Dietary preferences vary from person to person. From a wide range of vegetarian dishes to the many types of meat enjoyed around the world, every cuisine has its own unique characteristics. A social media creator from Florida, United States, recently drew attention after preparing a rather uncommon meal: tacos made with frozen iguanas, commonly known as herbivorous lizards. In one of his Instagram videos, he explained that the cold-blooded reptiles cannot regulate their body temperature during intense cold spells, causing them to fall from trees and appear lifeless, even though they are still alive.
He said, "Whenever we (people of Florida) have these cold fronts and they start falling down, many people go out and collect them to help control their population. They even have the nickname 'chicken of the trees' because they're absolutely delicious," he added humorously. "So rather than let this one go to waste, we're going to make tacos." He also mentioned that one of the iguanas he cooked contained about 20 eggs, adding, "So by removing this one iguana, we've actually saved the environment from over 20 iguanas come spring." Wanting to ensure nothing went to waste, he preserved the skin and other leftovers to use as bait in crab traps.
Also Read: This Bizarre 'Egg Inside Microwave' Experiment Has Over 15 Million Views
He began by simmering a pot of water with chopped onion, garlic, a bay leaf and salt, then added the iguana meat and cooked it gently for 30 minutes until tender. After removing the meat to cool, he soft-boiled the iguana eggs in the same hot water and mixed them with avocado, garlic, olive oil, salt and lime juice, finishing with black pepper and more lime. He then shredded the meat from the bone, seasoned it and pan-fried it until crispy, using the leftover oil to crisp up the tortillas. Finally, he assembled the tacos with the crispy iguana meat, pickled onions, jalapeno, cilantro and sauce, adding an extra squeeze of lime before digging in with clear satisfaction.
Check out the full video below:
The video quickly caught the internet's attention, leaving many food lovers stunned and unsure whether to laugh or gasp. Viewers were shocked not just by the unusual recipe but by the creator's confidence as he plated his iguana tacos with pride. Check out some of the comments below:
"I thought it was a joke until it wasn't."
"So kind of you to unite the mom and kids on one plate."
"That's why I don't eat in everyone's house."
"This man will survive the apocalypse."
"This is a different approach from the people warming them up and saving them."
"As someone who had a pet iguana, I'm in disbelief."
"So we eat chicken eggs in all kinds of ways but draw the line at iguana eggs? Lol."
"I don't know how I feel about this, but I realised there's no reason to be against eating lizards while being fine with eating chickens or cows."
"This is a different approach compared to the people warming them up and saving them."
Would you dare to try iguana tacos? Tell us in the comments - we're curious to know!