Which Gets Killed First, the Chicken or the Egg?

I think culinary arts is the only profession where “killing” literally is allowed – out in the open- and the cooking people can get away with it without going to jail. Physicians? Nope. Lawyers? No. Artists? No. Cops? Case to case basis.

Because when you hold that sacred knife and slit the throat of the chicken and let out its blood, and scald with hot water to remove the feathers, you are actually becoming an instrument to serve mankind. Nature provides chicken, you, the talent. The talent for... “killing”? Probably. And I will not argue. In the professional kitchen it’s called “dressing” live chicken. It’s eviscerating a struggling catfish. It’s butchering a hog. Hanging the carcass on the ceiling. Chopping the neck. Pulling the intestines. Sucking the eyes. Frying the liver. Eating the heart. When we see Hannibal Lecter doing the same thing we cringe in horror. But when we do just exactly the same thing to chicken… we think of… ah, roast chicken, stewed chicken, liver pates… etc.

And when I myself see pre-mature eggs on freshly dressed chicken, I will be hypocritical to say “This is madness! This is murder!” For when I see chicken freshly dressed at the organic market, I think of chicken soup and arroz caldo with the young eggs. Tasting the life of the free- range chicken as they go about the field, breathing fresh air, eating organic grains. The tasty stock flavored by the highly mobile bone marrows and the delicious neck. If chickens of the world are not meant for consumption, then what is their part in the ecosystem?

I respect animal activists and vegetarians, but whether I am a cook or a nomad, I would still be praising nature for giving us such creatures to feed on. Now at least I am honest. And I honestly believe too, that not all animals are meant to be cuddled nor taken in as pets. And I too strongly believe, that some animals would fulfill their destiny better when they are eaten on a feast than safely tucked under the sheets. I think if nature didn’t love mankind enough, then it could have produced green- blooded alien creatures not suitable for the dinner table. It shouldn’t have given delectable things in the first place. Why, nature knows better!

Eggs, for example. When you see them, do you honestly think of baby chicken that could have hatched? Because I… I think of… sunny side- ups with gooey yolks for breakfast.