Let me start off by saying that whatever interest I may have in cannibalism as an aspect of the culinary life is not as perverse as it may sound at first glance. Truth is, it all started with the release in 1990 of Peter Greenway's film "The Cook, The Thief, His Wife and Her Lover". Although I leave film criticism in the hands of film critics, it has been my wont for many years to write about the culinary aspects of films that deal heavily with food. Because the Greenway film relates in great detail to the preparation and serving of food as well as to the dining out phenomenon, I wrote about it for several of the newspapers and magazines to which I contribute. One of the "courses" in the film involves the spit-roasting and then dining on one of the main characters. Greenway was not being perverse. He was simply making a point. Whatever perversity entered into the question came about when one of the magazines for whom I was writing insisted that my article about the film be accompanied by recipes - in this case, recipes for the cooking of human flesh.

Cannibalism is no stranger to our little planet as seventy two different groups of primates, fish and birds practice the eating of the flesh of their own species. Included among the cannibalistic species are chimpanzees, great apes and human beings. It is only humans, however, who eat the flesh of their brothers and sisters for ritual, shamanist or religious purposes and it is largely these issues with which anthropologists and sociologists involve themselves. When it comes to the realm of perceiving human flesh as an item of food to be imbibed for hedonistic pleasure, however, academic studies fall to the realm of psychology and psychiatry and even criminologists, and that because to most people, cannibalism has been one of the greatest taboos throughout history.

Despite the taboo, cannibalism was widely practiced until the 1960's among various tribes in Papua
New Guinea, some of whom ate human flesh for spiritual reasons and some simply because they thought it tasted good. Although some westerners considered that charming and exotic, cannibalism has rarely received a popular press in the Western world. Despite that, until the 18th century, many Europeans used crushed skulls, bone marrow and a variety of other human "parts" as medicines and even today a not insignificant group of people, especially in England continues to cook and eat placentas believing that this in some way "simply returns to the body what has previously been lost".

With only few exceptions has the question of cannibalism fallen to the consideration of gastronomes.
In one such case, Guy de Maupessant had written a short story in which a woman murdered her lover. In order to destroy the evidence, she cooked and ate him, in fact, serving him up to a group of friends who had come to dinner. Because he had never tasted human flesh and could therefore not describe its taste, de Maupessant could not finish the story and set it aside for several years. When the opportunity arose, however, he bribed the attendant at the Paris morgue and came home with the left arm of a young man who had died in an accident. The author cooked it and invited several friends to dine (he did have the courtesy to let them know in advance on what they would be dining). Several days later, he completed the short story. Marco Polo, who kept extensive diaries of his travels, also had occasion on which to dine on human flesh, and wrote that he found it "too sweet, too tough and not at all pleasing". Another well known explorer and diarist to dine on human flesh was Captain James Cook. Cook never recorded his pleasure or displeasure with this repast but as is well known to historians, he was eventually eaten himself.

Whatever exotic charms there might be in pondering in an intellectual fashion on cannibalism, there are several major problems, not the least of which is that the consumption of human flesh is illegal in every nation in the world. Even more important, of course, is that in modern society no person has the right, under any circumstances, to kill another person for the purposes of eating him or her.
There are two other factors that many will perceive as among the "down-sides" of cannibalism. First, there is a very good chance that people who partake of human flesh will develop kuru, a neurological disease similar to the Kreutzfeld-Jacobs syndrome we most often associate with Mad-Cow Disease. Many agree that both of the most notorious cannibals of our time, the fictitious Hennibal Lector ("Silence of the Lamb") and real-life serial killer Andre Romovich who killed and ate parts of fifty three of his victims both contracted this disease. Second, and from a more purely culinary point of view, most Westerners who have tried it agree that the meat of humans is about as tasty as that of lions or vultures, neither of which are considered particularly palatable.

Those who do insist on pondering on the subject might care to reflect that in the Peter Greenway film, the body of the lover was spit roasted and garnished with whole cauliflowers and turnips. Whatever one thinks of this form of revenge, culinary purists will be in general agreement that spit roasting is not the ideal way to prepare human flesh. In fact, there seems to be general agreement that the best means of preparing the meat of humans are similar to the methods used to prepare large game such as deer, elk and wild boars. Following, are several recipes that seem appropriate for those of us who care to ponder (and ponder only!) on the potential of dining on friends or foes. As to whether I have ever tasted human flesh - let it be said only that self-incrimination is always foolish. I will say, however, that the following recipes are the only ones that I have published that I have never prepared or tested. Oh yes - theoretical wine matches for the following theoretical dishes would be full bodied and mature Brunello di Montalcino or Chateauneuf-du-Pape.

Finally - and forgive me if I am being repetitive - let us keep in mind that this little piece and the recipes were written as a form of black humor. Reading and chuckling may be appropriate but considering the preparation of any of these dishes on anything but the intellectual level is both immoral and illegal. I will definitely not accept invitations to sample any of these dishes.

Marinated Leg of Person

1 leg, about 3 kilos
6 cups dry cider
1 kilo carrots, sliced thinly
8 medium onions, sliced thinly
16 juniper berries
8 leaves sage, chopped
1/2 cup butter
2 whole nutmegs, grated
salt and pepper to taste

Combine half each of the cider, nutmeg and sage with 2 of the onions, the juniper berries and salt and pepper to taste. Cut the leg into slices about 1 cm. thick and over these pour the marinade. Refrigerate, covered, for 36 - 48 hours, turning the meat occasionally.

Remove the meat from the marinade and dry with toweling. Strain the marinade and to this add the remaining cider.

In a large flameproof casserole melt the butter and, over a high flame, brown the meat slices on both sides. Remove the slices, lower the flame and add the remaining onions and the carrots, cooking until the onions are softened. Pour in the marinade and bring to a boil. Add the remaining seasonings, replace the venison, cover and place in a medium oven for 1 1/2 hours. Serve hot directly from the casserole. Serves 6 - 8.

Person Stew

1 shoulder of person, about 2 1/2 kilo), dressed and cut into serving pieces
1 bottle dry red wine
1 cup olive oil
1/2 cup red wine vinegar
6 Tbsp. each bacon fat and flour
2 large onions, chopped coarsely
1 large carrot, chopped coarsely
3 stalks celery, chopped coarsely
3 cloves garlic, chopped finely
6 shallots, chopped coarsely
12 juniper berries
12 whole peppercorns
2 whole cloves
2 bay leaves, crushed
2 Tbsp. parsley, chopped
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. each thyme, oregano, basil and rosemary
salt, black pepper and cayenne pepper to taste

In a saucepan combine the wine, wine vinegar, olive oil, onions, carrot, shallots, celery, garlic, cloves and all of the herbs and spices. Bring just to a boil, immediately lower the flame and simmer for about 10 - 12 minutes. Remove from the flame and let cool for 1/2 hour.

Put the cup-up shoulder and giblets in a ceramic bowl and pour over the marinade. Marinate, covered, in the refrigerator for 2 - 3 days, turning the meat several times each day.

Remove the meat from the marinade and dry on toweling. Strain and reserve the marinade.

Sprinkle the meat with salt, pepper and cayenne pepper to taste. In a skillet melt the bacon fat and in this brown the meat, slowly on all sides. Sprinkle over with flour, stir and continue to saute until the flour is absorbed and turns light brown. Add the strained marinade and simmer, covered until the meat is tender (45 - 60 minutes). Correct the seasoning, simmer for 5 minutes longer and serve hot. Serves 6.

© Daniel Rogov