Florida has always had a knack for attracting the bizarre, and when you think you’ve heard it all, the Sunshine State manages to outdo itself. The latest tale making the rounds is a wild one, even by Florida standards. After a rare cold snap swept through South Florida, a local man decided to turn a pile of frozen iguanas into an unconventional culinary experiment: iguana tacos.
The video opens with the guy explaining how the weather took an unexpected nosedive. South Florida is usually all palm trees and sunshine, but now and then, a chilly front rolls in and throws nature for a loop. Iguanas are especially vulnerable. They are not native, which is part of the problem, and they can’t handle the cold. So, when temperatures drop, their bodies shut down, and they literally fall from the trees.
Most people would probably steer clear of the cold-stunned iguanas, leaving them for animal control or just ignoring the problem until nature sorts it out. But the guy in the video points out that these iguanas compete with native wildlife for food and habitat, and Florida officials have long encouraged humane removal. So, rather than let the sudden iguana crop go to waste, our culinary adventurer grabs a few, hauls them into his kitchen, and gets to work.
He calls iguana meat “the chicken of the trees.” Apparently, iguana has a mild flavor, and when seasoned right, it’s surprisingly tasty, especially when tucked into a taco with all the trimmings. The video doesn’t show every gory detail of the preparation, but the chef is adamant that everything was handled ethically.
The story takes another twist when, during the cleaning process, he discovers that the iguana he is preparing is loaded with eggs, over twenty of them. By removing one iguana, he potentially prevented dozens more from hatching and spreading across the neighborhood.
He patiently guides viewers through every stage of his process. He simmers the iguana meat with onion, garlic, bay leaf, and salt to tenderize it, then sets it aside to cool. The eggs are soft-boiled and blended with avocado, olive oil, garlic, lime juice, and seasoning to make a sauce. After stripping the meat from the bone, he seasons and pan-fries it until crispy, warms tortillas in the leftover oil, and assembles the tacos with pickled red onions, jalapeños, cilantro, and the homemade sauce.
He has even got a deep-rooted ‘waste not, want not’ philosophy. When he finally takes the first bite, he dubs it a “Florida man taco.” He jokes, “If you can’t beat ’em, eat ’em,” alluding to the infamous reputation of iguanas as invasive pests in Florida.
Internet Reacts as Florida Man Turns Iguanas Into Tacos
One X user commented, “He just dipped the mama in the babies and ate them both.”
Another user jokingly said, “I want to be on his team during the apocalypse.”
A user went on to say, “Dear lord, we are eating lizards. Help!”
A user humorously pointed out, “Florida men NEVER beating the *expletive* allegations.”
“Please tell me this is a joke …”, one user’s repost read.
Yet another user mentioned, “The way i said “awe cute iguana” and then immediately after he said “let’s make tacos” and i gasped so loud.”
In Florida, dinner can be unpredictable. Here, what ends up on your plate might have dropped from a tree that morning.
