Andrew Zimmern's Top 9 Most Bizarre American Foods Slideshow
SPAM
I like ground lips and feet as much as the next kid, but factory-made in a "can" just isn't right. I would rather have the real stuff. Where it's commonly found: Austin, Minn.
American Cheese
I rest my case. It can't even be legally called "cheese." Where it's commonly found: Everywhere.
Hot Dogs
Freshly ground in a real casing with the requisite snap is awesome. Commodity dogs are made under a veil of secrecy. You do the math on that. Where it's commonly found: In your grocer's meat section.
Roasted Prairie Dogs with Cedar
Cute as the dickens, and pretty tasty, too, but these little varmints are singed whole to remove the hair then stuffed with cedar boughs and roasted in the coals of the fire. Where it's commonly found: New Mexico.
Prairie Rats
In the high desert of Arizona these critters are counted in the millions. Easy to trap, they are cooked whole or staked out to dry for jerky, survival school style. Where it's commonly found: Arizona.
Pickled Pigs Feet
I like em roasted, I like 'em boiled and pulled, I like 'em BBQ-ed, but pickled pigs feet is a tough sell in my house on a good day. Where it's commonly found: Gas station checkout counters.
Walking Taco
Bags of corn chips filled with canned chili and fixings are a staple of fundraisers all across small town America. Some are good, most are inedible. Where it's commonly found: Smallville, USA.
Raccoon
I have had them a hundred times and it's only been delicious on a few occasions. Most folks don't understand that they have to be skinned well to remove all the fat, twice cooked (braise, then roast), and you need to remove the stink glands under the arms. If you don't, well, it gets pretty ripe. Where it's commonly found: The South.
Stinkheads
Most often made from salmon, the heads are lopped off, buried in the ground to rot, and dug up when the good bacteria has eaten the bad bacteria and the heads are safe enough to eat without killing you. Where it's commonly found: Alaska.