Bad Tattoo Brewing鈥檚 newest creation will have you saying 鈥楥rikey!鈥� once you鈥檝e tasted their crocodile pizza.
Specially ordered from a farm in Australia, the Penticton brewery and restaurant decided to go wild and experiment with crocodile meat鈥搕he tail meat specifically. Donnie Carlson, head chef and dough boy at Bad Tattoo, said the idea to use an exotic meat as a topping arose during the recent Snakebite Film Festival.
鈥淲e were looking at funny stuff to do for a special. Our friend, Carl Meadows, held the Snakebite Film Festival a few weeks ago and we wanted to get rattlesnake for that night as a cross-promotion,鈥� said Carlson. 鈥淏ut Sysco can鈥檛 stock it anymore, it used to be something you could buy鈥� then we found the crocodile.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a farmed product out of Australia and what we鈥檙e using is the tail, so it鈥檚 a tail fillet.鈥�
Carlson said the meat comes frozen and staff only thaw as needed to preserve its freshness. He said this meat has surprising characteristics that one wouldn鈥檛 expect.
鈥淚t鈥檚 actually really high in protein and super low in fat compared to chicken. It鈥檚 just one of those things that鈥檚 weird, so people don鈥檛 eat it. But it鈥檚 actually not as weird as you expect when you eat it,鈥� said Carlson. 鈥淚t鈥檚 very similar to halibut in flavour, but it鈥檚 kind of similar to catfish in texture. So it鈥檚 tougher when it鈥檚 raw, and the joke of it tasting like chicken is very true.
鈥淭hat鈥檚 why we designed the pizza as like a barbecue chicken pizza. Except it鈥檚 barbecue sauce, ranch, and croc鈥� If I didn鈥檛 tell you (it was crocodile), you probably wouldn鈥檛 notice.鈥�
All dough for Bad Tattoo pizzas is made fresh, in-house and Carlson said they make a simple thin crust to 鈥渇ocus on the toppings.鈥� A pizza takes about four minutes to fully cook in the restaurant鈥檚 pizza oven, another reason why thin crust is an advantage.
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Carlson said the biggest challenge, aside from keeping the meat fresh, is overcooking. He explained that crocodile meat can dry out and become tough if it spends too long cooking, but because of the short cooking time in their oven they can avoid that.
鈥淚t kind of is the perfect cooking method for it. Goes on raw, comes out super quick so it stays tender,鈥� said Carlson. 鈥淚t鈥檚 actually not that chewy because we cut it thin as well.鈥�
The crocodile meat is paired with a mild-spiced barbecue sauce, crunchy onions, cilantro, mozzarella cheese and poblano ranch. Carlson said this specialty pizza will be available 鈥渁ll spring and summer鈥� until the end of September until they switch back to their fall and winter menu.
Carlson said the crocodile pizza is best paired with a bitter IPA, but said any beer goes with pizza in general.
鈥淭his is definitely one of the weirdest ingredients we鈥檝e brought in, even in the process of getting it. No one carries crocs, so we had to get it special-ordered in,鈥� said Carlson. 鈥淚t鈥檚 pretty expensive but it鈥檚 just too cool not to do it. And working with any raw product gives you that extra layer of challenge in cooking it. But I think it鈥檚 worth that challenge because it鈥檚 just such a unique item.
鈥淗ow often can you say you鈥檝e had something like crocodile?鈥�
To report a typo, email: editor@pentictonwesternnews.com.
<>Jordyn Thomson | Reporter
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