Honestly, horse meat is not the most common meat in our area. You can buy it only in halal stores. Or get a gift from friends from somewhere near Kazan. We know Konin except in the form of a Mahan or some other not the cheapest sausage. However, one must be prepared for any twists of fate. Suddenly, horsemeat will somehow come to you. Benefit or harm will enter the house with her - this is the first question that people who are not used to such meat ask. And already in the second place they are puzzled by how to cook it.
What is the use of horse meat?
First of all, it is nutritious. And if you take into account that the meat is completely digested in just three hours (as opposed to the day that the beef needs), you can safely advise it even for baby food - horsemeat will not harm the baby. Benefit or harm? In this dispute, benefit is more likely to prevail. Moreover, with high nutritional value, meat is completely non-greasy, which is why it is recommended in the fight against excess weight.
Another advantage of horsemeat is that it does not cause allergies in anyone: neither in babies under one year old, nor in older people, nor in allergy sufferers with experience. And it can help greatly, because it reduces bad cholesterol in the body and stimulates blood flow. Horse meat is especially recommended for patients with anemia due to the large amount of hemoglobin and iron in it. Horse meat is prescribed for those recovering after chemotherapy: it reduces the effects of radiation.
How can horse meat hurt?
The main disadvantage that horsemeat suffers, the benefits or harms of which are discussed, is that it is extremely poorly stored. Exactly what meat is valued by nutritionists for - a low carbohydrate content - stimulates the avalanche-like multiplication of microorganisms, therefore it quickly deteriorates.
Horse meat should not be carried away by those who have excess bile in the body, since meat has a choleretic effect.
The disadvantage is its original taste - but this is a matter of habit or seasoning. But the difficulties of cooking concern everyone. Horse meat is very tough, so before cooking it has to be pickled for a long time, after which it is boiled for a long time. Otherwise, horse meat does not have any harmful effect. So in the task “horse meat: benefit or harm” the advantage will obviously be on the side of the first. And if you come across it - fight with stiffness and feed your family with unusual dishes.
Horsemeat in Lensky
As already mentioned, all recipes from horsemeat require preliminary soaking or pickling. The uniqueness of this dish is that it does not require long additional manipulations: due to the "packaging" in the dough, the dish turns soft rather quickly. Horse meat is cleaned of tendons (if they are in a piece), cut into very small bars (no longer than 4 centimeters), crumbled in salt, pepper and finely chopped onion. Each piece is sprayed with citric acid or weak vinegar, the contents of the bowl are mixed to evenly distribute the marinade and left for half an hour. The batter is prepared in the most usual way, from flour and eggs. Pieces are dipped into it and deep-fried. Of course, a wok is best suited for this purpose, but an ordinary deep frying pan will do, as long as the oil completely covers the meat.
Horse Pea Soup
Horsemeat recipes do not differ in such a huge variety as the more familiar types of meat. Yet most often, horsemeat is put in sausages. However, the first dish from it can be prepared just amazingly tasty. Since horse meat is cooked for a long time, it must be finely chopped before laying in water. In warm water, peas are pre-soaked; it is taken half as much as meat. Swollen beans are poured into the pan at the same time with horsemeat, because they also boil for a long time. The pan on fire will stay for about two and a half hours. When you are sure that the horsemeat is ready, throw potatoes, onions and carrots into cubes in the soup. Do not fry for this recipe. After boiling, the soup is salted and seasoned with pepper and parsley. Already spilled on plates, it is flavored with a small piece of oil.
Horse meat cutlets
So that they do not turn out tough, there is a certain trick. The meat is cut into small cubes (smaller than required for a meat grinder) and an hour lies in a bowl under running cold water. After a new portion is poured and left overnight - soak. Since horse meat is almost lean meat, one third of a kilo of bacon is added to its kilogram of minced meat (regular fat is also quite suitable). Grilled horse meat, bacon, bread and garlic soaked in milk (whole head, sliced into slices). The onion is not passed through the meat grinder, it is crushed very finely and added later - so horse meat cutlets are more juicy. In addition to traditional salt with pepper, a teaspoon of zira is poured into the minced meat. A breadcrumbs are mixed with sesame seeds. The rest of the actions are standard: stick patties, brew them and fry. Believe me, all your efforts are not in vain: the family will require supplements and repetitions more than once.