So, as I’m travelling on my journey to learn more about the Indigenous Australian culture I become more and more curious about those well known Aboriginal type foods – one of those foods is the WITCHETTY GRUB. …. WATCH THE VIDEO BELOW (I actually eat them raw and cooked!)
People often ask me, “Have you eaten a Witchetty Grub yet?” And so, I thought I’d better try one. (It was also my idea to eat a mangrove worm – which Australian Aboriginals eat raw – but after this witchetty grub experience I really don’t think I could stomach a long wriggly worm).
Witchetty grubs are a natural food source in the Australian bush. In Tropical North Queensland you’ll find the little critters in Grass Trees. Look out for the grass trees that have yellowing leaves (dying) and the grubs will be there. What you do is kick over the grass trees and look at the bottom inside the small grass tree. Some trees are rotted – but in some of them you’ll see the hollow holes with white grubs.
The white grubs are what you eat. The week before we found some witchetty grubs and cooked them just a bit by wrapping them in grass and bark and lighting the grass on fire. They cooked only a little and tasted like creamed corn – quite yummy.
I don’t like squirmy wriggling creatures to begin with so to look at a grub thinking I was going to eat it was rather disgusting.
But Willie is an expert at these things and he took the wriggly critters from my hand and squashed their heads (so they don’t bite you on the way down) – and then he popped them in his mouth like popcorn. So yah, it looked easy!
When it came to my turn it was just weird and gross. 🙂 My stomach rolled around upset until the next morning – probably just the gross factor in my mind but still.
After we ate this Australian bush tucker raw Willie cooked one up crunchy and that was the BEST TASTING WITCHETTY GRUB I’ve ever tried. It tasted like creamy cashews.
(I can’t imagine I’d eat one raw again!)
Willie Gordon is from Guurrbi Tours COOKTOWN, Tropical North Queensland Australia. He’s a BAMA which is what the local Australian Aboriginals call themselves in Cape York.
