Rhino may seem like the ultimate game animal to you. Like every wild meat, it has a strong taste and a sharp gamey flavor.
As we all know, all species of Rhinos face an extreme risk of extinction. It means that you may not come across rhino meat at all in your life. If you feel interested in what does rhino tastes like, we can offer some insights.
The number of rhinos in the wild doesn’t exceed more than 27000. It points towards legal and ethical issues about the consumption of its meat. This muscular, majestic beast has a peculiar flavor. You can find possible substitutes that somewhat taste similar to replace this meat.
Can You Eat Rhino Meat?
Humans hunted and ate rhinos and their ancient relatives for thousands of years. So yes, you can eat this meat from the perspective of edible nature. But in reality, this answer may not stay valid for various reasons.
Rhinoceros have a high degree of conservation status due to their dwindling numbers. Due to this, you cannot compare rhinos with other common game meats. IUCN considers Javan, Sumatran, and black rhinos as critically-endangered species. Only 37000 Indian one-horned rhinos thrive in the wild today. Northern-white-rhinos have two females remaining after the last bull passed away in 2019.
Legal ways to get rhinos don’t exist in almost any part of the world. Some African countries have legalized trophy hunting for rhinos. Countries like Namibia allow the hunting of rhinos under strict regulations. You should pay a fortune for the permit, and this money funds conservation programs. The meat from this practice gets distributed to the villages nearby.
Many cultures use rhino horns in traditional medicine and for decorative purposes. Chinese and Vietnamese medicine uses them in many of their concoctions. But the health benefits of these cures and aphrodisiacs do not have any scientific proof. This illegal rhino trade keeps driving the species to extinction at a faster rate.
Rhino meat is never served as a natural part of cuisine in most cultures. Now it may be a little too late to adapt it to your food. Lab-meat, a dream of guilt-free meat for all meat lovers, offers some hope. Please do not get excited about this yet. We don’t know when this could happen in the future.
What Does Rhino Taste Like
The meat of rhino has a beefy flavor but without fatty undertones. This peculiar taste may remind you about the elk meat. Some people state that it even has a chicken flavor besides feeling beefy. You will have a taste of deep gaminess, as expected from a wild beast. You can call the flavor a cross between beef and moose.
Rhino has a texture similar to goat and chicken. Pork may stand as the best comparison on this. This stringy meat offers a rich protein source. The breast portion of the rhino has a greasy nature. Some people may love this when it may not go well with everybody.
Rhinos have a muscular body with thick skin. The thickness of its skin ranges from 1 to 5 centimeters. Rhino appears to be an enormous animal to us. You would expect a lot of meat from such creatures. But after removing the skin and horn, you will not get the quantity you expected.
The thickness of rhino skin fosters a common misconception about its meat being hard. As mentioned earlier, it tends towards a much softer side. Rhino meat has a deep red coloration with a rosy tint. It does not have much fat marbling, which falls close to nothing. Since we have taste receptors for fat, it lacks in this area of flavor.
You may have thought about whether rhino meat could make a good steak. We expect our steaks to have a juicy structure. Rhino produces zero marbling with little fat. Fat oozing out of other meats makes the steaks soft and juicy, bustling with umami. Rhino gives a hard steak that may need some extra oil for cooking.
Many people believe that wild meat offers a safe and healthy option. This belief misleads you in many respects. These animals can harbor several viruses that could jump to humans. It increases the risks of consuming game meat.
Conclusion
Rhino meat has a gamey flavor and a deep taste. It resembles something like beef or moose. You can also compare this taste with chicken or elk a little bit. Rhino meat has a red-rose color with almost no marbling. It may lack that fatty satisfaction you get from other meats.
The Rhino population suffers the pressure from poaching and hunting. All species of rhinos, as endangered, have a high degree of protection. Government-approved hunting in some countries provides the only legal means for obtaining it. You may need to consider the ethical and legal problems before having this meat.