La Parrilla

Alpaca a la Parrilla: Eating Alpaca Meat in Cuzco, Peru

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• published: 25 Jan 2016
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While in Qusqu we made our best attempt to eat Cuy (guinea pig); however, our first attempt was foiled because the restaurant we wanted to visit was closed and our second try was also thwarted because we came too early in the evening before the fire pit oven had been heated up. Thus, trying out best to salvage the situation we tried Alpaca meat for the first time along with some other traditional foods from Cuzco. Come join us as we wing this meal entirely ;) GEAR WE USE Olympus OM-D E-M5 II: http://amzn.to/1OchS7t Canon G7X: http://amzn.to/1YdjsYX Olympus 14-150mm II Lens: http://amzn.to/1Y79zeM Rode Video Mic GO: http://amzn.to/1WDKtVM Joby Gorilla Pod: http://amzn.to/1PgoY5F SanDisk 16GB Extreme Pro: http://amzn.to/25KEErs SOCIAL MEDIA & TRAVEL BLOGS AUDREY: blog: http://thatbackpacker.com/ instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thatbackpacker/ facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thatbackpacker twitter: https://twitter.com/ThatBackpacker SAMUEL: blog: http://nomadicsamuel.com/ facebook: https://www.facebook.com/nomadicsamuel twitter: https://twitter.com/NomadicSamuel instragram: https://www.instagram.com/nomadicsamuel/ Alpaca a la Parrilla: Eating Alpaca Meat and other traditional Peruvian foods in Cuzco, Peru: So the plan for today's dinner was to track down some Cuy which is like grilled Guinea pig; however, we ran into some trouble. The first restaurant was closed and the second one is not able to prepare it mid-afternoon because they are making bread in their oven. So instead today we're going to be trying some traditional food from Cusco (Qosqo). So we've placed our order and we're waiting for our food to arrive. I'm not entirely sure what to expect because I've never really tried food from this region. We've been eating light meals since we got to Cuzco just because we're trying to deal with the altitude sickness, so yeah, this is our first day that we're ready for our big hearty meal. So my meal has arrived. I ordered a soup and I'm having something called Chiroquesenio and if you have a look down over here it is basically a soup with lamb and Andean greens. I'm not sure what kind of greens those would be. It kind of looks like barley. Um, there might be some quinoa in there. I don't really know but it is really hearty and you can see it has potatoes and carrots and celery and it looks really really good. So let's try it. Mmmm. Oh. Wow! That's like a nice thick flavorful soup. Um, I can't really tell what these little green leaves are. I wonder if it is parsley or cilantro. Mmmm. But it is really nice. I like that is has a really thick texture because of the potato that breaks apart and you obviously have the grains and the meat. I still haven't tried the meat. Here is my lamb. So yeah, that is really nice. It's the kind of dish you want to order on a really cold day to warm you up. And I like that it is served in a nice cute little bowl that you can warm up your hands. I'm a little bit chilly in case you can't tell. So yeah, good soup. And you ordered something called Patchapapa and we're not entirely sure if that is a name that the restaurant gave to the meal or if that is really what the meal is called in this part of Peru. Yeah, we have no idea we just came to this restaurant, ordered it on a whim and so what I'm thrilled about is that if we take a look at our my plate is that I've got a lot of different stuff going on. I've got a salad, I've got the meat, I've got the tamale, I've got potatoes covered in cheese and I have some kind of stuffed pepper. But being the carnivore that I am I think I will try the meat first. And can you tell us what kind of meat this is? Because it is not beef. Yeah, it is Alpaca meat. Alpaca? Indeed! So pretty special. Dig in. I've never tried Alpaca before. Does it taste like beef? Chicken or fish? It tastes something like of in between chicken and beef. This particular cut is really tender and it has a lot of seasonings on it so it is quite good. It's not as game-y as I thought it would be. Alright, time to try my tamale. And the tamale is made with corn. Mmmm. Yellow corn. That's one of the best tamales I've ever had. I think it's got cheese. Yeah, it's got cheese in there. Mmmm. Oh, my. That's like ground beef and man that is actually spicy. My tongue is on fire right now. But it is tasty obviously because I'm still chewing. But yeah, nice. I like that you have a very full plate and you get to sample a little bit of everything. So we tried to make this as authentic of a meal in Cusco as we possibly could, so I got my Cusquena beer. And tomorrow we're going to try and find Cuy. This is part of our Travel in Peru series. We're making a series of videos showcasing Peruvian culture, Peruvian arts, Peruvian foods, Peruvian religion, Peruvian cuisine and Peruvian people. All things Peruano. The best of Comida Peruana and Cocina Peruana. Music in this video courtesy of Audio Network