If you find yourself in Peru look for a cuyería (cuy restaurant) where the typical dish is roasted guinea pig ( cuy al horno). If insect protein is the future then why not guinea pig meat? It’s got more taste than crickets, the animals are less destructive to the environment than cows and the meat is relatively easy to produce. Cricket protein might seem gross to some people but its popularity is growing fast. Globalisation has made people more open to new foods. As the world looks at alternatives to beef and other livestock for meat there is potential for new protein sources to become mainstream. Will Guinea Pigs one day be served in restaurants worldwide? It’s possible. That’s going a bit too far for me but the rest of the animal is great to eat. The head is edible and many people are very fond of this part. They are served pretty much as a fish would be served, often only the intestines are removed. Guinea pigs bred for food are eaten once they have reached a couple of months old.

Cuy dishes form part of the Novoandina (New Andean) cuisine movement but most regions in Peru will have their own recipe. Diego Oka, Executive chef at La Mar, Gaston Acurio‘s Miami Restaurant, served up guinea pig at the restaurant for Peruvian Independence Day. You can find cuy asado (roasted guinea pig) on menus in some Andean, Peruvian or Ecuadorian specialist eateries in New York, Los Angeles, and a few other US cities with sizeable South American populations. It’s more of a dark meat than even the leg of chicken and punches above its weight in the nutrient category.Ĭave Porcellus (the scientific name you can use to impress foodie friends) is eaten in Peru, Ecuador, and Bolivia. Higher in protein than most animal products westerners eat daily, cuy is a meat Paleo people will love. The meat is actually low in fat but high in protein so it could be considered a pretty healthy food. Cuy is a tastier meat than chicken, in my opinion, having a bit more oil and faint ‘gamey’ flavour to it. Boiling is another option but if boiled chicken is anything to go by then I guess I’m not missing out.Īdult guinea pigs weigh in at around 0.5kg (1lb) to 1.2kg (2.5lb) and measure 20cm (8 inches) to 40cm (16 inches) in length. I’ve yet to try cuy prepared by other cooking methods but frying or roasting really works for me. I never miss an opportunity to sample fried or roasted guinea pig. It’s delicious and I’ve been a fan ever since that first taste. It tastes a little like chicken but has a deeper, “fattier” flavour. The first time I ever tasted this Andean food staple was in Huaraz, a high-altitude city in the Ancash region of Peru. Cuy is a delicious delicacy best served with potatoes and salsa. They’re not pigs and they don’t come from Guinea. The Cuy Peruano (Peruvian Guinea Pig) is related to another animal called a cavy, a large rodent found in South America. They are not pigs either and don’t live in the wild, being purely bred for food by the people of the Andes. Peruvians don’t keep cuy, as they’re called in Peru, as pets. The little furry rodent became a pet in Europe and then the United States in the last couple of hundred years. Or is it? Remember that even dogs are eaten in many countries and guinea pigs have been a source of nutritious food for the Inca for centuries. Guinea pigs are cute and cuddly and eating one is like eating your pet dog. A traditional food, Guinea pig (called cuy in Peru) has been served whole on special occasions since Inca times. What they are is a delicious delicacy best served with potatoes and salsa.

Peruvian restaurants