Texas survivalist tries roasting scorpions to see how they taste. It’s tough to watch

The same Texas survivalist who made news last fall for cooking and eating the rattlesnake that bit him is again pushing the limits of good taste, by chomping on scorpions.

“Primitive skills instructor” Bob Hansler, who has more than 300,000 YouTube followers, posted video of the moment last week, garnering 29,000 views as of Tuesday afternoon and a lot of I’d-rather-starve comments.

“We’re going to do some cooking and eating of a creature most people think of as the thing of nightmares,” Hansler warns in the video, before pulling a live whip tail scorpion from a bag. “I’ve never seen anybody eat one of these... Let’s see how they taste.”

From the painful facial expressions that follows, it is clearly not a pleasant experience, despite the fact he roasted them over a campfire.

Whip Tails, also known as vinegaroons, are like “a miniature monster from a horror movie,” according to a report from the University of Florida. They excrete an acid that doesn’t kill, but it makes them taste absolutely horrible to predators, Hansler admits in the video.

“I did come prepared. I’ve got a bottle of Cholula (hot sauce),” he says, then adds: “I’m going to eat from the claws back.”

So how does a scorpion taste?

It depends on which part, he says. The claws taste “bacony, woody (and) not bad,” Hansler says in the video.

As for the acid-filled abdomen, Hansler is seen laboriously chewing in the video, wiping his eyes, grimacing and forcing the mouthful down with a painful-looking gulp.

“That’s some weird flavors, guys,” he finally says. “That has some bite... I can see how having the acetic acid in the abdomen would keep a creature from wanting to eat it.”

At best, it tastes like pickles... when you drown it in hot sauce, Hansler says.

He goes on to explain that the point of the experiment is to show what someone might survive on, if stranded in the desert.

Hansler was hospitalized briefly last year after being bitten by an “aggressive, angry rattlesnake” while on one of his survivalist treks. He bounced back weeks later with videos on how to cook rattlesnakes, including recipes for pan fried and bacon wrapped.

This story was originally published October 1, 2019 at 10:09 AM with the headline "Texas survivalist tries roasting scorpions to see how they taste. It’s tough to watch."