00:00It is currently so cold here in South Florida that iguanas like this one are falling out of the trees, so today we're making iguana tacos.
00:06Green iguanas are an invasive species here in South Florida that compete with our native wildlife for resources, but because they're not from here, they aren't adapted to the cold.
00:14So when we get these cold fronts, they become too cold and they fall straight out of the trees.
00:18Whenever we have these cold fronts and they start falling down, a lot of people will go out and collect them to help control the number and the population.
00:24But they do have the nickname Chicken of the Trees because they're absolutely delicious, so rather than let this one go to waste, we're gonna make tacos.
00:30This next part I'm not gonna show because I don't want the video to get taken down, but we have to humanely dispatch and clean this guy.
00:35It's a good thing I managed to remove this one when I did because inside I found over 20 eggs.
00:40So by removing this one iguana, we've actually saved the environment from over 20 iguanas come spring.
00:45And you guys know that I like to waste as little as possible.
00:47So in addition to making the tacos, I'm also gonna try to preserve the skin, and any leftovers are used as crab trap bait, so zero waste.
00:54First things first, I filled the pot with water and added onion, garlic, a bay leaf, and some salt, and we're gonna bring this to a simmer.
00:59Once it was at a low simmer, I added in the iguana meat, and we're gonna let this cook on low heat for the next 30 minutes.
01:05By par-cooking the iguana like this, you give it flavor and tenderize it.
01:08After 30 minutes, I removed the iguana meat, set it to the side so that it could cool down, and then added the iguana eggs to the hot water to soft boil.
01:15Then I added the soft-boiled iguana eggs with some avocado, some garlic cloves, a little olive oil, salt, and lime juice, and gave it a good mix.
01:21Once it was done, I topped it with black pepper and lime, and we have our sauce.
01:26Next, I removed all the iguana meat from the bone, added in my favorite seasonings, and tossed it into the frying pan so that it could get nice and crispy.
01:33I like to let the edges crisp up until they look something like this.
01:36In the leftover oil, I crisped up some tortillas, then I added in the iguana meat, topped it with some pickled red onions, jalapeno, and cilantro, and then drizzled on our sauce.
01:44And there we have it, iguana tacos.
01:46They look good and they smell good, but now it's time to see how they taste.
01:49I'm just going to add a little squeeze of lime to this one, give it a nice little dip into the sauce, and bon appetit!
02:01Mmm, mmm, mmm!
02:03Now that right there is a Florida Man taco.
02:06If you can't beat them, eat them.
02:08Let me know if you'd give iguana tacos a try, and until next time, get outside and see what you can find.
02:15Mmm!
02:15Mmm!
02:15Mmm!
02:15Mmm!
02:15Mmm!
02:16Mmm!
02:16Mmm!
02:16Mmm!
02:16Mmm!
02:16Mmm!
02:16Mmm!
02:16Mmm!
02:16Mmm!
02:16Mmm!
02:16Mmm!
02:17Mmm!
02:17Mmm!
02:17Mmm!
02:17Mmm!
02:18Mmm!
02:18Mmm!
02:19Mmm!
02:19Mmm!
02:19Mmm!
02:20Mmm!
02:20Mmm!
02:21Mmm!
02:21Mmm!
02:21Mmm!
02:22Mmm!
02:23Mmm!
02:24Mmm!
02:25Mmm!
02:26Mmm!
02:27Mmm!
02:28Mmm!
02:29Mmm!
02:30Mmm!
02:31Mmm!
02:32Mmm!
02:33Mmm!
02:34Mmm!
02:35Mmm!
02:36Mmm!
02:37Mmm!
02:38Mmm!
02:39Mmm!
02:40Mmm!
02:41Mmm!
02:42Mmm!
02:43Mmm!
Comentarios