Thank you!!! I was wondering what I was going to fix for Thanksgiving dinner this year! Now I know.

We had this last Mardi Gras. I was afraid the hippo would be hard to come by here on the gulf coast but we ordered it from a local speciality store. We omitted the salt & used Old Bay Seasoning and replaced the gravy with my grandmothers' roux recipe. It was fantastic! Oh and don't forget Bay leaf, about 25 pounds works great! Makes great leftovers too.

I bet you could substitute a couple of large manatees for the Hippo and the stew would be just as good.

Would that change the recipe to a Seafood stew?

Use both for a lovely surf-n-turf!

I'm stymied by the best cheese pairing, though.

This was excellent, but personally I prefer to pre-cook the hippo. It cuts down on the preparation time by nearly a month! It's quite easy if you can find an old tanker car from your nearest abandoned railway station. Seal the hippo in the tanker (make sure it's clean first!), drive it into the coal storehouse, and light it up! By the time the coals have died down a week later, your hippo will be nicely roasted. Crack it open and everyone in your town will be salivating at the smell!

I love this dish, but have to avoid it because it seems to go straight to my hips.

My mom used to use this recipe when we'd bring her a walrus. What kind of wine goes with hippopotamus?

I used Moroccan hippo blend from an online spice company called Juliet Mae. It added a hint of both sweet and hot flavors and really holds up for the weeks of simmering. Try Juliet Mae Spices!

This dish freezes beautifully if you have leftovers (which I doubt).

The best recipe I have ever come across. It is nice to make use of all the hippo's we have here in the west of Ireland. The Burren is full of them as the limestone offers good camoflage. The skin makes good badhrans too.

C'mon guys, anyone thats done hippo knows you make gravy from the drippings. Anyway I am toying with the idea of doing a hipcowpigturducken, any recipes?

We are getting a little tired of traditional foods with our latkes, this is a great alternative and a new tradition. I will add a ton of red pepper flakes to kick it up a notch!!!

You found a source for Kosher hippo?!?

What kind of a wine would you recommend with this? Obviously we're talking a red here, but should I splurge on something nice or do you think something on the cheap side would do the trick?

Nah. Don't have wine. You need some good ol' white lighting with this dish. Everyone knows one of the good ol boys who can make the 'shine.

Can't wait to try this recipe! I think it would go great with my 200 lbs of leftover couscous. However, I am having trouble thawing the frozen hippo. I took it out of the freezer two and a half months ago, put it in the fridge, but its rump is still frozen solid. I'd set it on the counter but I'm afraid it would spoil. Any suggestions?

Hey Allen,

What's worked for me is cutting the Hippo in separate pieces as it thaws. Use a saw and a couple of friends to help you make the cut. Otherwise, you're right. It takes a few months to get the freeze out. Of course, it's always best when it's freshly killed. Hope that helps!

MICROWAVE IT using the "thaw" setting. (...amateurs!)

Simply cut the meat off as it thaws and refrigerate.
If the stew foams when simmering then you might have a spoiled rump.
Add the equivalent of 3/4 of an orchard acre of lemon juice and about 6 pounds of lye (don't overdo the lye). The addition of the acid will (usually) kill the foam-causing bacteria.
Oh, don't forget to include approximately 3 gallons of lemon zest. It adds a festive tone and will reduce the cooking time by up to a week as it helps to break down the connective tissues.

Bon à petit! (No, that can't be right).

And as Julia Child reminds us,"Don't forget to save the liver for a lovely paaaaahhh...tè!"

Are you lutefisking the hippo? The annual traditional dish that nobody eats.

This recipe is excellent! My guests were very pleased to see how beautifully it all came out. I would suggest, though, to not add as much salt and reduce the amount to 3/4 ton. This brings out the natural flavor of the hippo much better.

Holy-y'all serious? Almost every comment I read seem to have eaten this dish! Sheesh, there's no way I'll ever be havin' Hippo all the way here in Texas.

I love this! Thanks guys for the comical break in the boredom that is the hunt for a new and different dinner.

Texas!?? 'Not a problem. I hear that Colombia is having a sale on Escobarian hippo. It's a little tougher than Asian hippo so, add 7-10 days to the simmer time.