Bizarre Bahamas!! More Unseen EXTREME Seafood!!

i heard in bahamas you have your own lobster that's the famous bohemian lobster right here what makes it a bahamian lobster the bahamas one of the caribbean's most fascinating food country are we almost there right over here the bahamas is an archipelago consisting of 700 different islands each with their own culinary identity yes he's got like three of them in this series we'll be visiting three from the super modern paradise island where they bring you food and right here now we're going up the tamale just like the bohemian bowl can you eat this rock to the more sparse andros island do they smell something where you may need to chase down your own food oh [ __ ] let's go let's go holy with plenty of beachfront property this place is well known for its seafood including this this is a bohemian lobster coming out here in just a second and today i'm on a mission to find one that's over 10 pounds and take it to some experienced chess oh my gosh this is wild it's huge [Music] if you're on the bahamas main island new providence and if you're looking for seafood you might want to come here this is montague fish market i'm the original island boy with original island boys sir put her there i can't believe it i'm in the bahamas oh and we did a cool handshake meet alan brown a veteran fisherman who founded this fish market in the 1970s i can see fishermen go out as they come back they bring their catch here what kind of food can we expect to see here whatever is common in the bahamas we have yellow eyes snapper dog snapple strawberry grouper the hog snapper the gray snapple they're all different i thought they're just different sizes of the same fish i heard in bahamas you have your own lobster that's the famous bohemian lobster right there to me it looks like a spiny lobster what makes it a bahamian lobster because it grows naturally in the bahamas and it's plentiful here part of a family of over 45 species of spiny lobster bohemian lobsters are found in rock crevices and coral reefs in the bahamas they're an important contributor to the economy here with the sale of more than six million pounds each year this is amazing it's so huge one lost away in about eight to nine pounds for the video can we say it's 11 to 12. and when i pay can we say it's five to six i'm curious you founded this market you were a seller here but now you're doing something a bit different yes your job to come here find the best seafood possible and then bring it to the resort best the freshest [Music] [Applause] i want to talk about tourism when did bahamas start becoming more of this hub for tourism tourism was always our number one market the bahamas first recognized the potential of a tourism industry way back in the middle of the 19th century now it's one of the richest countries in the americas but with one caveat it's largely dependent on tourism in fact tourism makes up over 50 percent of the national gdp [Music] we were up to about nine million tours a year and at one point as long as we have the tourism common business is good more people are employed more people are fishing this country's infrastructure is geared towards providing products services and accommodations to tourists from cruise ship stops to some of the most luxurious resort experiences you'll find anywhere welcome to atlantis in the bahamas over 50 percent of the gdp comes from tourism and atlantis is at the middle of a lot of that with over 6 000 staff and 46 restaurants i am here to get the full tourist experience in one of the caribbean's biggest tourist hotspots let's go [Music] it's breakfast time and look what i've got here lobster quesadilla what we're at sip sip a restaurant located inside the sprawling atlantis paradise island here they offer a bahamian menu but with a twist like this bohemian lobster is boiled in hot water with carrots onions and celery then left to rest in an ice bath unlike canadian or main lobsters that boasts two big meaty claws this spiny lobster only has meat in its body and tail sear the succulent meat on a flat top before giving it the chop now for the build fully cheese up a tortilla add the chopped lobster even more cheese and close it up hit it on the flat top until the cheese melts and drizzle with chipotle cremera cheesy lobstery i'm gonna try it out [Music] the lobster big chunks is so fresh what could be better than eating a quesadilla by the beach and wearing this outfit there's no better trifecta oh look at that we got a little mountain of salsa on top this is the best the kind of fruity salsa it's got mango in there and a little bit of pineapple oh my gosh that's so satisfying because there's so much cheese which for me would be enough but there's just big juicy chunks of fresh cut lobster give me a second cleanse my pellet here usually in this show i wouldn't come to a place like this and i wouldn't usually get the tourist experience but this is different there are about 400 000 bohemians who populate the bahamas yet every year they welcome eight million plus tourists mostly coming from north america a quesadilla isn't necessarily bohemian probably not at all but that's what's interesting see the american palate influences some types of food here or at least some of the food options so we've taken something americans love a quesadilla and then they've bohemianized it a little bit they put some seafood some mango salsa and they've created their own twist so my goal today is to meet some bahamian chefs to learn more about real bahamian food and figure out where that line is between satisfying the tourists and the locals that come here and maintaining the bohemian culinary identity this was a nice breakfast but we have a lot more food to come but i got the reach today's experience revolves around the bohemian lobster we'll see how different chefs turn this magnificent sea creature into jaw-dropping creations first up maxine head chef of frankie gone bananas maxine's been part of the atlantis team for 15 years helping to bring the real taste of local food to curious visitors through her cooking magazine yes bunny let's build this lobster plate let's go funny let's build this lobster plate all right step one get the lobster right okay the lobster we saw at the fish market has made its way to here it's huge it's massive it's one of the biggest spiny lobsters i've ever seen step one split the lobster in half an incredibly difficult task considering the size of this lobster alas she makes it through its thick shell revealing a load of juicy tail meat that gets thoroughly rubbed down with a citrusy marination blender then it's tossed on the grill until it turns four shades of orange this is a common preparation method in the bahamas although it's not every day they're doing it with a 10-pound lobster [Applause] it's been grilled and then now it's coming out here in just a second okay here it is oh my gosh this is wild it's huge even the legs [Music] what happened was this lobster on a diet or something now the assembly she serves it up with side dishes first roasted plantains with a touch of cinnamon and honey oh that's so sweet and delicious next deep fried sweet potatoes and finally a salad this is one of the biggest most huge lobsters i've ever seen in my life it is spiky it is spiny it's very dangerous except for right now although it could still hurt you i mean you could pick this up and use this as a weapon if someone was trying to attack you give me your wallet oh yeah take this to your face and then they just shoot you and you would still die but put up a good fight that's what i'd say in the obituary oh i'm gonna go from the head and work my way down it is super soft coming out of here oh my gosh just huge irresponsibly large chunks of lobster try it that's like too out of a good thing wow that is powerful the residual tamale is still in here it's combined with the means made it very rich tamale it's the gland that helps with digestion sort of like a liver in the pancreas combined in the bahamas this part does not go to waste people think the guts they're picturing actual intestines but if you're eating the lobster guts it's basically just that big creamy fatty golden tissue that melts down into just a very rich buttery creamy kind of a sauce that you can mix with the meat and it just makes it more delicious more savory and it's a shame that so many people especially in the usa just toss that and throw it away completely my friends it's time to dig out this tail lobster can be a pain sometimes so you have to prepare it in such a way that you're not gonna have the shell sticking to everything yes this is half the tail right here it's so big and so tender you can just pick it off with your hands you can break it up i've never seen lobster tail like this try it out the texture it's really remarkable because sometimes when you get big lobsters like this you can get kind of tough chewy sinewy that's not what's going on here at all it's a perfect texture sweet little smoky and absolutely delicious [Music] our next chef has a knack for utilizing local bahamian ingredients and techniques in a way that feels familiar to foreign visitors [Music] elrod has a strong culinary background and five years experience working as head chef at fish a fine dining restaurant offering truly innovative meals chef good morning put her there how you doing mr elrod it's a pleasure to be here with you today on the beach what do you think of this hat it's cool it's unique you're an island are you a good liar no i mean all right cool thank you today we're on the beach because we're gonna make something special yes sir tell me what it is we're gonna make a unique version of the tamale tamale it's a traditional mesoamerican dish i tried it during my recent trip in mexico city a corn based food steamed in a corn leaf or banana leaf it's usually filled with meat and sauce today we're stuffing it with lobster sorry to be so violent to water yeah it doesn't mind oh is it alive it doesn't mind i just saw it move whoops and right here now we're gonna have the tamale that's the loss of fat which is mostly just the liver what's interesting is that in the usa and they were just taking all that out they're just cooking like the claws and the tail and just completely disregarding this part that a lot of other cultures understand is tasty it's good it's really good the reason why the fda says that the tamale has totally so it's not safe for the people to eat but