Black Market Hunting in Mexico!! Risking it for Forbidden Food!!

in this video the dogs are going nuts I don't know what they see you're gonna see how black market hunting Works in Mexico the results if someone did happen to get caught by police what happens next but before that let's back up in Mexico when it comes to the daily diet there's no shortage of chicken pork or beef I'm telling you scientists dug this up they would say it was a dinosaur but if you make it out of the city and into the countryside you may find animal options you've never seen before they're hidden in the Rocks so you have to be very careful and rural Village between Merida and Campeche hunting is a way of life but the rules around hunting aren't always easy to understand so is there a law or is there not a law there's a law so technically it's illegal today I'm on a mission to learn about Mexico's most extreme Meats from tamales made with unexpected ingredients some people put Ash and food on purpose and some people just like to eat Ash to roasting up whatever we can find at the end of this hunt [Music] [Applause] oh it was something from the tree it all starts here here in the Yucatan Countryside sounds of the modern world Fall Away replaced by the soothing Symphony of nature it's early morning and the hunters their kids and their dogs gather around double checking their firearms as breakfast hits the flame rabbit meat curated protein with some serious nutritional Firepower [Applause] the dish goes from good to great with the addition of pipia an ancient Mayan sauce recipe rabbit meat joins hot water and gets flavored with salt and a natto powder or achiote imbuing the dish with the fiery burst of orange add black beans and a blend of pumpkin seeds to give the dish a rich and velvety texture the hunt will begin shortly right after everyone fills up good morning I'm very happy to be here I'm excited this is such a unique place and you are serving unique food here in kahone is this rabbit farm raised so is this on your menu joining our meal Chef Wilson Alonso and his father Cecilio today's hunt leader all right I've got a big piece of meat here Wilson is the man behind this hidden culinary complex this place isn't near run-of-the-mill taco joint it's a treasure Trove of authentic Yucatan flavor a Savory it's Smoky and the piece of rabbit that I have I think is very chickeny it's like Pollo how do you say that was fine yeah is this my pronunciation yeah okay well you're going to hell for judging people today I'm not just here for what's on the menu but for what's not like this bird that would be illegal to sell to restaurant patrons this right here what is this [Music] grilled so it's because we have a special fruit called sapote and they eat that so that's why they come do you know what I like about that explanation is you think I know a chocolate means it's the name of the bird found in Mexican and Central American forests chachalaka it's no ordinary bird they're like a freaky mashup between a chicken and a pheasant and like both the chachalaca is a great source of protein the chef spices it up with sour orange salt and pepper now let the heat do the work once cooked through it's draped over a bowl brimming with a mixture of corn flour water and onion am I supposed to put the meat into the superior I gotta say as a chef he's leaving quite a bit of work for us today what is the best part of this animal the breasts I was going for it right away [Music] it has some wild bird flavor it's interesting his legs are so tiny and thin along with its thighs the breast is a little bit bigger not a ton of meat but when you put the meat in then you get the flavor from the broth it tastes like a thickening agent for a stock without the stock just kind of gluey with onions in there and not many strong flavors is this more of a Mayan food yeah so how do you acquire a touchalaca at Mexican Walmart where you need to hunt foreign one of the reasons we came here is that I'm very fascinated by the hunting culture that exists out here in the countryside and there's a lot of wilderness and there's a lot of forest and places where people hunt you sir how long have you been hunting when you're hunting what kind of animals are you hoping to get well it's a small Pig like one iguanas oh a big rodent I like a big guinea pig I heard that there's also deer out here see yes they hunt deer as well hunting in Mexico is regulated by the Mexican Government how often are you hunting no in an ideal Mexican World hunting would be conducted sustainably and individuals would obtain permits from the proper authorities depending on the season it's like a hobby they go once a week not doing this would be considered illegal and would then result in a fine or prison time what if no one ever finds out these guys they don't have a permit so technically it's illegal yeah so how is it that they're freely hunting down species like the chachalacas as we head out for the hunt I'm hoping to find out more to be clear I know I may appear to be a badass Outlaw on camera the reality is as a foreigner and more notably as a foreigner who's only observing a hunt I'm not breaking the law that said our local fixer isn't taking any chances what I do I'm a ghost and that's what I'm good at it so I cannot show off my face our fixer says just bringing us here could quickly make him an endangered species in the eyes of the government so here's where we're at the hunters much faster than us the dogs the hunters had took off already we can hear maybe 100 200 meters away I'm told they swatted a deer somewhere can you see the deer so if