Sunday, March 29, 2009

For California readers - eat hearty!


I've just learned of Oakdale, CA's annual 'Testicle Festival'. According to Yahoo! News:

The fundraising idea may seem a little nuts, but Oakdale's annual Testicle Festival is always a big hit. On Monday, volunteers with the town's Rotary Club plan to fry up 400 pounds of the private parts of bulls and serve them to diners who pay $50 apiece for the sit-down meal.

The event, whose proceeds also benefit the Oakland Cowboy Museum, has drawn an average of 450 people and last year raised $28,000.

It's common practice on cattle ranches for young male bovines to be castrated into steers, which after the initial loss, eventually makes them more docile and easier to handle. Fans of the delicacy, also referred to as "mountain oysters," come from around the state.

According to Rotarians, everyone who buys a ticket is guaranteed to "have a ball."


The festival benefits the Oakdale Cowboy Museum, which has this delightful drawing on their Web page:




Now that's a sad steer!



I trust readers who find themselves in the Oakdale area tomorrow will partake of the festivities (and the food), and tell us of their experiences in Comments.

Peter

2 comments:

FarmGirl said...

Anyone who wants to pay fifty bucks a plate for nuts is more than welcome to stop by the Old Homestead round about branding time.....

'Sides, everyone knows that calf nuts are more tender and flavorful than bull's.

Castr8r said...

We have a couple of places here in Illinois that have an annual "Testicle Festival". In fact, some eateries have the delicacy on a regular basis. Most of these places will have a variety of "donors"; ie, lamb, pig, goat, etc. Once you get past the idea of what you're eating (often helped with copious quantities of beer), they really are pretty good.