eaten 10 males. Let me say that it’s A LOT of work to clean them and there’s not much meat on them, lots of tiny bones. HOWEVER, the meat there is has an amazing flavor and makes the BEST stew ever. I can’t even describe what it tastes like…certainly not chicken, more like pork/wild duck flavor.
You have to pluck the fur off…dip animal in hot water like plucking a chicken. The skin is the important part to eat. I see why they are called “pigs” as the skin is as tough as pork skin and can be scraped once the fur is off. After cleaning, pressure cut it whole with salt. Then cool. Then de-bone. Take the meat and cook with potatoes and carrots (with the juice in the pressure cooker) or make a curried cuy stew. Experiment. It’s delicious anyway you do it. I have not tried BBQ’ing them.
Pls anyone with proper information on preparing the fur for export should pls mail me on roycespeed@yahoo.com, I wish to go into guinea pig fur business, but wen I dry them,the fur become hard ,any infor will b cherished, thanks
>Without proper inspection you don’t know whether you’re eating a wholesome guinea pig or a disgusting wharf rat thus…
Truth be told, I can’t think of many reasons why people would be willing to eat squirrel but not rat. Of course, these days a lot of people won’t eat squirrels either.
I really like the idea of raising cavies for meat. I’ve been thinking of building another rabbit shed this year but I try that instead and see which one I like more.
Dean, are there any nutria where you live? What do they taste like?
Haven’t seen them. They rummage north and west of here.
Hi every one thanks for all the great info on the care and feeding of Those delicious Little Critters, I was really hoping to find the largest one’s and start a farm in California and make Supplemental income in retirement but from what I’ve read that would be against the law in California not happy to hear that they make so much sense just the fact their foot print is so small on the planet as far as meat production goes .
I asked my local pet store if I could eat them and they kicked me out where can I get some.
That comes up now and then and I will err on the side of caution. People who “eat” poison ivy always neglect to say they only eat them in the spring and I wonder if that is when the plant is low in the offending oil.
I bought 10 off Craigslist a few years ago, 8 sows and 2 boars. They were slow to start but once the first sows were on their fourth litters the first litters were pregnant. Like a fuzzy snowball, the numbers started climbing like a rocket from that point.
While they are slower to grow than rabbits they do seem to be able to eat just about anything so the bulk of their food can be foraged so the meat is mostly free.
They were easy to feed, fun to raise and really, really good fried!
Will have them again for sure but the cuteness factor is a real hurdle to get over lol.
Do you have the larger breeds? If so will you sell some?
Hello I know Cavy are a good food source but are they the same as the guinea pigs at the petstore? Is the livestock version a separate beast? If so how do I get my hands on the livestock version?
I am interested in talking with people who are ether interested in raising guinea pigs for meat, or who currently raising them for meat. I have a friend that raises them as food for carnivores. I have eaten 3 of his GPs and I find them delicious. I am registered as Ghost on rabbit talk dot com. I am trying to get a discussion about cuy farming there. There are a few other members on RT with more GP experience than me. This includes one member experienced with larger agricultural GP breeds. I am most easily contacted of RT, but I will watch this thread for activity from time to time.
We lived with several guinea pigs for some years. It’s always mentioned that they ‘squeal’ or grunt. We had a guinea pig who sang – rhythmically, like a cricket, with music so beautiful we hid in the hall. If she heard us approaching, she would cease. Cherry tomatoes were a favorite with our pets and parsley most of all. We fed them bidens, plantains, all grasses and dandelions. Guinea pigs will not overeat – unless in abusive situations – where they are ignored, put inside a box. They need Clean atmospheres, running places. Ours foraged in the back yard. If the guinea pigs ate it, so could we. They are the gentlest and most sentient of creatures. They had partners they preferred and differences in food choices. We had one guinea pig who rounded the others up and brought them to the back door in time for bed. They were highly intelligent.
Hi Lauren Raugh
I hope that we can understand one another. I do not dislike guinea pigs. I love living guinea pigs, the way there squeaks sound when they are delighted, the way they run and the way they just seam to love living life. I can place a mat down in the middle of their enclosure and just watch them up close. I just watch them being themselves, it is just wonderful to be around them.
I love and RESPECT the guinea pigs I care for. Just as with any creature, guinea pigs live and die. I allow myself to experience sadness when they die, even if it is I that kill them, so that I can make a meal of them. I respect them in the fact that they deserve a quick and humane death. When I decide to take the lives of some GPs used to feed animals, I take great care not to step on any GPs. The finger of death is selective and will only touch a few animals and leave the others unharmed.
Guinea pigs are not aware of death. They are not effected by the death of a herd mate. Mere minutes after a cull that takes the lives of six or more animals is complete, the remaining members go back to normal. I have even given them treats with the dead ones lying on the floor and they are totally unfazed, they just walk over the dead to get a yummy treat. Death is totally beyond there comprehension.
On days when I eat meat, it saddens me to think how many mass produced animals are treated. When I eat my friend’s guinea pigs I am happy to eat an animal that was well cared for and treated with respect. It may be sad to think that the GP with the white nose and one black foot will never live again. I do feel that the white-noised black-footed had a good life while he was alive and did not live in fear or pain. And that little sucker taste really good and make my tummy happy.
In case people did not notice, My name on this thread is a click-able link that points to a thread I started on RabbitTalk. By clicking on the link you are taken to post where I explain the reasons why I am interested in guinea pigs as a meat animal. I have recently updated my post by adding links to other post you may find interesting if you are researching guinea pigs as a meat animal.