he's ready to shoot it because they know the rear is going to run this way that's the kind of traffic yeah yeah the hunting team circles their prey with three to four Hunters staggered throughout the forest the idea is to pressure an animal pushing it toward the other Hunters until someone finally has a shot how do you not shoot your friend your friends are wearing camel they have to sit legs on the side under their cross they should not before they don't shoot in the path I've not really seen hunting like this before where everyone's working as a group but nobody has any communication device there's no phones there's no text there's nothing there's the sound of the dogs and that's it [Music] most hound dogs have a fantastic sense of smell the dogs lead the way as they sniff out and rust it up to any potential prey from rabbit to Deer [ __ ] [Music] as a deer left that way they say hey this is the form of hunting I've ever I hear them clapping but does that mean they actually see a deer or they're hoping so I'm told that they found one but how does he know they found one from way over here because the dogs are barking that means they are alone but it's got could be it hunting doesn't always play out like an action movie for example if this was better scripted I wouldn't be breathing so heavy or sweating through my shirt the reality here is one must be persistent but patient the dogs over there going crazy right now keep your wits about you knowing your luck could change suddenly in the flash of a muzzle come on come on all right the dogs are going crazy right now they're barking [Music] Jesus okay I see him let's go let's go my understanding is if somebody flew here from Mexico City they went to hunt that would be illegal that would be a big problem so out here essentially the community the people are looking out for each other if someone did happen to get caught by police what happens [Music] so each small community has their own law so president of the community is like it's okay if you hunt this number of deer and the Mexican law they kind of let it pass because it's like traditions of each Community yeah so it's totally prohibited if you do it to sell [Music] Louis bien yeah to say that I don't know what the hell just happened would be an understatement they were circling the dogs got excited I didn't know if there was a deer I didn't know what the animal was and I saw everybody looking up the dogs chased this into a tree this is a badger they surrounded it it climbed up and then this guy he got it we don't want to show Too Many close-ups because he got it right in the head so good shot this is a form of hunting I've never seen before in my life look around here there's thick brush even the bullets I don't know how the bullets can penetrate all this stuff at the end of the day we got something this is going to be a first for me from here we're gonna take it back to the chef and try it out the badger a short-legged omnivore with elongated weasel-like head small ears and a flexible nose it may not be venison but this promises to be the foundation of an unforgettable dining experience [Music] skinning the badger with precision and Care Chef Wilson introduces another member of tonight's dining party is that how you say iguana is this a big one a small one a medium one I think it's kind of small there's like that's got her thank God it's not alive to hear you say that a master of disguise with a slender body sharp claws and distinctive colorful scales helping it to blend in with its surrounding how close does somebody have to be to properly slingshot an iguana today six meters they're hidden in the Rocks so you have to be very careful and nice I like how you just finished your Sunday to the sound effect although today they're protected by law in many countries due to overhunting and habitat destruction iguanas are still consumed in rural areas considered to be a prized delicacy in the Mayan diet so I've had some reptiles in the past I've even had a crocodilio and if you're eating a crocodile you really want the tail like all the meat is right here in the tail how is the tail for the Iguana so we're eating this part actually today Chef Wilson will turn the scaly reptile into a tamale first chop the Iguana into sections and boil the meat until it Cooks through the Iguana loses its tail can it regrow it his tamaldi base is a mixture of corn flour pork lard and salt I have a genius idea we're in Mexico you have an iguana farm and every six months or so you pick out the tail like picking an apple it'll grow right back that's kind of mean I mean somebody shot this iguana now for the filling a sauce requiring sauteed onions in pork fat shredded and diced iguana meat then Ginger green chilies tomato and an orangey mixture of anada or achiote dial up the flavor using salt and apazote a type of local herb instead of using a corn husk tamales here sit inside a Banana Leaf add the Iguana sauce on top fold the base to enclose the fillings and seal it shut instead of boiling tamales here Hide Under hot coals until they cook through [Music] gentlemen it's been a wild wonderful day and a lot of new experiences for me I've never experienced hunting in the way that people hunt here the food too because a moment ago you saw that iguana and now the it's inside here oh yeah I cannot wait to see the inside of this Hit it first so there's a little bit of Ash on there is that okay it's okay some people put Ash in food on purpose and some people just like to eat Ash yeah Ash a-sh okay jeez you anywhere I'm hanging out with my jungle friends and you're embarrassing me so