Watch out for dead iguanas falling out of trees now that the weather has finally cooled off (see photo taken in Oakland Park in January) (Last winter, a cold snap that killed hordes of the creatures helped to somewhat reduce South Florida’s plague of large green lawn lizards. The canal banks where they once lounged were covered with decomposing bodies. But enough of that. We’re here to let you know that iguanas make for a tasty meal. In some Caribbean regions, it’s common to see young boys bringing home a stack of skewered iguanas to cook. By adopting their diet, South Florida could solve two issues at once: hunger and lizard overpopulation. (The.
there is no law against killing them. ) While working for Royal Caribbean, John Harry Hynds, who formerly resided in the Cayman Islands but now resides on the Honduran island of Roatan in the southwest Caribbean, visited South Florida. He doesn’t see any reason why iguanas can’t appear on regional menus. Some people dislike the tiny bones, but we can assure you that if enough individuals learn how delectable these lush reptiles are, they may cease to exist and cease to consume your damned hibiscus and garbage everywhere. But before you begin, you must deal with one unpleasant situation.
Never in a million years did I think I’d be writing a recipe for iguana and telling you how delicious it is, especially when made into tacos. Nevertheless, I’m telling you right now that iguana meat tastes better than chicken!
Nick was gracious enough to provide me with two iguanas to try cooking with. While many recipes online show people removing the head and feet before removing the skin and guts, the ones he gave me were already frozen. The remaining meat is loin, tail, and legs, with the legs tasting somewhat like chicken wings.
A drizzle of Crema, lime juice, cabbage, and avocado was added to the tacos as a finishing touch, giving them a delicious South American flavor that goes great with the white meat!
From this, an idea was born. I decided I wanted to try eating Iguana. People killing them as an invasive species and then letting the meat go into the trash seemed like a lot of wanton waste to me.
Iguana meat is delicious and far superior to chicken, some of my South American Instagram friends commented after I posted this, and many of them had Iguana stew recipes they could share. Iguanas are so common in Florida that some of my Instagram friends there told me they had a separate freezer to keep them in until trash day, which completely surprised me.
Making iguana tacos or burritos may be a simpler option for those who aren’t used to cooking the creatures. Early in June, Minnesotan Brittany Peters shot two iguanas, skinned them, and prepared her first iguana burrito at her family’s Fort Lauderdale residence. She shared her recipe with the South Florida Sun Sentinel because she claimed it was incredibly simple to make.