Dubai : Foodies should be able to sink their teeth into crocodile burgers in Dubai soon.
Australian crocodile will be dished out during an "exotic meat" promotion at Gourmet Station in Oasis Centre in about five weeks time, said Ian Hyndman, General Manager, Gourmet Station. "The idea is to make your friends go ‘wow' when you invite them over. With barbecues, there's only so much you can do usually," Hyndman said. An Indian woman said it tastes "a bit like fish."
Hyndman said, "We could possibly prearrange it, but customers will have to give us at least a few days time," he said. The prices have not yet been revealed, but croc burgers go for around Dh35 in various Aussie restuarants, a web search shows.
Also on the table are Australian kangaroo and venison from North American elk deer, which will be part of the outlet's Barbeque Box during its upcoming ‘Battle of the Beasts' scheme.
The store is studded with hard-to-find stuff like roasted-pepper hummus, chilly bread, camel-milk chocolate, and Italian vinegar oil worth almost Dh800 a bottle.
"Roughly 80 per cent of the products are specialised; 20 per cent are fairly mainstream. It's not a supermarket," he said.
The Station carries everything from Dh3-cookies to caviar worth a small fortune.
"We want people to try new things, put fun back into eating. We don't supply food as fuel," the manager said.
The reptile from the dinosaur age has survived global climate upheavals, but it could regularly end up on dinner plates here on demand.
But they often leave with many different edibles, thanks in part to the outlet's layout.
Pastas and sauces are kept close together, for example, and so are French chocolate and gift candy.
Shoppers here are often great amateur cooks; they usually come with one particular thing in mind
"We do get customers picking up Dh10,000 worth of caviar very occasionally," Hyndman said.
Australian Saltwater Crocodile
It's white meat like chicken, but with more protein per 100 grams (over 21) and a lot less fat - just two grams versus 10 in chicken.
Best cooked in two minutes, using only around three ingredients and a light marinate to protect its ‘delicate' flavour.
Comes in fillets, T-bones, cutlets, satays - just about every cut possible.
Source: Australian Crocodile Traders
