Why Crocodile Is A Superfood

Since 2016, Kenyan born celebrity chef and restaurateur Kiran Jethwa has co-presented Food Unwrapped on Channel 4. His new show, Extreme Food sees him travelling to the most remote and spectacular corners of the planet to discover the world's finest ingredients. Here, he discusses his latest superfood find, and it's one with a lot of bite: crocodile.

What Is It?

Crocodiles are large, impressive aquatic reptiles that live throughout the Tropics in Africa, Asia, the Americas and Australia. These prehistoric predators are believed to have changed little since the time of the dinosaurs. In fact the caveman diet is thought to have included crocodiles. Stone tools and the butchered bones of crocodiles were found at a 1.95 million year old prehistoric “kitchen” in Northern Kenya. It has even been suggested that eating the reptile's rich flesh may have helped humans evolve bigger brains.

Admittedly at first glance the rough scaly exterior of this intimidating beast may not initially be very appetising. However inside that tough exterior is tender, delicate and delicious meat and nowadays eating farmed crocodile is gaining popularity around the world.

I visited a crocodile farm when I was filming recently in Mombasa, Kenya where I saw the fascinating process of how they raise the crocs from hatchlings to full blown reptilian monsters. I also got the chance to feed them. Dangling a freshly slaughtered chicken from a platform suspended over a watery pit full of crocs who are all trying to beat one another to the prize was quite a hair raising experience.

Many parts of the croc can be eaten including the jaw, tenderloin, body, tail and ribs. If you are a real crocodile meat enthusiast you might also enjoy the meat found in a crocodile’s feet, often called the crocodile’s wings. The flavour and texture of which resembles frog’s legs. The meat from the torso and tail of the crocodile is almost white in colour, the texture similar to chicken and the taste mildly fishy. Sounds a bit odd but believe me, it works.

What Makes It A Superfood?

In addition to its rather unusual but delectable flavour, crocodile could be considered to be the superfood of meats. Here’s why. It has more lean muscle tissue and much higher lower saturated fat content than even the leanest cut of beef. A 3.5-ounce serving of top sirloin contains around 14 grams of total fat and close to 6 grams of saturated fat. The same serving of crocodile meat contains only 4 grams of fat and zero saturated fat. Other cuts of beef are even higher in fat: a 3.5-ounce serving of rib-eye steak contains 21 grams of fat and close to 10 grams of saturated fat. On top of that, crocodile meat contains incredibly low cholesterol.

Crocodile also contains nearly twice the amount of the muscle building nutrient, protein. A 100g serving of stewed crocodile meat contains 46g of protein. The nutrient content of a similar serving of stewed, boneless chicken is only 25g. Crocodile meat is high in dietary fibres and is a good source of omega-3 fatty acids. It also contains phosphorus, potassium, vitamin B12, niacin, and monounsaturated fatty acids.

Why Is It Good For You?

For die hard carnivores (myself included) substituting regular types of meat such as beef, pork and chicken with crocodile meat could have very positive health benefits.

Lean Protein: Crocodile meat has low carbohydrate content, high protein content, low saturated fat content, high iron content, and fewer calories than other meats thus eating more of it as opposed to other meats can reduce the risk of obesity and diabetes.

Low Cholesterol: Crocodile has far less cholesterol than other meats. A 300-gram serving only contains 23 mg of cholesterol, which is way below out daily recommend allowance of 300mg.

Omega 3s: It is rich in omega 3 fatty acids, which many other meats do not contain in great quantity. Omega-3 normalises and regulates your cholesterol triglyceride levels by reducing the enzyme activity that causes the liver to metabolise fat. Studies have also shown that omega-3 fats are anti-arrhythmic (preventing or counteracting cardiac arrhythmia), anti-thrombotic (prevents thrombosis or a blood clot within a blood vessel), anti-atherosclerotic (preventing fatty deposits and fibrosis of the inner layer of your arteries), and anti-inflammatory (counteracting inflammation – the heat, pain, swelling, etc.).

Anti-Carcinogenic and arthritic: Crocodile meat is believed to have anti-carcinogenic and anti-arthritic properties reducing the symptoms of inflammatory diseases such as asthma and arthritis.

Brain Health: Omega-3 has a great impact on your brain health – EPA and DHA keep the dopamine levels in your brain high, increase neuronal growth in the frontal cortex of your brain, and increase cerebral circulation.

How To Use It

Crocodile & Paneer Tandori Kebabs with Homemade Raita Chickpea Pancakes

Serves 4
Prep time: 30
Cook time: 40

Ingredients:

For the crocodile and paneer tandoori kebabs

500g De-boned Crocodile meat
200g Paneer
2 Green pepper
200ml Natural yoghurt
1 pkt Tandoori mix
Juice of 1 Beetroot
Juice of 1 Lemon
1 tsp Salt
1 bunch Fresh coriander

For the raita

500ml Yoghurt
1 Cucumber
Pinch Salt
1 bunch Mint
2 tsp toasted Cumin

For the chickpea pancake

150 grams chickpea flour
1 Egg
1tsp fresh Green chilli
1 tsp Red chilli powder
2 tsp crushed Garlic
1 bunch chopped Coriander
1 tsp Salt
Pepper
Olive oil

For the salad

1 sliced red Onion
4 Tomatoes
1 bunch parsley
Juice of 1 Lime
Salt & pepper to taste

Method:

1. Portion the croc meat into 2cm cubes

2. In a bowl add natural yoghurt and put half of the tandoori mix

3. Add a drop of beetroot juice and mix together for a deep, lovely colour

4. Add a splash of lemon juice, a little salt and some fresh coriander.

5. Throw in the croc meat and leave for anything up to 24 hours

6. Chop paneer into cubes and set aside onto a skewer start with green pepper, paneer then the croc meat. Repeat the process.

7. Place the kebabs on a hot grill and let it cook for 15 minutes

8. To make raita heat a litre of milk to about 85C, until it starts to froth around the edges.

9. Let it cool until lukewarm, and then add in the yoghurt.

10. Cover and set aside to culture in a warm dark place for about 12 hours

11. Grate the cucumber and then season it with salt. (This is to extract a lot of liquid out of the cucumber)

12. Drain off the salty liquid, and rinse the pickled cucumber thoroughly; the cucumber should be dry as possible.

13. In a bowl combine the cucumber with the home made yoghurt, throw in some chopped fresh mint and some pounded toasted cumin

14. For the chickpea pancake, in a bowl add 150 grams of chickpea flour, one egg, green and red chopped chilli, garlic and coriander. Add a little water, season with salt and black pepper and whisk to bind.

15. Heat olive oil in a non stick pan and ladle a thin layer of the chickpea batter and let simmer before taking it off the heat

16. For the salad, chop some onions, tomatoes, coriander in a bowl. Add a little bit of lemon juice, a pinch of salt and mix

17. To serve place the chickpea pancakes on a plate, add some raita onto the the pancake, place the croc kebab on the raita and top it with the salad

Read about Kiran's other favourite superfoods moringa, teff and baobab.

Via : http://workoutmagz.com