Can you eat seal?
In this brief article, we are going to answer the question “Can you eat seal?” We will also discuss the nutritional benefits of eating seal meal and why it should be consumed raw to reap its maximum benefits.
Yes, you can eat seals. It’s been a food source for centuries and it’s still being consumed in the northern areas, largely by the Inuit people. The seal is a marine animal, a type of mammal, and mostly lives in the Atlantic Ocean.
Seal’s flesh is often eaten but its organs and blubber are also eaten in various regions of Canada. Traditionally, it was hunted for its skin which is used for various purposes, and also for survivability in food scarce areas.
Its meat is unique and very delicious and its taste is compared to a beefsteak or similar to the liver without the taste of blood; instead of tasting more like meat, it feels and tastes like an internal organ. The Meat is very lean and becomes very chewy and dry unless it is cooked for a short time.
Its flesh may be used in a variety of recipes and meals. It can be seared, eaten raw, roasted, or eaten as a steak cut. It’s an essential component of Canadian cuisine. Seal Tartare, for example, is a popular dish that is frequently combined into a pie and served with root vegetables and a thick sauce.
Seal meat can be used as a replacement for veal and other similar lean meats in recipes and dishes.
What are the nutritional benefits of eating seal meat?
Seal meat is abundant in trace elements, including iron (in hooded seals) and zinc (in harp seals), magnesium, and folate. As well as vitamins, particularly vitamins A, D3, and B12.
It has a high protein content and a well-balanced amino acid profile. It’s lean meat with less than 3% fat that’s mostly made up of monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fatty acids, which are considered healthy for consumption.
Meanwhile, the meat has a low level of potentially hazardous elements such as nucleic acids and cholesterol. Seal meat is also a good source of minerals, including iron, and vitamins, particularly vitamin B12.
The brain, liver, and eyes of the seal, as well as the meat itself, generate vitamin D at various levels. Vitamin D aids in the maintenance of healthy teeth, the maintenance of a strong bone structure, and the prevention of disorders such as rickets and diabetes.
Vitamin C is abundant in the seal’s intestines and liver, which helps to improve the immune system.
Seal meat is high in minerals and vitamins, which help our bodies operate properly. Seal meat can give five times the daily vitamin A consumption and two times the daily vitamin D intake in a single dish.
Seal meat can also aid in the creation of red blood cells, the healing of bodily tissues, and the enhancement of muscular performance.
In 100 grams of seal meat, there are:
Calories: 367
Total Fat: 25g
Cholesterol: 64mg
Sodium: 120mg
Protein: 35g
Iron: 17.0 mg
Potassium: 400mg
Why is seal meat eaten raw?
The meat itself has an unusual flavor and texture, and the color is deep and dark, comparable to duck or deer meat, but the animal has evolved a completely new technique of storing fat as a result of its existence in the frigid North Atlantic.
It lacks flecks of intramuscular fat, like in other meats; instead, the fat is stored in oil form and pervades all of the meat.
Seal meat gives you a lanolin-like sensation in your hands, but that oil is also one of the reasons seals do not inhabit anywhere else than the coastlines where it’s harvested: like many oils (walnut and flax spring), seal oil spoils rapidly and there’s no way to preserve it.
That’s why Canada’s aboriginal seal-hunting peoples like to eat it raw because seal meat has a limited shelf life and is tastiest when it’s at its freshest.
Conclusion
In this brief article, we answered the question “Can you eat seal?” We also discussed the nutritional benefits of eating seal meal and why it should be consumed raw to reap its maximum benefits.
