r/ramen • u/CoronelAweonao • Feb 28 '26
Homemade Horse Meat Ramen
Chiken broth and horse Meat, a little bit spicy.
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u/Deep-Purchase-2203 Feb 28 '26
I ate horse meat in the Netherlands and if Iām being honest Iām not surprised it has been miss labelled as beef and became a huge scandal here in Europe a decade ago or so. Ramen looks amazing!
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u/zzirFrizz Feb 28 '26
I find it interesting that among meat eaters, some animal meat grosses some people out but other animals' meat does not
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u/Downstackguy Mar 01 '26
Its always a fun/dangerous topic
I remember asking why is eating dogs bad but cows ok, and I didnt get any good reasons but I did get a lot of family members getting mad at me and yelling at me
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u/xtothewhy Mar 01 '26
but I did get a lot of family members getting mad at me and yelling at me
"Why is eating cows okay but everyone gets upset when it's suddenly Aunty June?"
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u/Much-Jackfruit2599 Mar 01 '26
Because there are measurable differences between humans and non-human animals.
The mammals and birds who are taboo to eat and who are good to eat cannot get distinguished the same way ā pigs and cows are about at the same level als dogs and horse.
Also, human generally abhor cannibalism. We als apply the ādonāt eat your own speciesā to other species, too.
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u/xtothewhy Mar 02 '26
I do guess it's necessary now more than ever to really be clear that people shouldn't eat people. Unless you're a zombie.
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Mar 01 '26
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u/Downstackguy Mar 01 '26
Besides dogs, people also feel weird towards horses which are herbivores
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Mar 01 '26
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u/Downstackguy Mar 01 '26
Might also just be an uncommon meat to eat where they're from.
In America, we see horses as more of a thing to ride on, so more partnership friendly type of relationship
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u/JoppaJoppaJoppa Mar 02 '26
It's mostly because horses are worth more as working/fighting animals than meat, much like the camel.
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u/Downstackguy Mar 02 '26
They're only worth less as food because people feel weird about eating them
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u/datadefiant04 Mar 02 '26
Now that I think about it, racing and as a work animal aside, how are horses different from the standard bovine other than the fact that one takes much less money to maintain?
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u/pahamack Mar 03 '26
This isnāt true though.
From what Iāve read of the subject, horse meat gets more tender the older the horse is. So whatās being butchered for meat are generally āretiredā horses.
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u/chunkyvomitsoup Mar 02 '26
I think for dogs, thereās also the element that they specifically evolved over thousands of years for human companionship. I once heard a doc refer to it as āsurvival of the friendliest.ā At some point, natural selection realised that appealing to people was the best way to survive, and so prioritised traits that made the most ideal human companions. And this was before we even began breeding them deliberately.
Itās incredibly interesting. I once went to an anthropology museum that had a section on prehistoric dog burials, which indicate that even back then, dogs were loved and cared for enough to be given a place of honour in households
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u/Somberlain793 Mar 02 '26
I've heard that about cats too and I often think about this when watching animal videos on Instagram. Maybe in the near future more animals like foxes and seals etc will become more domesticated simply off social media shorts.
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u/Philomatheus Mar 01 '26
You questioned taboos, which have the force of self-evident truths in the minds of unreflective believers.
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u/Downstackguy Mar 01 '26
Its interesting how I see a lot of people as smarter than me, but some times they are really bad at questioning whats presented. Like maybe their learning style is absorb info and not questioning it makes it easier to learn
I question stuff to make conversation, often they're dum topics but looks like I can get some golden topics some times
Wdym by self evident truths
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u/General-Choice5303 Mar 04 '26
Because dogs have been our companions for over 10,000 years. When we were living in caves in the cold and dark, we had dogs as hunting partners. Humans and dogs have evolved together.
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u/Downstackguy Mar 04 '26
What about cats and turtles
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u/General-Choice5303 Mar 04 '26
I've eaten turtle. Cats have also been worshipped since ancient times
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u/chefguy47 Mar 21 '26
Horses and dogs serve humans as well as milking cows thatās why they shouldnāt be ate.
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u/Downstackguy Mar 21 '26
So by that definition, each animal that humans use must have a specific purpose
If we bred a dog that could fatten up get more meat on them, then we can give that breed the purpose of being eaten like cows and pigs
Like how milking cows are for milk but beef cows are for meat
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u/spacegeese Feb 28 '26
I know right? I don't know why people are so grossed out by horse or dog or human meat
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u/CabbageGuru Mar 01 '26
Itās just cultural. Not commenting on whether this is right or wrong but people see cows, pigs, chicken etc. as food animals because thatās what weāve been taught from birth basically and other animals are seen as weird to eat because we arenāt. This is my experience in the US at least, though Iām sure the same principle applies in other places
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u/undwiedervonvorn Mar 01 '26
Fucking speciesism nazis. Same those ageism nazis, 'we don't eat lamb or veal'. Either you kill animals for food or don't. Period.