here in the islands and locate other cultures we eat the tamale if your eyes somehow keeps the meat more juicy yeah and intensifies with living meat what would be looking forward to good fda cigarettes no problem tamale can't do it smart right how is this going to be incorporated into the dish so we're going to go start sauteing down some vegetables i'm eating blood so once i get that done i'm going to incorporate some spices just to get it flavored to paste i'm going to add our stone ground grit pull it into our banana leaf and we just want to steam and grow something i have no idea what's happening i just want to watch yes sir let's do your thing [Applause] [Music] first he prepares the filling sauteing diced tomatoes and onions in olive oil he infuses it with spices smoked paprika garlic powder ginger powder cumin salt curry powder and tamale add diced lobster [Music] next the base chef elrod boils cream and milk then adds the grits once it reaches the desired consistency add butter and season to taste now the bill grill the banana leaf to make it pliable apply some oil the grits and the filling [Music] toss that on the grill and once cooked top it with mango salsa and prepare your taste buds for a wild ride [Music] chef you've outdone yourself this looks incredible thank you i look pretty cool too yes you do i think i fit right in listen i love your heart trust me thank you you want me to sign it and give it to you no no no it seems that this is a lobster tamale tamale yes sir it is i love edible flowers i feel like royalty let's try this out mmm it's almost like a bit of a curry it's a variation like a masala mmm little pieces of lobster meat that's outstanding is this something that's on the menu no it's specially made for you today you've done excellent work it's delicious i mean there's creamy grits the tamale on top of them sorry the tamale those organs that get all steamed up and mushy they add a nice bit of richness and creaminess would you be able to use the lobster tamale in the restaurant you work in and fish yeah how do americans take that i just say it's a unique taste so most times they don't be as receptive to it but locals really are more receptive as we understand what's the flavor and the profile it brings to the dish so we try to also intertwine our food in a way that can be receptive to a tourist gas who comes in the country so we can give you food that you're used to but we can also bring a unique bikini flare and seasoning and flavors into your palette do you think that the american taste has affected what bohemians eat in their own time anyway yes because we got more american eyes how do you keep your culinary identity we still have our days where we trend to get back to our roots and that's the most important thing that we stay in our rooms and that's what comes out every day in our dishes [Music] now i'm stepping off the resort and into the everyday lives of the bahamian people with 700 islands and mile after mile of coastline the bahamas has plenty of beachfronts and some world-class fishing always cut by hand no way today i'm on a mission to catch cook and eat this country's national seafood i'm just worried about having too much manpower and it all starts here the conch is famous no iconic here in the bahamas this is basically the country's national seafood today i'm going to find out all about it as you can see people really like it today we're starting by heading out there where you can find the freshest conks you'll see anywhere let's go konk it's a common name for many species of sea snails found all around the world known for their swirly shells they live in shallow warm waters on coral reefs and seagrass beds so in order to catch one you'll need to head to your nearest tropical ocean [Music] mikko put her there meet our intrepid snail hunter nico he's been diving for kung for the last six years so i think he knows what he's doing are the kung always caught by hand yeah always cut by hand they like snail they don't run away they can't run they slow so as soon as you spot it you know you can get it if the water's not too deep what is the deepest you can go to get a conch well kongs be up to hundreds of feet but the deepest i know guys go is like 80 feet he died like 80 feet of water to get kong usually i would jump in the water and do the fun adventurous thing today i think it's better like what if you do everything and then i'll just narrate what you're doing that's cool that's cool all right from here you're gonna jump in and i'm gonna narrate yeah all right [Music] he had just jumped off and went for it oh there he is he's going down it's like a whale sighting it's very exciting punk is ubiquitous in the bahamas they're used for food sold as souvenirs or even used to announce that lunch is ready this mollusk is a national icon that provides a livelihood for more than 9 000 local fishermen he goes under for like 20 seconds at a time which doesn't seem like a lot but uh it's got to kick breathe let's wear a mask to protect himself from coving every year hundreds of tons of these snails are plucked from the ocean all right there he is miku do you have a conch yes he's got like three of them and he's looking for more he's not satisfied he's not even celebrating it's no big deal for him how far down is that 10 feet 10 feet i could swim 10 feet do you have any emergency board shorts no he looks at his own shorts can i grab those from you yeah all right one two oh oh yes here we go right here you can see a little bit of it peeking out but this looks great look at this oh it was pee right it was salty i tasted it he's just gone under he got four before he said there's more down there oh yes that's huge this one is the queen coke we also call it the helmet look at this this thing's a monster i uh oh you caught it i really shut up i'm sorry no it's so slippery i'm all dropped it again look at this thing this is a beast oh i'm gonna try to touch it it is receded all the way back inside its shell trying to get as far away from me as possible you know some of these trunks they can sell them for five six bucks this one he says 30. here we have the conch this is like a medium-sized comp right yeah oh it peed that's just water from the cake are you sure because i think when they get scared they pee that happens to me let's talk about this first you call this a helmet they call it a helmet queen because it's shaped like a helmet the sea helmet is a type of giant mollusk they can grow up to 15 inches in length i actually tried this species when i was in vietnam's fuwak island this one's more like an abalone but apparently bahamians don't eat it in the bahamas we just sell this one as a souvenir probably because it's so darn hard to open it's some kind of medieval torture device all right well let's put the queen away you're safe for now and soon you'll be some rich guys paperweight what's the biggest conch we have here this one and this one can we eat this raw yeah we could eat it wrong so you just give it a little bit of a tap in just the right spot you stick the knife in oh wow if only you could do that with the queen this one here it's a meal you think that's a penis yeah wow it makes me jealous it's huge all right so he strips out the kind of the poop sack and then there's a thick skin on the outside that you're kind of sloughing away that was just like a clean delicious looking white meat scotch it up a little bit you call it scorch yeah we call it scorch because we just scorch ah then you could get your lime or your lemon cut it squeeze the lemon over it and you go at it all right oh yeah crispy sweet the meat's like kind of dense almost like an abalone super fresh and it has some natural oceanic sweetness like crab meat this might be better than abalone it's really good this is incredible right now we just have to head back to shore and we're going to bring these to the seafood market so you can make a little bit of cash [Music] most of the local fisherman's catch ends up here montague beach fish market between these 25 stalls you can buy anything that was freshly plucked from the ocean fish bohemian lobster and the classic punk yellow put it there nice to meet you yes nice meeting you too meet yellow the owner of this all things conch stall he got his start making kong salads at his house i used to making salad one or two a day keep going on and on like two and three over time he made his way to this market for the past 10 or 15 years i was selling it to the locals to the tourists now he sells up to 100 kong salads a day that someone calling me for conch right now yes okay go ahead good morning it's a big morning i got the kong salad already by nine o'clock people are intense about kong salad here everything okay yes sir somebody wants a kung salad at nine that's 14 minutes from now i love already in time okay well i already tried the raw conk but i'm told within each conk there's one power giving ingredient folks or let's be honest dudes from all around the world seek out ways to boost their stamina we call it a spilly or piston can you show me now you want a big one or a small one you know i want a big one in vietnam that may include ingesting a still-beating cobra heart that's a big heart i think i can take it down though [Music] in namibia it could be freshly roasted goat testicles it tastes like a burned marshmallow here they've got something locals called bohemian viagra and this is the pistol let me get it out for you always pulling it out this translucent tube is known locally as a conch piston when we eat this what happens next it's an aphrodisiac once you chew it in about six hours you'll be ready to go so it makes you compelled to involve yourself with intercourse with another person yes sir i've never tried that okay oh it's a little salty saltine [Music] gummy i'm eating a saltwater gummy bear the worst kind of gummy bear just kind of melts in your mouth oh man what time is it 3 p.m today i'm gonna be ready to rock yes sir are you giving me a call now i should call you yes i do have a wife i mean before the time is right just to let you know yes sir you keep a record yes yellow thank you so much for this experience yes sir i'm gonna call you in six hours thank you thank you and my wife uh thanks youtube the most popular way to eat conch here is in a conk salad right now i'm headed to one of this island's most renowned seafood slicers this is dina owner of dino's conch salad stand right now he's slicing up a