Before I came here, I read in the Kazakhstan guide book that sheep's head is often eaten at family gatherings or get-togethers. I hadn't experienced it until today. My host family had their extended family in town for a visit and they cooked beshbarmak, Kazakhstan's traditional dish (meat, pasta, onions- this time with potatoes too). And they cooked a sheep's head on the side. As with my previous post about the cow's feet and head, when the sheep is killed, the head is torched and the char is scraped off. Nothing else is done and nothing is taken out of the head.
Kazakhs don't cut up everything before getting to the table. They cook the meat, carry it to the table and then cut it. So the head was given to the man at the head of the table and he cut up the head. This means scraping everything off the bone. The flesh, skin, eye balls and even the brains were emptied out onto a plate. My stomach has been doing cartwheels for the past 2 days but I decided I would try it all the same- my stomach already hurts after-all. I told him I didn't want much because my stomach has been bothering me and for once I got the amount i was hoping expecting. I didn't get much of the flesh or skin. I got half an eye-ball and a healthy amount of brains that were pink (looked like Whiska's cat food).
I won't lie. They taste wasn't great. The hardest part is getting over the fact that your eating brains and eye. I held my composer but I'll be honest....there was a brief second when i was swallowing it that I forgot to fool myself and I let the psychological terror set in. I repressed it and everything was fine. The brains had a smoky flavor- probably from being torched inside the head. The eyeball was the same. I wouldn't say it was good and I wouldn't have wanted more than my two fork loads. My stomach isn't any worse because of it though.