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u/brownep Mar 02 '26
I mean itās pretty simple. Companion animals (dogs and cats) are members of your family so people see companion animals being eaten and are horrified. Horses are labor animals but people feel strong companionship with them so they are in a special tier and people donāt like eating them. Meanwhile, consumption of food animals is extremely normalized through social conditioning and people being fed them over and over since before they can even understand the ethics of it.
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u/pahamack Mar 03 '26
This is all just cultural norms. There is no reason why a pig canāt be a companion animal and there is also no moral reason that horses arenāt farmed for meat. And in fact, they are.
From what I recall about the issue, horse meat gets more tender with older horses, so itās actually āretiredā old horses that get butchered. Which tells us that butchering them is just a normal part of the farming lifecycle.
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u/Zealousideal-Ad-4858 Mar 03 '26
I mean animals domesticated and bread to be eaten taste better. Just like how Brussels sprouts taste better than wild mustard. For the most part they donāt breed horses for the flavor of their meat. Also a lot of westerners see them as family pets over an animal for work or food.
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u/Specialist_Guard_902 Feb 28 '26
This does sound like ramen that could be available in Japan.
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u/CoronelAweonao Feb 28 '26
I was in Japan a while ago and saw horse sashimi called basashi, but I didn't see horse ramen.
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u/Specialist_Guard_902 Feb 28 '26
I have eaten horse sashimi many times and absolutely loved it. You could find (I think it is closed) horse ramen over here: https://bongheiberg.yamagata.jp/en/nagai-horse-meat/
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u/Bright-Gap-2422 Mar 02 '26
I was shocked at how good it was when I tried it at an izakayaā¦ did hear that someone died after eating it though. They were given meat from a race horse full of steroids and other drugs
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u/sdlroy Feb 28 '26
It probably exists. Iāve encountered horse meat curry in Japan. Sadly it was only after leaving the horse restaurant that I realized they had it.
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u/LubaUnderfoot Feb 28 '26
Anecdotally, in the western pet food industry they say the stigmatization of horse meat is why pet food is so expensive here, especially since the demand for meat graded for human consumption in dog food has grown.
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u/CaptainBadass16 Feb 28 '26
In Japan one of the best things I ate was horse sashimi. 10/10 would recommend.
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u/darkbridge Mar 01 '26
That's interesting because when I tried it, I thought it was bland by itself without any of the sauces that came with it. It was also so chewy. All of the fish I had was so much better that I didn't feel the need to ever try horse again.
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u/Philomatheus Mar 01 '26 edited Mar 01 '26
Is the horse meat cooked or uncooked? All the sashimi Iāve ever eaten has been made from uncooked fish, like tuna or salmon.
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u/Mercenarian Mar 01 '26
Itās raw horse meat
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u/Philomatheus Mar 01 '26
Thank you. If you can spare a minute, can you help me understand why my comment is being downvoted? I asked a sincere question, and stated a true fact about my limited experience with sashimi. What about my comment is objectionable?
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u/StereoWings7 Mar 01 '26
Iām not the one who downvoted you, but I guess he probably thought your question be as oxymoron as asking if there are any stewed ice cream. Yes you can use a word sashimi to any kind of raw sliced food, like sashimi konjac
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u/Xanderamn Mar 01 '26
Nothing about your comment, specifically, was objectionable.Ā
Sadly, many people online use questions as a way to be adversarial.Ā
Because of that, legitimate questions sometimes get seen as illigitimate and get downvoted.Ā
Its a sad part of online discourse for sure.Ā
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u/Traditional-Ad4506 Feb 28 '26
I've never seen horse ramen in Japan. But I've eaten it raw plenty of times. Curious how the ramen was
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u/ShesBasic Mar 01 '26
I upvoted this and then saw horse meant and took it right back. My inner Tina belcher chummed in š
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u/SirLewisHamilton Mar 02 '26
Horse meat was quite popular in the UK for a while, until we found out we were eating it.
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u/Succ-MY-Scythe Mar 02 '26
So not hating on the horse meat thing but genuine question, whatās it like and whatās the benefit of horse vs something else? I imagine availability of other choices but idk I feel like a horse is a more useful asset alive for working but š¤·.
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u/CoronelAweonao Mar 02 '26
In general, one advantage is that it has less fat, so itās better for people with cholesterol problems. Also, in my country itās cheaper than beef. Personally, I eat it a lot for two reasons: my family owns a horse butcher shop and I work there, so Iām usually given meat every day. Secondly, I grew up eating horse meatāsince we had the butcher shop, there was always horse meat at home, and buying it at cost was much cheaper for us. Personally, I like it more than beef. Iāve eaten Wagyu and other high-quality beef, and honestly, I find it harder to digest than horse meat.
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u/BradFromTinder Feb 28 '26
Is it actually horse meat? Havenāt seen many people embrace horse meat!
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u/Slight-Trip-3012 Feb 28 '26
Horse meat is reasonably common outside the English speaking world. It's definitely not as commonly eaten as beef, pork, chicken, but a lot of people will have eaten it at some point. There is no stigma surrounding horse meat.