traditional conk salad all right kong salad step one he starts by skillfully removing the snail from its shelf look at this oh yes it's a beauty all of that you see there this is where the kong start wow so the life begins right here this little goopy stuff they're gonna grow up on your lawn he cuts away its organs until only the meat remains he skillfully rips off his outer skin like he's done it a thousand times before then that gets a lime juice rubbed down you don't clean this properly you'll taste it behind your teeth now the vegetables the traditional kong salad has onions tomatoes bell peppers then the corn is still like moving and kind of writhing oh that's awesome a chili pepper blend this is just hot finger peppers and habanero pepper blend it with a little bit of lime juice it's gonna be spicy depends on how spicy you like it i like it as spicy as you like it right all right so you mix it all up oh this is gorgeous a squeeze of lime and orange juice boom done garnish and finally he tops it with red kong and there it is looking delicious full of citrus let's go for it oh so perfect super citrusy yeah because the lime can be kind of sharp so we put the orange juice to kind of cut back on the sharpness of the line it's fresh it's healthy and it's different from anything you'll find anywhere else in the world i'm going to try this right here this is the red a lot of people say that's the sweetest part of the compound to me it tastes a little less sweet and more briny but still good what makes this place special is his tropical kong salad a twist on the classic recipe it starts with pineapple next more fruit and vegetables onions tomatoes green pepper mango and don't forget the corn a chili pepper blend and salt all in a pineapple shell the best part additional scorched car [Music] sir what are them thank you for joining me this is chef leonardis a young local chef who studied his craft in europe you're a chef for you what is bohemian food bahamian food to me is just one big melting pot of so many different cultures you take creole you take greek you take chinese and you just combine everything and you get one good flavor and then how does kung fit into all of that conk is almost like our national animal our national seafood because at the end of the day it's something that's harvested every year throughout the year conk is like an aphrodisiac here if i have a nice date night if i know i'm gonna get a kong salad before six hours before exactly all right well let's talk about this right here this is a kung fruit salad it's gorgeous i'm gonna scoop some of this up [Music] oh pineapple mango is sweet it's spicy it's a great combination it has every element that you would want in a kong salad without being so much that you can't take it that's a good way to put it and then there's this right here scorched conk oh you left the toenail on there and everything that's what you use so when you go like that the scorching it i would call it scoring here they call it scorching what does that do pretty much allows all of the flavor to go inside it and get through every layer of the kung so every time you bite you get a flavor the citrusy is hot exactly it's a balance of everything this is awesome it's delicious it has a seafood element it has that kind of luxury element but it's also healthy so it's a guilt-free experience but i want to see what else can be done with this ingredient and i want to see a little bit more about bohemian cooking as a national staple the conch is prepared in a variety of ways their scorched conk or the kong piston or more complex tanks like conk salad or even the conk burger however but all this is nothing compared to what we'll try next shae put her there this is shea the head chef here at captain's table this high-end establishment serves more kung classics loved across the island today it's been all about conch and i want to ask you about a certain conch word uh conkey joe i am what you would call a clonky joe what does that mean i am a white bahamian you may be surprised to know that bahamians can look like this like this or even like this so you consider yourself a bohemian chef not just because you're bohemian but the food you're cooking are you focusing on bohemian food no matter what menu i do there's always going to be conch on it probably 95 of venues here on any restaurant in this country there's going to be conch on that menu oh right here we have the fritters call critters it's essentially a bahamian take on hush puppies she starts with chopped onions and tomatoes followed by the conch cut into small pieces [Music] now the celery season with a squeeze of fresh lime thyme salt and pepper and a mixture of flour and baking soda combine and roll into little balls [Music] i'm going to try one without the sauce at first okay cheers [Music] oh it's so light nice hit of citrus to go with the heavy fried food and there's a great aroma coming off of that it reminds me of seafood well that's nice to try with the sauce the sauce is called a calypso sauce it's typically just a little bit of mayonnaise ketchup and some lime juice mmm i love mayonnaise but you can taste the ketchup and taste low heat that's good of all the kong dishes which would you say is the most popular here i would say the conch fritters kong salad and the crackpot let's talk about cracked conk with over 8 million american tourists annually bohemian food can't help but to be somewhat influenced by the american palate some say cracked conch is influenced by southern american cooking conch is cleaned and cut into small strips then it gets tenderized season with salt pepper chopped thyme and a squeeze of lime dip it in an egg wash mixture and roll it in flour the 17th way we've tried kong today cheers cheers delicious the textures the flavor it's beautiful yep it's got some bite to it but it's not tough they beat it they beat it off that's what makes the magic happen though while i'm at the fish market this morning i'm seeing a lot of just kind of standard seafood just like whole fish and conk i'm not seeing eel shark rays anything like that and all that stuff is here but people here are choosing not to eat it why is that at all honestly there's not a market for it when terrorists come in they only want to see our freshwater fish that's what they come here for we want to attract the tourists so therefore we give what we can attract them with our final meal is being prepared by chef leonardis himself he starts by beating his conch beans [Music] seasoned with blackened spices so we'll just rest that lightly and that's the sound you want to hear then you just want to sprinkle some more that blackened season in there then we want to take our kung out the pan then add julienned onions sweet peppers and let them caramelize cut the snail into small pieces and add it to the veggies now the plating [Music] i understand this food it's high-end food it's very complex for me it's easy to look at and understand what's going on right for a lot of my audience they have no idea what's going on please explain it to them and also me i took the kanken paired it with some nice tropical salsa sriracha aioli to the bottom with just a crisp apple tweel and the flowers would eat those too of course they're edible not the edibles that we're talking about although it'd be nice if they were all right i'm gonna try this the apple what do you call it again coconut apple twilight tweel i love that crispy sweet and delicious i'm gonna get a big fork full try it out oh that's fantastic a good mix of savory sweet fruity beautiful fruity salsa the conch is delicious it's tender flour 100 tasted like a flour it tastes like pollen bees would love this food i came here a few years ago with the travel channel to shoot a tv show and i noticed behind the fish market where we were today there's these colossal mountains of empty shells it's like a giant kong graveyard my first thought was that can't last especially if we're not just meeting the demand of the bohemian people but all the tourists that come here i mean there's roughly half a million bahamians but approximately 20 times that in tourists that come here every year so what does a country do when there's this finite resource that they really depend on as part of their culinary identity to prevent it from being an endangered we have different rules as it relates to kunk you can only farm a certain size account that's been aged to a certain degree sometimes you'll have a net and out of a hundred of those concumbent of one or two that's undersized but sometimes it slips through the cracks and ends up to the person who's buying that's where they should see that and return it so as chefs as farmers as fishermen as restaurants we should all come together as one team to really show that we love our ecosystem just as much as we love tourists coming here to our country when you look at your fellow countrymen and women do you have hope i have hope because you should always have hope it only takes one spot to cause a whole chain reaction so what's gonna happen the right thing has to happen [Music] every year thousands of haitians flee their homeland to surrounding islands in the caribbean in search for opportunities and a better life some of them end up here in the bahamas [Music] today i'm on a mission to experience the food and the culture from a country i may never be able to visit myself there is so much in this big mushy brown pile there's ribs i'm told there's cow feet and oxtail ox tail in up-and-coming restaurants like this you'll find menu offerings completely different from typical bohemian food oh that sounds good smells like happy juice it is but before lunch service can begin restaurant tours must head to their local haitian grocery store to grab supplies good morning good morning how are you i'm great sri landa meet shirlonda a haitian bahamian chef right now she's showing me the ins and outs of a haitian grocery store it's a store where i mainly get a lot of my produce when i deal in on making certain meals from my mom's culture shilonda's family is among 80 000 haitians living in the bahamas that's more than 20 percent of the country's entire population today i'm making a stew so i'm gonna get this guy right here not sure what it's called in english ah we call this a bing bong i have no idea what this is this is an edible plant belonging to the gourd family it's green it has a butt crack what is that it originally hails from central mexico and