Posted on 04/19/2003 6:46:15 PM PDT by Indy Pendance
TIKRIT, Iraq (AP) -- Supper time has become a double treat at a Marine base outside Saddam Hussein's hometown - not only is there fresh meat, but it's from Saddam's personal hunting preserve.
The Tikrit South airfield, where Marine Wing Support Squadron 271 set up base in this week's campaign to take the city, is on the edge of a preserve where Saddam and favored guests once hunted gazelle.
Now, Marines are venturing into the woods to hunt the animals, which stand about waist-high. They haul back the carcasses as a welcome substitute for the prepackaged Meals Ready to Eat that have been their staple.
"It was delicious. I don't know if it's because we've been eating MREs for two months, but everyone's enjoyed it a lot," said Cpl. Joshua Wicksell, 26, of Corpus Christi, Texas.
Wicksell's review may be biased - he's the cook, and has been putting his two-year culinary arts degree to good use in an unexpected setting.
Each of the squadron's platoons has been limited to killing one gazelle a day to make sure the herd isn't depleted.
The marines are using 9mm pistols to hunt after initially being forbidden to use firearms for fear that gunshots in the woods might be mistaken for enemy fire.
"We hunted them with rocks, as Stone Age as that sounds," Wicksell said. "We gutted them and skinned them and pretty much carried them over our shoulders barbarian-style."
The preparation is almost as primitive: a fire pit dug in the ground, covered by a radiator grill from one of the Marines' trucks.
Wicksell tenderizes the meat with a fork and rubs in salt, pepper, sugar and seasonings scavenged from MREs. To cut the meat's gaminess, he adds some juice from oranges, which have started coming to the Marines now that supply lines are secure.
The mealtime ambiance lacks a lot and the diners' dress is less than chic, but the gazelle gastronomes nonetheless feel a touch of elegance because of the meat's fine quality.
"I was worried about tenderizing the meat at first, but the gazelles here had obviously been fed grain and corn," Wicksell said.
Bet that barbecue tasted damn good to those Marines.
Sigh. We still don't get it. It wasn't that long ago that our troops would have killed and consumed every damned gazelle in the dictator's herd. It's called war. What benefit do our troops get from being subjected to a daily bag limit on their enemy's supplies?
Mmmmmmm... gazelle... sweet and sour gazelle... gazelle fajitas... gazelle Wellington... and if any French folks happened by, they could have gazelle tripe and pancreases and other assorted innards in a tasty Bourdeaux and garlic sauce.
Sounds delicious! That reminds me of a restaurant in South Africa, where my wife is from.
When we visited, we had kudu, impala, bushbuck & other "fast food"... all wonderful.
"We are deeply saddened.........."
A ever-present supply of gazelles, of course, to be enjoyed intermittently and thus appreciated more than something consumed as a matter of routine or bounty. That is much better than a one-time feast of gazelle followed by a never ending, monotonous diet of MREs.
I am sure the soldiers coming along after these guys return home would also appreciate gazelle steak. The soldiers don't know how long they are going to be there and it would be silly to eat up everything all at once out of greed.
I'd like to try mastodon, Carolina parakeet, passenger pigeon- or passenger "squab" if you prefer, giant bison, and any number of things. But unfortunately, some dumbarses decided that they should eat them all up at once and not pass them on to others to enjoy. They also left us with just enough spoonbill, manatee and whooping crane to make our mouths water but there's still not enough to go around yet since their populations still have not recovered enough for everyone.
:-)
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