Actually, I’ll have my steak raw.

“Ok, this one will certainly make me sick, won’t it?” This was the first thought that passed through my mind when I first became aware of Ethiopia’s culinary tradition of eating raw meat. In the last few years I have eaten all kinds of strange foods like snake ribs, fermented skate, fried scorpions, wriggling octopus, poisonous blowfish, boiled bat, and so on. Absolutely none of these foods ever made me sick, and surprisingly, raw meat has been no exception.

Why exactly do Ethiopians eat raw meat? Where does this tradition come from? While I have not yet been able to pin it down to any time period in particular, the most common explanation I have heard for eating meat raw came from times of war. Apparently, during war times in Ethiopia, the soldiers would consume meat raw so as to not alert the enemy to there position. It turns out that cooking meat not only smells delicious but that the scent also carries quite far.  While Ethiopia is not currently at war, nor has it been for over 25 years, the tradition of eating raw meat remains a staple of any restaurant in Ethiopia (provided it isn’t fasting time).

Now, I am aware that there are several ways that raw meat can be prepared. The one with which I have the most experience is beef that is cut up into bite-sized cubes over injera (a staple Ethiopian starch that is fermented and made with teff flour). However, as some of my Peace Corps colleagues know well, I am injera’s #1 NOT FAN, so raw meat with bread will always suffice.  The raw meat is placed in chili powder, wrapped in injera and eaten.  Another common way of consuming raw meat is in a dish called ‘kitfo’ which is simply finely chopped raw beef that is sometimes topped with butter and a feta-like cheese, which for me stoked the most fears for my health. After all, in America I was usually quite careful not to cook my hamburgers with much or any pink in the center. Now, in just a few months I have taken to eating ground beef RAW! 

           

While the Peace Corps medical officers strongly advise against eating raw meat, one quickly finds this kind of abstinence to be an exercise in futility for anyone but the most staunch and steadfast vegetarians, as raw meat is consumed during most holidays. Even if you are strictly against eating raw meat, most people cannot resist the raw meat ‘gorsha’ which is when you are simply hand fed raw meat. This act is generally quite affectionate, and it would be rude to turn it down. In fact, 99% of all the raw meat that I have eaten in this country was given to me in this way by my local butcher Gurum, who is pictured below.   

The time when you are most likely to consume raw meat is after the 55-day Easter fasting season, which ends on Easter Sunday or “Fasika” as it is known here.  During the 55 days leading up to Fasika, strict followers of the Ethiopian Orthodox faith do not consume eggs, meat, milk, or other animal products. Unfortunately, for those of us who choose not to fast, many of these things aren’t even available for sale during this time. However, Fasika marks the beginning of a 55-day period of no fasting (during most of the year fasting occurs on Wednesdays and Fridays) which ensues with a veritable orgy of meat eating.

Perhaps my favorite experience with eating raw meat was in the city of Harar, Ethiopia where it is possible to eat raw camel meat.  In Harar, the meat was served to me in cubes, lean with very little fat. The taste is actually quite delicious. The cut I had was tender and had a texture that reminded me of the tuna you eat at sushi bars. Instead of chili power, the meat is dipped in a local spice called ‘kondo’ which is spicy likely chili powder but has a rather smoky flavor to it. The raw camel meat is dipped in the kondo spice to which you can also add lime juice. Typically this is also eaten with injera, but as usual, I will pass on the injera.    

-Donovan