We skinned rats in bio class many years ago. We were unaware that we should have then heated up the skillet. WSJ:

in 2004, flare-ups of bird flu claimed scores of lives here and prompted many diners to search for alternative sources of protein. Demand went up, but paradoxically supply did too. That’s because rats’ natural predators — snakes and cats — are increasingly finding themselves on the menus of posh restaurants frequented by wealthy Vietnamese.

In the Le Mat district of Hanoi, dozens of restaurants specialize in snakes either farmed for the table or caught by hunters. Other snakes are shipped to China, where they are also considered a delicacy. A booming economy has caused snake prices to double in the past year in some places to roughly $18 a pound. And despite a 1998 government ban on cat consumption enacted to control the rat population, felines are also sometimes eaten at some restaurants; on menus, they appear as “little tiger.”

Also from the article: “Rat may taste like chicken, but with a tiny rat drumstick between your fingers, it’s hard to pretend it really is.”

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