latin america but it's now grown all over the world should we try it raw i guess we can alright let's do it oh it's not bad yeah it's not bad it's very fresh it's crunchy like a water chestnut actually more like an apple it's a little grassy tasting right i bet cows would love this so what can you get here that you can't get at a typical bohemian market in haiti a convenience store is known as a boutique meaning to experience interacting with us and then you can get some ingredients that are harder to get for haitian food when you're in the bahamas yeah like this well they don't use those ones in italy this is oh yeah this is craft macaroni and cheese in the bahamas haitian boutiques are a new site before stores like this sprung up patients here had to rely on the occasional boat coming from haiti bringing specific ingredients and goods sent by family members i'm told this is a haitian snack is that true yes this wasn't made by the craft company no okay oh this looks good i mean it looks certainly homemade and it looks roughly like a peanut brittle this is tablet pistache it's essentially a mixture of roasted peanuts and caramelized sugar careful it's super hard i didn't want to break my retainer oh that's delicious super sweet sugary kind of caramelized flavor crunchy nuts that's delicious that's a fun snack around the world you can find various peanut sugar confections what's this one they call it kokata let's try this but out next bite into haitian cuisine is something i've never seen before it's what the mud it's mud yes pregnant woman normally crave those is it really mud or is that just a fun name for like it's a mud cake it's really fun it's mine the making of this cookie resembles a pottery workshop a special type of mud is mixed with salt margarine and water the so-called batter is formed into flat disks and sun-dried it's not really a smell to it it does look like mud try it just just try it she's like just shut up it's really maybe the mud's really good all right i feel like i ate a sand castle it's a little salty it soaks up all your spit and it's gritty i mean there's sand in it it's in my teeth i can't get it out i need a shovel or something oh my gosh food like mud cookies were invented to reduce hunger and it provides low cost nutrients especially for children and pregnant women but the haitian food map goes much broader than this shirlanda runs a small restaurant called caribbean cuisine patrons coming here are welcome to homestyle haitian dishes prepared by shirlanda and her mother janine is this your home yes and this is your restaurant how long does it take you to get to work less than a minute i would think maybe less than five seconds but you still take your time don't get any accident 30 years ago janine started her business with only 20 dollars in her pocket the kitchen was just a tent in her yard as the haitian community grew in nassau so did her restaurant in the beginning were you making this what is this i understand pate to be like a ground liver but is this something completely different completely different haitian pate or patties start with dough being flattened up then they're stuffed with pre-made mackerel pinch it together to form a dumpling shape [Music] and deep fry oh it's still warm and the dough is real thick on here i like this oh i love this dough for me if i'm making a pizza at home i'll under cook it a little bit because i like it to be a little doughy so here it's flaky and crusty on the outside but it's really thick and so breading on the inside itself is kind of doughy and now i got the fish mackerel it tastes kind of like a spicy tuna it's delicious is this a normal breakfast this isn't breakfast it's like a snack this is one hell of a snack if i had to choose between mud and this it's this every time the pate it's really heavy here this is going to give us some balance with the slaw pepper slaw or piglets is the haitian version of coleslaw oh i was thinking black pepper it's not black pepper no this is a habanero shred cabbage and carrot diced chili peppers and onions mix it up with lime sugar and a vinegar-based dressing oh that's really spicy for you it's fine i didn't see you eat that much though because it's spicy smart i want to talk about haiti i'm fascinated by haiti do you think i could visit haiti not right now it isn't safe right now haiti has a long dark history of slavery colonization and imposed debt but it was the first black republic to gain independence that was over 200 years ago in modern times this island nation has been plagued with natural disasters unstable governments and corrupt leadership it's now one of the poorest countries in the world desperate to escape poverty crime and corruption many haitians have seen no option but to flee their own country janine was one of them so how old were you when you came here 22 years i come in a boat like three days because i come with a big boat and did you come here legally no we come in again being haitians are usually known as the haitian boat people the usa or nearby caribbean countries are their intended destinations here in the bahamas haitians are the largest most visible ethnic minority in the country naturally their culture and cuisine have slowly become part of this nation [Music] most of your customers bohemian or asian a little bit of both haitian cuisine is the blend of spanish french african arab and indigenous taino cooking when i face don't eat from foundation various vegetables and proteins are prepared with the extensive use of herbs and spicy peppers one day when officer comes you buy some party and everybody start coming starchy staples such as rice beans corns and yams are widely used the bohemians they don't really use a lot of vegetables and prefer fried food over cooked or boiling food i think everyone does fry food is good haitian legume it's a dish that reflects haitian home cooking a recipe that's passed down in every haitian household janine's recipe includes beef ribs cow foot and dog's tail she soaks the meat in lime and water to reduce any gamey flavors [Music] then add flavor with chicken seasoning a lemon and pepper mixture and fresh lime juice add carrot onion celery and bell pepper to the meat in a separate pot add papaya chayote and cabbage or any other vegetable available boil the two pots until all the ingredients almost melt down this will take a few hours in the meantime i'm hitting up another spot dudun's kitchen the most popular haitian restaurant on the island i like that your waitress is listening to music and can't be bothered with the sounds of reality a place where haitians and bohemians commune under one roof for one purpose to eat good ass food that oh that smells good it smells like happy juice it is i'm welcomed by ashlynn and her mother sherman with a cup of cremas this is a popular haitian drink made from coconut milk and rum oh wow it's milky creamy and delicious i love it dudun's restaurant started recently in 2020. it's located near the bustling restaurant district dudu quickly became a favorite dining destination for both locals and tourists everything looks stunning in front of us what is this one within our culture our national dish is pork korea pork creole starts with seasoned pork that's boiled for 45 minutes it must be pre-cooked in order for you to get that juicy flavor into it because it's pork and you want it to be able to melt in your mouth once tender the pork is fried until it's golden brown served with fried plantains and piglets [Music] yes that's so good here there's still some bone hanging off i'm gonna peel that away breaks off super easily and there's just a big layer of skin here skin fat protein everything together that's so delicious skin is just gelatinous oily and there's some delicious seasonings on here it was so good thank you and so the people eating here is it more haitians or more bohemians really love my pork i've been eating bahamian food the last two days so i can see why the people in the bahamas would like it because it's something a little bit familiar but with the flavor just really turned up jacked up so i want to try this now this is like a plantain cup with the same ingredients stuffed inside but with that really spicy slaw on top the pork plantain bowl is an invention of dodun's plantain is chopped lightly fried and flattened mold the flattened plantain into a bowl and fry until golden now fill the edible bowl with the same delicious pork creole and pickles oh it's delicious crunchy starchy cup on the outside same tender pork on the inside and then just this really sharp slightly sour very spicy slaw on top and it's an edible cup i like edible dishes oh i gotta try more at this part it's one of the best things i've had on the island thanks to her [Music] sherman was also a haitian boat person she followed her family to the bahamas at the age of 16. what do you think are the biggest challenges for the haitian people coming here now residency citizenship that's definitely at the top of the list haitians coming here illegally are often left to build their own homes in improvised villages known as shanty towns i was fortunate to not have grown in any of those villages living in a shanty town based on what i've seen there's no running water there's really no electricity and it's not a space that people should live in but it's something that's better than where they're from wow so even the shanty town here is still better than being in haiti yeah as haitian refugees became a crisis in the 1990s the bahamas started to repatriate a large number of undocumented haitians those who managed to stay struggled to survive in a foreign country with no visa meaning no proper job no accommodation and little acceptance from locals who felt like their land was being encroached upon the idea that there's all these people coming to the land illegally taking up space and very limited island i could see why that would put fear into the hearts of some people and especially if those people are seen or feel like they're unknown but the greatest gateway into getting to know a new culture or the easiest way is often through food like oh that's pretty good maybe i can learn something else about these haitian people i would say yes i would definitely say yes haitian food is vastly different from that of the bahamas i want to know what folks here like or don't like about haitian food so i'm inviting a bahamian chef for my final climactic meal backyard picnic this is real nice chef