Recently my daughter mentioned that the Florida manatee was no longer on the endangered list. My first thought was: excellent news! I guess humans can respect nature and be good stewards of our planet.
Anyone want to guess what my second thought was? Does that mean we can enjoy a nice juicy manatee steak for dinner? Manatees are also known as sea cows and cows are delicious and not on any endangered list so it only naturally follows that a sea cow AKA manatee should be fair game for a tasty treat. Am I right?
The Tocobaga, a Native American tribe in the Tampa Bay area sure thought so. They used to hunt the manatee in dugout canoes with spears and ropes. They used the manatee bones as tools and the skin as clothing and for shelter. There’s no record of how the Tocobaga chefs prepared the luscious flesh, but I bet it was amazing.
Down south a bit in Belize, manatee hunting was once a respected sport. On the island of Ambergris Cay a manatee hunt was an event in which entire villages benefited. This tradition continued to be practiced as late as the 1960s and was the only source of meat other than fish that many of the Islanders were able to enjoy. The meat was described as tasting similar to beef or pork. I’m surprised they didn’t say “tastes like chicken”, but they were not Millennials!
Ok truth be told I am not really tempted to eat manatee-- perhaps it’s because I have a soft spot in my heart for the creature after of all the years of listening to Veggie Tales tapes with my children. Ya’ll remember Barbara Manatee, she’s the one for me? But since manatee purportedly tastes like pork, I thought I might discuss the incredible virtues of a Mojo Style roasted pork butt.
The idea behind a good mojo pork is to create a crispy crust on the outside while leaving the middle incredibly moist and succulent, like manatee. To begin the process, you must marinade the meat overnight and for truly incredible, over the top, award winning results you must cook the pork both covered and uncovered. Now because I’m in a really good mood I’ve decided to include a very nice marinade recipe.
Here’s the basic technique: first use my marinade, be sure to reserve half of the marinade for the finishing sauce, then coat the pork with the marinade and allow it to marinate for at least 24 hours. Next seal the pork in a double wrap of foil and roast in a 275° oven for about 3 hours. Next uncover the pork and increase the oven temp to 325° and continue to roast for another 2 to 3 hours. This should result in the promised crispy exterior and moist, juicy, succulent inside, much like our friend Barbara Manatee.
Chef Bill’s Mojo Marinade
8 ea garlic cloves, minced
2 tsp cumin
¼ cup fresh oregano, chopped
2 ea oranges, juiced
4 ea limes, juiced
2 oz olive oil
¼ cup cilantro, chopped
2 Tbs ground chipotle pwdr
S&P tt
1. Mix all the ingredients.
2. Coat a boneless pork butt with half the marinade, cover and refrigerate.