Yes, you read that right, folks. Camel steak. I never would have thought of cooking one, let alone acquiring it, but here we go.
Background
I turned 44 on New Year’s Eve, and a good friend of mine knows I like to grill a lot. So he thought he’d come up with a gift, something I have never cooked before, and he sure did. The steak was ordered online from someone who provides â€Ârare†meats. I did have a quick email convo with the supplier to figure out where (on the camel) the steak comes from. I also did some online reading to find out it is quite common to eat camel in different countries around the world, Australia being one of them.
Execution plan
So, this steak comes from the haunch, or the hind leg. In my opinion a horse isn’t that different from a camel, which means it is rather lean meat. Also, since it is the rear leg, the steak should have â€Âham-like†qualities. All this tells me I should cook it up to temp, but no higher. It should still be rare in the middle. Enter: Argentina style grilling. It was the obvious choice, since I will treat the meat with salt only, so I don’t mask its flavor.
Gentlemen, start your grills!
Said and done, I fired up my Big Green Egg, using direct heat only. I covered the steaks with liberal amounts of flaked sea salt, and placed them on the grate. I let them rip for a few minutes, then took them off for a couple of minutes rest.
Inspirational fire picture

The steaks and sweet potatoes, with PLENTY of flaked sea salt

Sides to go with the steaks
I made a bowl of â€ÂPico de gallo†and some grilled sweet potatoes. Pico de gallo is a Mexican tomato salsa, made using tomatoes, onion, cilantro, chili pepper and lime juice. Ask me if you want the recipe. The sweet potatoes were brushed with olive oil before grilling, and brushed with a mixture consisting of equal parts lime juice and olive oil after grilling.
The plate, with Pico de Gallo and sweet potatoes

Closeup of the meat, not too good a picture, but it is plenty rare in the middle

The verdict
Definitely an interesting cut, it was lean, as expected, but tasted similar to beef. Fun to cook, but now I think I will get back to my regular beef/pork program.
Background
I turned 44 on New Year’s Eve, and a good friend of mine knows I like to grill a lot. So he thought he’d come up with a gift, something I have never cooked before, and he sure did. The steak was ordered online from someone who provides â€Ârare†meats. I did have a quick email convo with the supplier to figure out where (on the camel) the steak comes from. I also did some online reading to find out it is quite common to eat camel in different countries around the world, Australia being one of them.
Execution plan
So, this steak comes from the haunch, or the hind leg. In my opinion a horse isn’t that different from a camel, which means it is rather lean meat. Also, since it is the rear leg, the steak should have â€Âham-like†qualities. All this tells me I should cook it up to temp, but no higher. It should still be rare in the middle. Enter: Argentina style grilling. It was the obvious choice, since I will treat the meat with salt only, so I don’t mask its flavor.
Gentlemen, start your grills!
Said and done, I fired up my Big Green Egg, using direct heat only. I covered the steaks with liberal amounts of flaked sea salt, and placed them on the grate. I let them rip for a few minutes, then took them off for a couple of minutes rest.
Inspirational fire picture
The steaks and sweet potatoes, with PLENTY of flaked sea salt
Sides to go with the steaks
I made a bowl of â€ÂPico de gallo†and some grilled sweet potatoes. Pico de gallo is a Mexican tomato salsa, made using tomatoes, onion, cilantro, chili pepper and lime juice. Ask me if you want the recipe. The sweet potatoes were brushed with olive oil before grilling, and brushed with a mixture consisting of equal parts lime juice and olive oil after grilling.
The plate, with Pico de Gallo and sweet potatoes
Closeup of the meat, not too good a picture, but it is plenty rare in the middle
The verdict
Definitely an interesting cut, it was lean, as expected, but tasted similar to beef. Fun to cook, but now I think I will get back to my regular beef/pork program.
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