simeon is a bahamian celebrity chef who grew up in nassau chef simeon is also an entrepreneur mentor and an author in the culinary industry a lot of my cooks over the years have been migrants or bohemian asian when you look at this plate is there anything familiar here yeah i mean this use of vegetables and proteins cooked to the bajivas this is definitely something that i've seen before remember those two boiling pots we left in janine's kitchen they're now so tender that the veggies could be smashed with a spoon she adds the mashed vegetables to the meat pot mixing them well [Music] then she serves us up a plate with rice and black bean sauce i'm gonna grab this i'm gonna say that that is probably a rib wow this is flavorful it took some time for sure so the pork ribs to me it's not like they're super tender they still have some bite to them but i don't mind that still a nice texture to run your teeth through but the flavors on there it's so savory but not just salty there's really like a depth of flavor there which is fairly different from the bohemian food i've tried so far and this food here you said it pretty well the pork ribs are not fall off the bone tender because i think you want to know it's pork ribs in a whole mash-up of protein this is good i like it it's tasty food this is definitely somebody's way of telling their culture through their place what does this plate tell you about haitian people slow and steady tenacious tough when you need to be yeah here i think i found a piece of tail so this is oxtail it's been hacked up into little medallions almost the bones in the middle and then you can just chew around the outside oh man that ox tail is delicious the meat is kind of chewy around the outside almost like a chicken gizzard it depends on where you get it on the tail some are softer and fattier and some are a little harder right obviously this is kind of something that they do and eat regularly that you may not always get when you go to a version of haitian caribbean haitian haitian bohemian eatery that's very unique this is probably cow foot heels something or the other i'm definitely going to be chewing for a while but it's good what do you think bohemian chefs could learn from a haitian cupcake depth of flavor resourcefulness using the whole animal we talk about it no detail and all these other stuff we don't use the whole thing no they use the whole thing here and that's the kind of food that i enjoy and this is a story could you imagine what they would be doing and talking about as a family if they were all in the backyard and so as a chef that's what i try to do i want people to have an experience not just to come sit down eat and walk yeah absolutely this i have never seen before i'm told this is a gravy yeah when i sip it it tastes like liquefied beans beans that's basically what it is and i told you we just pour it over the rice yup [Music] that looks awesome it looks like some kind of a thick chocolate sauce it does not taste like that though it tastes like liquid fried black beans with some spices and you know a couple of things in there and this is definitely something you can get at almost every haitian sport that i do oh that's awesome do you think haitian food here is affecting the mainstream food of the island no we're not reeling it's just another option and it's a good option this is caribbean african diaspora food that connects all of us and basically when you eat what do you want you want delicious food whether that's from this or that doesn't really ruin anything it just gives you other things that you can enjoy i understand that haitians over generations have had their own struggles in coming here and feeling invited and feeling welcome but it makes me happy to know that at least through food through this one small thing that people can connect with each other 100 we could be the biggest enemies but we sit down and we have a plate of food or i introduce you to who i am through my food there's no way we won't make small connections food is fellowship full stop our caribbean culinary adventure continues today i'm escaping the tourist traps and overpriced drinks and heading into the bush right now we're on one of the tiniest airplanes i've ever been on it feels more like a flying bus it's a 15 minute flight we're gonna be fine this is andros the most sparsely populated island out of 700 islands in the bahamas the tranquil remote island where you explore yourself every day you find something new that you want to do you know what i want to do today you want to cook right sunny oh you want to do a challenge right i saw the challenges i want to eat tourists here are few and far between this right here is about 10 tons from tenshi in fact you'd be hard-pressed to even find a restaurant so what would you say is the identity of andros what makes andros andros crabs crab crab crab crab if you want food in andros you've got to get it yourself no way there's a crab backing up a tree how you doing i'm fine where are we right now we are in the church of god mission house for 20 years chantel was a general manager of a burger king in new providence now she's chosen the tranquil life cooking for church parishioners inside this mission house today you're making sauce am i saying it ryan yes sauce sauce it's a traditional bahamian stew the flavor of sauce is built on multiple veggies and herbs including potatoes onions lime and bay leaves the protein is up to you this right here is uh about 10 tons from 10 sheets these have been boiled already then what's the next step you have to peel the tongue because it has a layer [Music] can i see that yeah the inside is super smooth it looks like a little foot you could break it in half and unlike a duck tongue there's no bone inside it's super soft tender it has that kind of muttony sheep smell to it which i like can i give it back sorry i tore you the tongue you'd wash your hands right there all right once the thick outer skin is removed the tongues are diced into bite-sized cubes here's what i can't figure out we're in the bahamas there's not a lot of cattle herding growing breeding happening here so all these tongues have been imported into the bahamas giant shipping containers full of sheep tongues are coming here why are you whispering so much oh you want me to talk i just whispered because i like them you want to wait for it but you're like yes that's what they do next unite the ingredients in a big pot of clear broth enhance the flavor with butter chunks salt and pepper let it simmer until the tongue meat is tender pair it with grits to turn it into a hearty breakfast which doubles as an efficient hangover remedy first of all thank you this looks incredible i've eaten the body of christ but not soup or stew would you call this a stew so tell me how we do this i would normally put some of the sheepdog in first and then add a little bit of grits as i eat it joining our table emerson a local chef from the island of andros i'm gonna try a little bit of this broth mmm oh yeah salty peppery and like a nice layer of fat whatever meat's been boiling in there i'm just dying to get a taste of this tongue warm moist it's delicious and just super tender there's so much tongue here and i like it there's no skimping on the tongue some people like it very very peppery yeah i've learned when people say pepper here what they really mean is habanero chili peppers that have been blended down that will just absolutely scorch your throat what do you think too much [Music] i can smell it from here [Music] we have to start praying soon this is a place to do it i taste it up into my nose they normally would say you haven't tried it unless you put the pep in it they like to cry so we like let me see hold on spicy little spicy yeah the heat yeah in the room right no not the chilies i want to ask both of you about andros i spent a few days already on new providence and i've gotten a lot of the tourist experience and i get here it's completely different now for you you lived on new providence for 20 years now you've come back here what is the difference between these two islands what i love the most is peace but it's not fast it's just labor yes jeff emerson left andros at a young age after spending time in nassau cooking inside resorts he returned back to this island where he runs a fishing village with his family and so what would you say is the identity of andros what makes andros andres andros is known to have the largest population of land crabs in the bahamas we have two types we call white crabs we say black wraps the black crabs are the dark they're low and then the white crabs for the bigger version when they're in season a good crab hunter could earn up to ten thousand dollars while only losing a finger or two they bite very hard have you been bit before holla scream like a baby oh my god i feel like you're having a moment right now when the black ones bite you they don't let go most of the time you have to beat it off oh you have to beat it off i don't even know i have no idea how to beat off a crap they're running a lot in the daytime but in the night you have a better chance about sneaking up on them to get close enough where it isn't as much back and forth running crab hunters here get busy from late may to early november when thousands upon thousands of land crabs litter the streets in search of spawning grounds that means it might be tough but it's not too late to catch some crabs of my own [Music] emerson junior junior emerson this masked man is junior whether he knows it or not he's my crab mentor junior are you on the bahamas most wanted well it's food protection mosquitoes and protects with only gloves and a flashlight this season junior has bagged over 150 dozen crabs i can't work out the math on that but it's a lot i don't have any productive clothing okay here's what i can do i can i'm gonna put my pants in my socks that way crab can't go up my pants are you guys gonna do this no no i don't need you yeah i'm pretty good the sun is set we have our gear confidence i'm confident in me ah not really but i'm confident in me there's nothing left to do to do it and are they going to be in a hole or could they just be laying out well i hope they're just lying out if i see a crab i'm going to yell crab okay i'll crab as well i don't want to go where they're going but i probably shouldn't [Music] [Applause] [Music] i think i hear one over here [Music] no no that's just you walking any luck [Music] it's