Stop horsing around! What do horse pie and zebra pie ACTUALLY taste like?

Pie Review of Horse Pie and Zebra Pie made by the Pierateers at Pierate HQ

The UK food industry has been rocked in recent weeks by headlines relating to traces of horsemeat being found within products that were packaged as being beef, with spaghetti bolog-neighs being one of the controversial items unintentionally on offer. This has lead to some significant changes in attitudes towards what consumers choose to eat, some grovelling apologies from major UK supermarket chains but also for some inquisitive people to wonder: what does horsemeat actually taste like?!

Well here at pierate.co.uk we have tried to contact a number of major food producers involved in the horsemeat scandal in an attempt to obtain an actual horse pie, so that we could inform the nation of what horsemeat actually tasted like. Unfortunately Tesco, Findus and IKEA did not get back to us regarding our tweets. So we took things into our own hands by ordering some horsemeat from exoticmeat.co.uk – and while we were at it, we thought it rude not to pick up some zebra meat (and a few other steaks too – you’ll hear more about these in the coming weeks and months!)

So with the horse and zebra steaks having arrived and been defrosted, Pierateers RAS, SJL and ARL met together to celebrate RAS’s birthday with some pie. Here’s the video to find out how they looked coming out of the oven:

And so on to what the horse pie and zebra pie actually tasted like, in the equine frenzy which the punters dubbed “The Pierate Steaks”:

Horse Pie
The meat was quite chewy, with a strong flavour (which several Pierateers likened to kidney). In trying to compare it to a more commonly eaten meat, it had quite a beefy kick to it. You could see why, texture wise, it could easily have been mistaken for beef in the previously mentioned beef ready meals. It was not bad but not as nice as the Zebra. However the Pierateers would buy a horse pie in a shop if it was being sold commercially.



Horse Pie

Zebra Pie
All the Pierateers agreed the Zebra pie was really good – a pleasant surprise for those who had not eaten Zebra previously. The meat was a lot tenderer than the horsemeat, with a texture likened to pork and a very nice meat to eat pieces of – complementing the pastry nicely. The Pierateers would certainly be tempted to buy more zebra for a special occasion or African themed pie party, and definitely have it again if it was being sold in a pie shop.



Zebra Pie

The summary was that the horse was outdone by its stable mate, leaving the zebra to be the reigning champion in the "Pierate Steaks". There was no need for a photo finish, as the zebra won by far more than a nose. Perhaps the horse was dazzled by its equine competitor?!

One thing’s for sure, the zebra zigzagged, left us zonked and outstripped its neigh-bour.