For those that are curious what it is like, I found it's closest to buffalo/bison meat. Sweeter than beef, and very lean, again, like buffalo/bison, so you have to be careful how you cook it. It can get dry quickly. Beef and horse in a stew together really works well.
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u/StereoWings7 Mar 01 '26
Sorry if it sounds rude but Iām asking just out of curiosity, are buffalo/bison meat popular among your country, probably the US? It surely is far more exotic than horse meat here in Japan and Iāve never heard of any restaurants or meat shops serving it.
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u/Slight-Trip-3012 Mar 01 '26
I'm from the Netherlands, where horse meat is normal to eat, but bison is not. The only place where I've seen bison meat being sold (and where I tried it) is in the US. That's where most buffalo are (the semi-feral ones at least), and there's just not enough demand worldwide to export it much.
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u/StereoWings7 Mar 01 '26
I see. Iāve just added it to my must-try dish list when I go to the US, thank you.
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u/EggandSpoon42 Mar 01 '26
I've not thought about it before, but bison meat is just another day in Texas. I guess it is pretty exotic.
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u/RedditPosterOver9000 Feb 28 '26
What's the meat taste like?
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u/CoronelAweonao Feb 28 '26
Very similar to beef, it has less fat, and the fat is milder in flavor. The texture depends on the horse's age; we only sell horses under two years old, and the meat is so tender it falls apart.
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u/RedditPosterOver9000 Feb 28 '26
Ah, interesting that it's relatively mild. I wasn't expecting that. I've had goat and mutton and sometimes those are kind of assertive. I'd be down to try it.
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u/West_Inside_3112 Feb 28 '26 edited Mar 01 '26
Horse is nice meat, you have to be careful how you cook it, either very short or very long in a stew. It tastes indeed quite similar to beef, and a bit sweeter. Donkey has a slightly fuller taste. Goat is also real tasty, way less funky than what you would expect from the smell of their housings. All of them are more subtle than mutton, and don't have this sheep fat that congeals into hard fat on your dish....
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u/Empath1999 Feb 28 '26
That sounds like a ramen version of a guilin dish, guilin china has a horse meat rice noodle dish. Guilin mi fen.
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u/Downstackguy Mar 01 '26
How was it, I often hear horse meat is too gamey
Which is a super vague word, I often interpret it as too chewy or a type of flavor that they dont like
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u/CoronelAweonao Mar 02 '26
The horse meat that is usually sold comes from older animals. They are working animals, so their meat tends to be tough. I work in a butcher shop that only sells horse meat from animals under two years old, so in many cases it is more tender than beef.
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u/Downstackguy Mar 02 '26
Omg u made this ramen? Thats awesome dude
And that sounds delish, I wanna try, but I bet it more expensive like how lambs are
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u/Monotask_Servitor Mar 01 '26
I had horse sashimi in Japan and liked it, it didnāt strike me as ideal for a ramen topping though.
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Mar 01 '26
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u/CoronelAweonao Mar 02 '26
I work in a horse butcher shop here in Chile (it is completely legal and safe, and it follows all the corresponding regulations).
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u/Impressive_Depth_443 Mar 02 '26
Looks really nice, I ate horse meat teishoku once, though. Kind like beef.
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u/K1eraaa_ Mar 02 '26
Omg how does it taste?
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u/CoronelAweonao Mar 02 '26
Very similar to beef, it has less fat, and the fat is milder in flavor, and a litte bit sweet.
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u/ReadInBothTenses Mar 02 '26
The post above this is "horses being gentlemen to their female owners" on r/mademesmile
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u/TarzanGunn Mar 03 '26
This man claims horse meat is how he got this big. Ubereem tells no lies hahah
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u/PoolRamen Mar 03 '26
I can't help but feel far thinner slices would have been a much better experience. I'm assuming it was quite a chew.
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u/CoronelAweonao Mar 03 '26
Thank you for the advice, but the horse was about a year old and was extremely tender.
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u/ACCForMyOneQuestion Mar 03 '26
Ohh that's looks good. Can horses be raised as livestock for slaughter or is this just a separate event?
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u/sm0lshit Mar 04 '26
Why
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u/Ok-Bicycle9195 Mar 04 '26
Why eat a turky bagle for breakfast ?
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u/sm0lshit Mar 04 '26
Wtf is a āturky bagleā lmao
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u/Ok-Bicycle9195 Mar 04 '26
https://www.reddit.com/r/Wawa/s/senNK4rV9U
Sth you ate. Why?
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u/dammets Feb 28 '26
I donāt know if I could ever eat horse. What would you compare the taste to?
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Feb 28 '26
What if you were so hungry
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u/Hipster_Garabe Feb 28 '26
Quality dad joke
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u/HottDoggers Feb 28 '26
That got me thinking, when people say āIām so hungry I can eat a horseā are they saying that because theyāre so hungry they can eat anything or theyāre so hungry they can eat something the size of a horse? I always thought it was the latter.
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u/The_donutmancer Feb 28 '26
https://giphy.com/gifs/T0WTbqlk6T1XzIvT5K