like creating a cool flare grab crab crab crab crap oh dude good eye there's a white crab here but it is at the base of this tree what do you suggest it's under the tree well i'm gonna run him out okay out to the clear and you catch him over there i'll go over there yes okay i'll go over here he's gonna he's gonna scare me oh it's the biggest no yeah huh oh my god the pinchers okay lay down little boy they can really poke you with their back claws gotta pick them up from side to side oh side to side yes so you think he can't get me there [Music] oh what's that like buddy it's big it's bright it's beautiful this is the white one yes it is beauty big body this pincher right here this could cut off your thumb easy you'll see a lot of people on this island nine fingers there's a reason for it it's also not true how'd i do you did well before the first time do you think it was pretty unfounded emerson's lack of confidence in me i almost lose confidence in you too because you almost had nine fingers all right and you go plop let's get some more crabs crab crab oh come on were you sleeping buddy this is too easy oh he's pissed i woke him up from a good dream get him sonny get him oh yeah open the bag hold on let me check my bpms this is wild 135. oh it's easy with those gloves huh sunny sunny go one in the tree holy cow there's a crab backing up a tree what the heck i've been looking on the ground this whole time what do you recommend do i throw a rock at it no oh no he's got a good grip yeah i'm gonna get a stick i'm gonna knock it down you want me to jump and get you oh jump you think jump [Music] boosh oh are you okay [Music] have you ever seen that before crabs and trees no i've never seen that have you seen that no that is wild because he did that for you sonny yeah it did it for me i think so for this show watch the bro sunny watch the brew yeah let's see it oh real quick by the leg gentlemen let's see what we got oh it's heavy this has got to be uh what 10 pounds maybe a little more yeah maybe a little more gentlemen thank you honorary crab catching up hey i got a surprise for you what's that you said when you go crabbing sometimes you come up with nine fingers uh-huh well i happens to have nine oh [ __ ] is that from a crown no no this won't be the last time i need to watch my fingers this is so much easier when i could just step on them oh my god that one almost got me with crabs in hand we'll be feasting well tonight but first i have some other unique foods on this island that i absolutely must see good morning good morning put her there what's up just hanging out in your kitchen like many on this island kishly spent a few years studying and working on new providence now she's on tranquil andros taking care of her parents and working as a private chef or catering events yesterday i went crabbing i caught several crabs no gloves several crabs right in andros today yesterday okay hold on everyone is so doubtful about catching friends that don't sound realistic you know what i want to do today you wanna cook right sunny oh you wanna do a challenge right close i wanna eat well it's a good time i'm going to do stew fish for mom and dad and you can join us for most bahamians a perfect stew fish is made from grouper or snapper and served with johnny cakes chef's pick today hog snapper so what i'm going to do is go ahead and remove the wings to further enhance our dish and then after this we're going to cut it up does this soup have a boneless option it doesn't okay have you ever gotten a bone in your throat we have but that's the trick of the johnny cake it helps to push it further back next fishley portions of fish and marinates it with salt pepper and goat pepper or habanero it's eaten in the morning yes that's what we normally have either stew fish or boiled fish normally yeah i see four boxes of cereal in your refrigerator you have kids that's the difference we have kids in here too while the fish absorbs those flavors she prepares a room she browns flour in a pan with oil and adds bay leaves onion and water it stirred well to form a thick soup base [Music] now lightly fry the fish to give it a nice brown coat [Music] drop the fish in the soup and let it simmer until the fish is tender and cooked through and this is the completed version of our stew fish i'm dying to try this everything looks fantastic wow the johnny cakes so what makes a johnny cake a johnny cake normal bread has leaven this has just bacon powder no bacon sodas and no eggs or anything it's warm the butter just melts into him crunchy on the outside oh it's so good this is something i guess you can take with you you give me the recipe definitely or i should bring you to america please i'm ready i want to soak up some of this broth [Music] that's so good it reminds me of when people in the south in the usa they have biscuits and gravy it has a little bit of that quality to it where it's a little peppery it's thick it's savory but it's just on another level because there's some spice to it you've added some citrus and then right here in the middle a big old fish fillet be mindful of the bones yeah you gotta eat with caution okay once you fry it down it helps to seal the flavors into it oh these flavors are sealed they're not going anywhere the fish is flaky sticky and i'm not used to having fish with this type of a flavor with a kind of a thick stew is it something you think you try at home yeah if it was available absolutely but that leads me to my next question this island's so mysterious to me because if you go to new providence there's restaurants everywhere right but i come out here i have to come to your kitchen to experience this how come there are so few restaurants on this island almost no restaurants [Music] the bahamas islands are all marketed differently they market andros island for bone fishing in between the summer months you see more bone fishing persons come in that's where i come in i do private caterings for homeowners coming in back and forth do you enjoy doing them i do i can't get to travel to all of the states in florida so it's good to meet somebody else this day's traveled to you definitely where are you from minnesota that's why you say you're taking me huh to thank kishly for the breakfast i've invited her to join our crab feast later in the day meantime i'm headed to one of the only restaurants you'll find on this island the lucky loose guy oh your kitchen is gorgeous thank you you could double as a background for a weatherman yes hopefully in addition to running lucky luzca charlene also cooks for members of a nearby military base one of her more notable dishes is a bit of a caribbean novelty her stuffed white crown pigeon the pigeon it's white the pigeon is black but only the top of the crown of the head is white how do you usually get your hands on the pigeons you go hunting them hunting season september 29th to october i think 30th otherwise we cannot shoot them oh it's too late for that now yeah this dainty bird once abundant in this area has declined in numbers as of late now while they're in season hunters are limited to 50 birds per day which uh still seems like a lot to me you're serving pigeon but you're actually stuffing it with a lobster concrete lobster with bacon seasoning charlene starts your dish by dicing ingredients for the stuffing the cronkin lobster gives they still pop stuffing a zest is that cheating you're using i can put that away and i can use my bread chrome see i'm i'm backed up you don't need this i don't need that you're not reliant i'm not realizing you don't have to use stones i don't have to use that at all but you can if you want to saute the meat with onion celery chili pepper and a touch of goat pepper fry the pigeons until they cook through now the stuffing moving with meticulous precision she fills the delicate birds then stuffs them into the oven for 30 minutes right here two pigeons maybe they were siblings i want to jump into this right here bacon stuffing seafood only a hint of stovetop stuffing to be honest i really love stove top stuffing so you taste the bacon and then you just taste little bits of seafood some crunchy conk some chewy lobster that's awesome this is a leg rip that off that's a thigh right here look at this look how tiny this is oh there we go that's a bite of meat super dark meat [Music] so good but there's just not very much of it right here this is the breast this is all just me it's a dark skin blackish gray almost and then the meat a slightly bloody gray color it's an interesting color delicious juicy little oily fatty definitely dark meat so usually if you're eating chicken the breast meat is going to be more dry whitening here it's super juicy super fatty which i like lobster conk inside of pigeon super unique but not the last food we have for today the crabs we caught yesterday are waiting for me at laurie's house and this is lori she is chef emerson's aunt [Music] lori we're here thank you for having me can you believe i helped catch some of these oh wow you did yeah oh okay why why is everybody laughing at that idea usually freshly cut crabs don't hit the pot right away many locals have one of these in their backyard a crab pen where crabs are fed fresh fruit allowing them to purge whatever nasty stuff they've been eating on the forest floor the result is supposed to be sweeter less bitter meat when the crabs are ready they need to be clipped now you know they're very aggressive sometimes they don't like to be caught i think that one's sleeping this is a big one i'm gonna try to get the clippers like that and then i'm gonna wring it like that and it's easy to guess once you do it right you just rip its arms off yes i did cool and then right in the joint you clip and it just drops right off joint drops right off [Music] it's an easy fix yeah sorry i just if you know what you're doing okay okay you want to hold it yeah it's like the night from monty python it has no arms and no legs it's still alive yes it's still alive but in our culture we clip them first before preparing them i feel it moving it's little nubs it's like i'm trying to walk but nothing's happening everything is going all right i'm going to put that one oh my god that one almost got me yeah okay you know what i felt bad for like two seconds why don't you try to get one that's asleep no cause that one tried to attack me it's personal oh yeah the hardest part is taking off the claws yeah sorry i'm going to bruise our food oh