Seals have a unique flavor that harbors a fine amount of gaminess along with some fishiness. You can compare it with the taste of veal and duck. This bold-flavored meat is popular in the Northern countries. The natives love it more than pork and beef.
Conveying what do seals taste like is a difficult task using only words. The flavor offers a sharp experience for your tongue. If you are in for daring, gamey tastes you will love it.
The lean seal meat offers a wide variety of nutrients. This gave a staple food source for the Arctic communities for centuries.
Can You Eat Seal?
You can eat seals like any other meat. It is not only safe but also nutritious. Seals belong to the group of pinnipeds, meaning the flip-footed. It includes seals, walrus, and sea lions.
Seal meat acts as a rich source of protein that is lean. It also offers omega-3 fatty acids, iron, zinc, phosphorus, and selenium. Several vitamins, including vitamins B-12, A, C, and D increase the nutritional profile. Seal acted as an effective food source for people living in the cold Arctic region.
The dwindling populations of seals have raised concerns about their future. Restrictions are in effect on seal hunting in different countries to support them. Climate change stands as the biggest reason behind their vulnerability. The melting Polar ice caps have diminished their territory as well as food resources. If you want to try out this delicacy, go for a legal, sustainable source.
Are Seals Delicious?
The answer to this question is subjective. It may change from person to person. If you love trying wild, bold-flavored meat, you will enjoy seals.
Seal meat beats lamb and pork in countries like Denmark and Iceland. This exceeding popularity isn’t only due to its intoxicating taste. But also thanks to its nutritious nature.
What Does Seal Taste Like?
Seal meat offers a distinctive flavor that may feel outrageous for many. This dark meat often gets compared with veal. It tastes somewhat gamey, as expected from wild meats. But this doesn’t feel deep enough to put anyone off this taste. The sharp flavor is perfectly balanced with savoriness.
The fishy flavor of seal meat comes as a surprise for many. This fishiness isn’t weird for a creature that spends a lot of time in the ocean. It may not be everyone’s cup of tea due to this unusual taste. If you don’t mind deep, exotic flavors, you will like this meat.
Though lean, seal meat keeps the goodness of fat which imparts a juicy flavor. Its texture is comparable with a duck. A thick fat layer surrounding the meat helps in retaining moisture while cooking. Due to this, the meat stays tender and delectable.
Seal meat tastes somewhat like lamb. But the structure is softer than lamb. Some even compare the seal flavor to the pork. The flavor varies with how you use the meat. Fresh ones differ greatly from dried or processed ones.
You will feel that seal tastes kind of like liver. This red meat has a delicate structure that requires careful cooking on a low flame. This ensures the flavors by keeping them succulent. A fried seal could go wrong and lose all the flavors easily for the same reason.
There is a subtle sweetness and saltiness in seal meat. Ensuring that these don’t get lost secures you a flavorful dish. Different species of seals taste different due to slight variations in flavor profile.
The basic flavor of seal meat may change with the method of cooking. People also consume the kidneys, liver, and even seal blood. These may sound bizarre to many, but a delicacy for a lot other people. Seals can be eaten raw, pickled, heat-cooked, etc., and each comes with distinct flavors.
What Does Different Parts of Seal Taste Like
Seal fat and blubber have a fishy or oceanic flavor. But this fishiness is lower than any other animal blubbers from the Arctic. People consume this alone or prepare seal oil from it that holds sharp flavors.
Seal meat doesn’t have a great shelf-life owing to its fragile nature. So people consume raw meat that feels like fish sashimi having an agreeable taste. You can imagine it as liver devoid of the taste of blood. This raw meat also has a soft consistency.
Seal milk contains a high amount of fat and can taste like cream. The fat percent reaches up to 60% which offers a rich flavor. But the palatability is again something subjective.
Seal fat forms a beloved delectable for native Inuit people. Savored like butter, this oil can have a burnt flavor with faint fishiness. Seal blubber feels buttery with a little sweetness. The fishy taste gets stronger when blubber goes rancid or cooked for long.
The kidney of the seal has a metallic taste that is common for iron-rich internal organs. The eyes of seals are so adorable. They could be hard to digest but they form a tasty snack for many. The flavor has an alien fishy tinge to it. The texture adds twists and turns to the flavor. Seal flippers on the other hand taste like pork and lamb.
Baby seals contain a higher amount of fat in their meat. This makes them tastier than grown-up seal meat.
Conclusion
The seal offers an exotic flavor that has a stronger character than your usual meats. It tastes gamey and a little fishy, that might sound weird to many. But it is delicious, often making it a favorite among northern communities. This dark meat is lean, packed with lots of nutrients.
The seal has been a part of the diet of native communities of the North for centuries. Apart from meat, they use the blubber, eyeball, milk, etc as food. Raw seal meat and baby seal gets savored in a variety of dishes. Seal populations face many threats including the rapidly spreading effects of climate change.
