Kohala Mountain oysters!!!

   Ever heard of Rocky mountain Oysters?  Well yesterday I got to taste Hawaii's version....Kohala Mountain Oysters.  Just like everybody says about frog legs, alligator and any other strange thing...it tastes like chicken!  A friend of ours grew up on Kahua Ranch, in the Kohala area of the Island, and invited us to join him and his friends and family for branding, castrating, medicating and dehorning of calves, and oh my goodness what an unforgettable experience.  Aside from it being breathtakingly beautiful, it was awesome to be a part of.

The efficiency with which these paniolos worked, was quite impressive.  Within about 30 seconds, a calf was roped by the hind legs, dragged to where cowboys were waiting, then medicated, castrated, dehorned if needed and branded, and then Bob's your uncle, it was over.  Two or three times I helped out, which was a blast and a half...here's me in action.......

Good times!
When we were en route to the branding, I told everyone in the car that one thing I would NEVER do, is eat mountain oysters, and when I saw the cowboys preparing them and throwing them into the pan, I was even more convinced that I'd never try them.  They placed a cast iron skillet right on top of the stand that had the branding irons in it - a propane torch blasting fire through the whole contraption, and those poor testicles cooked away while the boys were working.

Every once in a while one of them would come with his bucket full and prepare them one at a time by slicing the skin off and tossing them into the pan, and then later return to stir them around a bit.

After standing in the cold wind for a while, the smell of the cooking "meat" smelled awfully good - especially after they sprinkled some garlic salt over the top.

Pretty soon I turned around to look at my 10 year old son, Aidan, and found him chowing down on one of the disgusting little morsels, and I figured that if he was brave enough to try one, then I am too!  So I did...

My first thought was that it tasted like a spongy chicken wing.  The taste was fine, the texture...not so much...but at least no one could call me a chicken for not trying.

After ward, the cattle were herded back out into their beautiful pastureland, and I have no doubt, were quite relieved to leave us all behind.

What an awesome day, in a beautiful place...