there's so much easier when i could just step on that i can't step on them right now i try to pull it out pull by the big claw yeah quickly just pull it quickly yeah good there you go yeah get up get up get up oh we're gonna do it with your little ass claw okay yeah um i just i just twisted oh try to get it by boat claws and then um twist it i feel bad for [Music] that's stressful i mean the clock oh huh what was i so freaked out about look at this today lori is making another bahamian classic crab and dough the amputated crabs are cleaned and placed in a pot season with salt and pepper onion and goat pepper add a cup of water and let it steam in the meantime prepare a dough with flour baking powder salt and water [Music] and place that over the crab let the pot boil steaming the bread and the crabs for 25 minutes now it's time to eat sonny you might as well take this big bite in here oh because it's easy i couldn't okay and some dough it's a little different from the johnny cake sorry i started i mean go ahead don't wait for me but you have to wait for the crab fat inside all the crab together turn it over so it doesn't do oh so it's like the head becomes a bowl and just pull it apart oh it's like dark and brown in there yeah i sopped up a ton of this fat it's wet it's brown yeah that's a lot of flavor it's super fatty it's a little sweet but it's also a little bitter too and this bread is outstanding it's soft and doughy like my six pack abs then the other experience comes from the opposite side of the craft this piece is called the bam you pull this band completely off oh you're so good at crab anatomy it's andros this is our thing i'll see this we're gonna break it in half we're gonna take these off individually you just bite into it it's a challenge so just bite it awesome whoa it's a huge chunk and that chunk of meat is better than the fat no bitterness yeah just super sweet awesome delicious and you know in the u.s a few people appreciate the crab's body you go to bread lobster you get crab legs and that's it but here you can see there's a bunch of meat there's fat there's a lot in there that is easily wasted i'll see this take the claw you try to separate this from that see wow pull it out pull it out slowly right he's got it [Music] i can see you enjoy that yes you can now be labeled as androsian because you've officially eaten the crab oh my gosh that's the best bite so far super meaty sweet delicious you've experienced crab and dough to me when i first came to this island i was a little bit skeptical about andros we're trying to contact people it's very hard to contact people to know what was going on here it just seemed like this place where you just have to go here to figure things out and then even once we got here it's like interesting it's a different pace of life it's very different from the capital city and i can see why people appreciate that but what i appreciate even more than any of that is that this place is so rich and abundant with food i mean the fact that we're eating a delicious crab meal and you can just walk out in the forest and grab this from the bush to the plate yeah so this place is just so rich with resources and natural beauty and wonderful people too thank you to andras this is just water oh sh if i see a crowd i'm to yell crap some may see the bahamas as a money trap overrun with tourists do you have a conch yes i say in the bahamas you'll find whatever you're looking for oh i hear a report let's our caribbean culinary adventure continues here on the bahamas sparsely populated andros island today we're taking hunting to a whole new level the forest here is really thick if we go in the forest how are we going to get through in this tourist driven country i'm about to experience what no traveler has experienced before what is the most dangerous part of what we're doing today you might come across a big male one sometimes they try to run from the dogs and they run into you they're getting attacked by the boy yeah and it all starts here sir good morning good morning jerome gerard this is fantastic we're on a beach right now in andros island in the bahamas today we're gonna do something special we're going after a board today it's gonna try a kick so i hope so or else we got no video yo why do you hunt i do it for jobs we catch one table 100 pounds we're going to sell them for 200 or 150. you sell the meat to me i want to ask about how you do this because when i was in alabama i went hog hunting and i had a deer rifle and i drove around on a golf cart until we found some hogs to shoot here's a completely different story here you're hunting with dogs how do they know if they're hunting or just going out to you know be taken to the bathroom they know what they're doing i start putting on my hunting clothes they know what's going it's on it's risky it's not for the faint of heart here the plan will go like this the hunter releases his dogs the dogs search for ascent and track down a wild hog when they find one they pit it down until the hunter catches up and finishes the job so where do i come in today how can i help i'd like to give you a chance to take the ball from there what is this for what tie the legs together just that yeah i thought you're using a gun i don't like hunt with guns you've never been bit no i don't afraid them at all so today i don't have a knife i don't have a gun we're going to hunt down a wild boar and i'm armed with this i just want to make that clear to everybody [Music] we are on our way to the hunting spot i've got my piece of string with me that's my weapon today i got a mask and gloves why do i need a mask not my protective mosquito i'm not i don't need protection from mosquitos we're freaking hunters and gatherers but mostly hunters andros island runs about 100 miles by 45 miles although the island has a distinct outline it is highly fragmented it's a flat heavily forested island which makes it the perfect home for wild boar coming off oh [ __ ] they're taking off jerome has been hunting wild boar in andros for over 30 years oh sh he's trained over 25 dogs rotating them for each hunt today we've got lacey jet dexter and max are they hunting or playing they just seem like they're having a good time that was taking a piss they're going in here now these are a co-type dog bred in the usa known for their incredible tracking ability in the right conditions they can follow ascent for miles jerome where you at where's jerome jerome where's anybody i'm going to scroll instagram until someone calls me and tells me what to do oh garyvee inspirational man it's all about ten little smaller ones oh piglets yeah and then them two big ones they weirdo oh you saw a whole family maybe they're on a picnic an invasive species with no natural predators wild boars are destructive beasts destroying crops and the homes of wildlife by trampling and rooting they can eat anything they mate like crazy and they're impossible to make extinct so if you feel bad that these animals are being hunted you shouldn't plus a wild boar paired with the right chef will make for one of the best dinners of your summer but before we eat we've got a lot of work to do these are big shops how do you know it's a pink track and not a dog track see there's the pig yeah like you know yeah that's a big truck oh man i would have completely missed that yeah according to jerome this is a spot where pigs likely passed through to drink fresh water early this morning right now the hog could be anywhere in this area that's what i'm loving the dogs lead the way looking for a scent to chase down this one over here he's not hunting at all go hunt get a pig our job is to follow and not lose them the dogs just went into there easier said than done if you lose them or in my case when we lose them there anything in here you either follow your gut or hope they call out watch your [Music] [Music] right now we're eyes this whole thing is tough i don't see the science behind it i don't know the strategy it's like sometimes he leads sometimes the dogs lead but this is not easy work at all this is exactly what the wild boars want our pack is divided and already in disarray this forest is super thick pig can get through here easy five times faster than a human probably twice as fast as a dog so that's why he needs four of them right now we're just listening see if anything's wrestling see if any dogs park but once again nothing in the world of hunting wind is everything it can hide or expose you before you're even with an eye shot too much wind can mean the dogs won't be able to accurately follow ascent for long if i'm being honest i don't think it's in the cards for today so bad news hunting is high risk high reward today more on the risk side we went out for a few hours tried our best nothing and i don't know how it works exactly because the dogs just kind of run around sometimes it seems like they're going after something sometimes it seems like they're just playing and having a good time he's not really communicating with the dogs sometimes he's following them sometimes they're following him i'm not sure like how organized a process this is i would say it's more of an art than a science maybe it's just luck i don't know we don't have a poor but i think we can order a we still need a video so i think we should have done this from the beginning it was my fault it's my mistake but we shouldn't be out here hunting following dogs around trying to lasso pigs by their feet no instead we're gonna do it the smart way have someone bring a boar to us like uber eats but with live animals i'm not sure who's bringing it but someone is gonna bring a wild boar we're gonna eat some wild boar today gosh dang it all right i can't win them all [Music] all right i was told he just found a pig oh i hear it holy oh it's huge approaching the bore it's surrounded by four dogs but all it would take is one swift movement for it to slip away i know that speed is essential and i'm not going to let a little thing like having no idea what i'm doing stop me from committing 100 to this moment i got my string i grab the boar's back leg because it's the farthest from its teeth then i try to flip it over to break it to leverage i remember something about a string and tying it up double it yeah now we get to put this in you do the same thing oh tie it twice turns out you don't tie the back legs together it's front back front back it's not tight it takes no time for the board to turn and jets