Camel Meat Fast Becoming a Rarity
Sameen Tahir-Khan, Arab NewsALKHOBAR, 5 April 2005 — Saudi Arabia is famous for camels but camel meat is fast becoming a rarity.
“We sell about 25 kilos of camel meat per day, compared to 200 kilos of other red meat. The older generation of Saudis like camel meat and they are the only customers now. The younger generation doesn’t care much for it and prefers chicken and burgers,†a Pakistani butcher explained.
The ship of the desert has been replaced by Cadillacs and Caprices and camel meat is being replaced by burgers and broasts. The butcher continued.
One of the traditional foods of Arabia is dropping in popularity, it seems. When I was there, my local supermarket did carry camel meat. It was right there, next to the lamb and beef, taking the space that in the US would be occupied by pork.
The writer is correct in noting that camel meat doesn’t really work well iln things like curries, but cooked plainly–roasted, grilled, broiled–it’s very tasty.
I arranged for the hotel in which the US press accompanying Vice President Cheney to the KSA in 2002 to serve them, as part of a buffet, camel kebabs. They disappeared pretty quickly.
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April:05:2005 - 10:33
Camel Meat Fast Becoming a Rarity
This is going to have many of you worrying about your favorite camel recipe – if it’s becoming harder to find in Saudi restaurants, just imagine how hard it will be to find it at your local supermarket(if you ever looked for it) here in the U.S.