I'm gonna rip it in half there's plenty of iguana meat the outside is pretty hard like a shelves definitely a different texture than other tamales that I've had salad [Music] one that was insanely crunchy like a giant dick tortilla chip insanely Smoky Beyond just Smoky like roasting meat it's almost like I can taste the ash from the fish actually this is like a completely different species of tomat crunchy on the outside and stuffed in the inside it's hard to kind of wrap my mind around the meat because there's so much flavor in there especially when you add the habanero what would you compare iguana to pescado a chicken fish a chicken fish yeah that's interesting it has maybe a similar texture here but flavors are so powerful I think it's really good maybe the best amount I've ever had really and it's iguana now our main course stewed Badger cooked by Cecilio himself the meat is sliced up nice and thin then it's marinated with black pepper a citrusy sour orange salt onion bell pepper and garlic [Music] let it stool until the water evaporates and the flavors meld together concentrating into a rich hearty dish you've done an incredible job it looks it looks really good I've got so many random body parts I got some ribs I got a leg I got a thorax let me sprinkle over the whole thing he puts a little habanero on it I don't want to put too much on there first because I want to try to taste some meat as much as possible wow you gotta try this it was really good the density of the meat it looks like a liver but it just tastes like dark meat like Duck yeah I agree with that yeah it's a bit like Duck there's kind of a Tangy delicious Citrus to it even aside from the lime it's the sour orange all Ryan the onion is sweet so it has everything and then if you have the habanero a little bit of spice yeah this is the best thing I've had all day I'm really stunned by this because I've had a lot of interesting creatures in the last year that are not just like cow pig chicken and it has subverted my expectations in many different ways flavor the look of it the feel of it it's really good I love the flavor I think it's we love that I feel if your character Arc in this series it's almost complete you went from barely taking a bite of anything and now you're fishing on a flipping badge arm do you feel a little bit proud I feel proud you seem like such a hunting expert compared to now when you were younger hunting were there more animals was it easier to find deer in all these different creatures in the woods no I used to obviously they're still the same I'm certainly not anti-hunting but I'm Pro sustainability do you ever worry about any of these animals becoming endangered or going extinct completely they have their own laws even if it's not regulated they know when they reproduct so if they hunt here today next week they want hunt here so animals want for example so the rifles they don't buy more so if there's 30 rifles there's only 30 people hunting because it's hereditary so fathers give them to their sons and so as our world grows and becomes more populated and complicated we have to come up with more sophisticated ways to make sure the animals stick around so it sounds like what he's saying is that there are ways to keep this sustainable to keep it going on into the future and that's the same as I've seen in other places like the Pharaoh Islands in the pharaoh Islands they hunt whales for people it's a bit extreme but the reality is they've been doing it for hundreds of years and the whales are still around so my hope is that 100 years from now your great great great great great grandchildren can have the same experiences as you going out into the Wilderness hunting animals and eating this really unique meat gentlemen thank you very much best ever Food review show is a small team of independent creators and everything we do here works because of you guys click the link in our description to join our patreon and receive exclusive benefits a peace I've had some different reptiles in the past oh please keep holding it yeah if that's okay right now we're between two big cities Marita and I knew I was gonna competitive a Savory it's Smoky I can feel it in here how do you say that can I tell you I'm not the best food describer but people think I am because I speak with confidence I've had some different hold on let me just do this I would love to go on a hunt with you guys and see how the process works are you worried about me because like I know maybe I don't look like I'm in the best shape but um I can keep on yes two [Music] okay got it I'm looking at your boots I don't think you can join what do you think about her shoes are these hunting shoes he was like yes no boom guys that is the end of the video I hope you enjoyed it I want to say again thank you to Kate you can follow Kate manok right here this is her name on YouTube on Instagram and elsewhere LinkedIn except for LinkedIn go give her a follow see what she's up to and otherwise I want to say thank you so much for watching I will see you next time [Music] a piece I thought you were insane should I say it too huh what happened you stopped halfway through uh bye get your own van ride home by the way

Channel: Best Ever Food Review Show

Views: 1,950,961

Keywords: best ever food review show, befrs team, sonny side, mexico, mexican food, yucatan, maya, maian people, aztec, Mayan Meat, bbq, jungle meat, Black Market Hunting, Hunting in Mexico, forbidden food, mayan hunting culture, PIPIAN, RABBIT, IGUANA, BAGDER, coati, CHACHALACA

Id: nMXNI3VIhZA

Length: 18min 49sec (1129 seconds)

Published: Wed Apr 12 2023