right [Applause] [Music] my man how did you guys do it we split up you went your own way i heard you yelled in i hear the pig i hear dogs barking we come here what happened he was in the road sitting down and then the dog ran two wheels like oh let this be the one let the speed of one and all of a sudden i told the dogs to shoot first at first and then the other two went through after the heroes still barking and then we went through and we had a big start squealing when we get there there was a wrong one she tried to fight but you know she couldn't win that battle dogs are okay yeah oh they look proud and tired they always surprise me yeah they look cute and fluffy until it's time for action then the dogs got real vicious real quick yeah hey good job yeah what's next how do you carry it from here holy [ __ ] [Music] hunting doesn't give out merit badges or trophies for doing your best either you eat or you don't some may say that in this modern world hunting is a vestige of a less civilized past [Music] but jerome who feeds his family by tracking hunting and selling boar meat he would have to disagree [Music] with the boar in tow plans for a major feast have begun soon this animal will feed dozens of locals in the community [Music] [Applause] [Music] outer layer of skin just got that feeling [Music] and finally it's sectioned into smaller pieces and left to boil for an hour while it boils we're heading to a nearby beach for another special daring tropical treat solomon put it there hey brother do you know what i like about barracudas you don't have to track them down in the damn forest ah boy i know what you mean barracuda is a long thin and ferocious looking fish living near the coast in sub-tropical seas i tried it once in mexico city here in the bahamas in no uncertain terms it is advised that you only eat this fish at your own risk well they eat something off the reef something that's called sigutera it's actually natural toxins that are built up from algae that smaller fish have around the reefs and then these being the predator fish they eat those fish and that's how they get contaminated i've been told in the bahamas it's kind of a rite of passage to eat the barracuda it means that you're not afraid you're ready to take on the risk of potentially poisoning yourself you're taking on the risk of death all right i'll do it solomon is a fisherman and fishing guide for due to wear boat shoes and sweater vests oh wow well i'm not sure that i'm sitting in the right area with years of seafood catching and eating experience i hope he chose the right one to kind of tell too sometimes is you watch the natural stuff again so if the flies don't come it's poison are you also saying that anything a fly lands on is something you would eat that's a good [Music] question column and slices barracuda making two giant fillets he cleans it then cuts it into bite-size pieces before applying his own seasoning blend [Music] it's shallow fried in hot oil on both sides until it's golden brown it's hot juicy and most likely poison free solomon yes this is a big moment there were flies landing on this barracuda which we've established is a good thing so if it's poisonous i'm going to know pretty soon we're on andros there's no hospital no if you get poison you have to go online book an airplane ticket get a pcr test go at 5am get on the plane you're dead i can feel the outside it feels a little bit crispy i can feel the seasoning yeah kind of baked in there let's try it out that is delicious i'm a great friend of ours this is so different from other fried fish i think a lot of fried fish really depends on a huge flaky crunchy batter sometimes there's more batter than actual fish then people are smothering it tartar sauce and it's like there's no point in having the fish in the first place here there's no like big thick batter in there just a little bit of a crunch and a ton of fresh fish and delicious seasoning where'd you learn this recipe i do a lot of cooking so you know you get to experiment with stuff and it works out you keep it if it doesn't throw out the dough that's why i like about everybody on this island they find a way to make it work and a lot of people are getting their own food you're getting your own fish the other day i got my own crabs today we got a boar and so everybody's figuring out everybody has their own ways their own traditions or their own twist on the tradition yeah when they cook food so far so good so good i see it's just standing there i think no issue not at all back to the boar after boiling for an hour it's brought to mount pleasant fishing village jerome and gerard woke up at 3 a.m this morning so they've decided to duck out early but not before rewarding their dogs with some boar meat now it's all emerson who we met in our last video [Music] he's a trained chef who decided to settle on andros to enjoy a more tranquil lifestyle after years of working in the bahamas hotel industry today he's cooking this boar into several dishes culminating in a community feast first up grilled boar ribs the ribs are boiled with herbs and spices to tenderize the meat before it's marinated in emerson's secret homemade barbecue sauce a sauce so secret he won't tell me what's in it toss it on an open fire and grill to perfection extraordinaire is this your first board actually the first one we caught in a while and bottled up but i could've bought in our hotels before do you think there's going to be a difference between the wild boar and a domesticated borer normally they do taste a little different with the natural ball they have like a more natural flavor all right let's see [Music] oh man that's so delicious sweet tangy barbecue sauce it's coming it's just quite tender actually oh there we go i got another piece right here boiling i think it's really rendered down the fat a bit and then it's just a nice crisp on the outside every time i eat a wild boar i feel like the the texture of the fat is a little bit different there's just something like bubbly and a little bit unusual about the fat i think would they eat the native food i think that really play a big role in it it's hard to believe that just a couple hours ago i had my knee on this boar's neck and then it was completely worth it dinner is almost ready emerson's finishing up with the starter boar soup he sears the boar meat in hot oil then adds homemade broth that bubbles up along with onions carrots irish potatoes and cassava he seasoned with salt pepper lime and bay leaves time to eat as the dinner bell rings out members of the community trickled in to share in the celebration lori the crab killer from our last video also joins us our hunter today he actually went home already because he's been up since 3 a.m he and his dogs are tired but the dogs did get to eat some of the pork before they left i want everyone to know oh [Music] boring yes have you had wild boar before yes i have but not like this first time first time let's try it on this is beautiful big fatty pieces of pork mmm succulent i would say yeah that's delicious the best part is the fat the fat actually has an outstanding texture it almost tastes like soft meat what is that cassava that's another bohemian specialty love the sour that's delicious it's savory peppery juicy pork vegetables are perfect not mushy this is like perfectly al dente what is this one the peppa pig pepper pork it's basically a stewed pork dish made with onions potatoes plantains tomatoes bell peppers herbs and lime juice plus the boar meat which has already been seasoned with salt and pepper add water butter seal it up and let it steam this is so good big beautiful chunks of pork i love the gravy the consistency of the gravy very tomatoey it's got some pop that's what i like about food here a little bit of goat pepper a habanero a little bit of heat but not too much emerson you cook this whole thing by yourself that's sir that's wild i want to try this liver right here scoop that on my plate sauteed liver with carrots peppercorns vinegar onion sweet pepper and garlic i'm ready to try the liver because i have never done so before oh it's delicious it's like classic liver and onion it's something i never really ate growing up but i love it beautifully sauteed savory soft you're a great chef thank you so so it seems that the crabbing is just a lot easier right catching a wild boar real hard so what part did you do let's be honest the dogs they're doing all the work yes of course you know people always talk about organic but then those same people don't like hunting but this is an organic pig it's basically like a whole foods pig it's chilling out in the mangroves it's eating oranges it's very healthy and this is the way our forefathers live by hunting and going out in the sea and catching their meals you know they didn't go into the store and bought their meals they actually went out there and they hunted or they fished if i see a crowd i'm gonna yell crap some may see the bahamas as a money trap overrun with tourists do you have a conch yes i say in the bahamas you'll find whatever you're looking for while you disembark your cruise ship and suck down a multitude of bahama mamas just know that there's another side to this island beyond the resorts beyond the sandy beaches aside that few visitors have a chance to see and if you ever get the chance to experience the bahamas behind the curtain well it's absolutely worth it [Music] and that wraps up our bahamas adventure five videos in five days i want to say a huge thank you to all the different chefs and local people who contributed to this video today and throughout this series including atlantis on paradise island i had a blast getting to know more about the bahamas and the unique food and people here and i hope you enjoyed it too that's it for this one thank you so much for watching i'll see you next time oh peace what do you guys think of the hat keep the hat get rid of the hat do you notice it's a bandana hat it's you get what i was doing there

Channel: Best Ever Food Review Show

Views: 10,181,918

Keywords: best ever food review show, befrs team, befrs, sonny side, the bahamas, America, the caribbean, caribbean country, caribbean cuisine, bahamian cuisine, where to eat in the bahamas, atlantis resort, andros island, survival food, souse, boar hunting, dog hunt boar, hog hunt, catch and cook, BARRACUDA, lobster, bahamian food, conch

Id: evYm0cELO3I

Length: 90min 18sec (5418 seconds)

Published: Wed Feb 09 2022