Popular pet served as delicacy in New York

They might not be eating the cats and eating the dogs in America, but another popular pet is on the menu.

Are you brave enough to try this dish? Maybe when pigs fry.

New York City epicures are devouring a “special” Ecuadorian delicacy, guinea pigs — better known stateside as a potential pet for kids — and hailing them as a “very delicious” feast.

At least that is the experience at the restaurant La Casa Del Cuy — literally “the house of guinea pig” — a culinary go-to in Corona, Queens, that grills and serves the rodent (cuy) whole, essentially every part but the “squeak.”

Grilled guinea pigs are on the menu. Picture: Courtesy Stefano Giovannini for New York Post

On a recent Monday evening, the house was packed with diners tearing into the 1.1kg animals, which can measure about 40cm from snout to the tips of their outstretched toes. Pet-sized guinea pigs are typically smaller but can range from 1kg to 1.5kg.

“It’s better than chicken. Better than rabbit,” manager Lucio Barrera told the New York Post, even claiming that the head is the best part.

And the $170 ($US110) cuy are selling like hot cakes, according to Lucio, requiring the eatery to source the rodents in large quantities.

But importing the South American animals in bulk is no cakewalk.

After getting flown in frozen from a small farm in Ecuador, they have to be processed at customs, which can be time-consuming.

“It’s difficult because we use a lot,” Mr Lucio said.

La Casa Del Cuy flies the guinea pigs in by the hundreds. Chef Marcelo shows off the pre-cooked feast. Picture: Courtesy Stefano Giovannini for New York Post

Guinea pigs at the La Casa Del Cuy. 8 La Casa Del Cuy has become a fixture in Queens for roasting and serving the whole guinea pig or cuy whole — essentially every part but the “squeak.” Picture: Courtesy Stefano Giovannini for New York Post

The pig boss, who hails from Cuenca, Ecuador, runs the restaurant out of the Northern Boulevard location of the former Ilusion Tavern with his husband, Marcelo Barrera.

They originally specialised in rotisserie chicken but started serving the roly-poly rodents over the Covid-19 pandemic in response to demand by Ecuadorian residents hungry for a taste of home.

“So all the people drive [to] North Boulevard, they start asking, ‘Why don’t you do cuy instead of chicken?’” Mr Lucio explained. “I said, ‘Let’s do something because life is too short.’”

Thus, La Casa Del Cuy was born.

The pigs are considered a culinary tradition in the South American nation, where they’ve been a staple among indigenous people for thousands of years, prized for their low fat and high protein content and the fact that they’re relatively easy to raise.

Cuy devotees have even promoted farming them as a more sustainable and profitable alternative to cows and other traditional livestock because they require less space and fewer resources.

Despite being a mainstay, the rodents are often served at special occasions such as weddings — a pair of mating guinea pigs is traditionally gifted to the bride’s family.

“In my country, [the] food is very special,” gushed Mr Lucio, himself an avid fan of the rodent normally adopted as a pet in the US.

“I love it,” he told The Post. “I eat it every day.”

Diners prepare to tuck into a cuy feast. “It’s better than chicken. Better than rabbit,” manager Lucio Barrera told The Post, adding that he considers the head the best part. Picture: Courtesy Stefano Giovannini for New York Post

Casa Del Cuy charges $170 ($US110) for the rodent repast, while other items cost around $30 ($US20), with Mr Lucio joking that they’d be even more expensive if procured from a pet store.

At Casa Del Cuy, the specimens are thawed and skewered lengthwise on jumbo rods before they’re marinated in garlic and other spices and placed over a flame in an outdoor rotisserie.

They’re then rotated on the cuy carousel until crackling and bronzed.

The cooked carcass is then served — chompers and all — on a bed of rice with potatoes and mote corn and a side of peanut sauce before being cut apart with heavy-duty scissors.

During a recent dinner that coincided with the Festival del Cuy this month — where locals congregate in Cuenca, Ecuador, to enjoy a rodent roast for the ages — the chef carved up a pig that surprisingly fed multiple people for such a small creature.

The verdict? When The Post stopped in to try the cuy, it was shockingly non-gamey with mild flesh that was more well-marbled than a rabbit and crispy skin like a fun-sized suckling pig. It wasn’t shrivelled on the rotisserie, but the rodent was surprisingly roomy, able to feed three fairly large guys, with each bite washed down with Ecuadorian “Club” beer served in a salt-rimmed glass.

While most New Yorkers may be predisposed to revile rodents — even our own infamous pizza rat — the cuy is causing a stir outside the Queens Ecuadorian enclave.

Mr Lucio says it’s already popular with adventurous “gringos” and Chinese gourmands, who he says often devour the whole hog by themselves.

However, squeamish diners can still enjoy roasted chicken and other grilled dishes at the restaurant if they don’t feel ready to, well, pig out.

This article was originally published by the New York Post and reproduced with permission