Diners “Have a Ball” at NorCal Testicle Festival

It's common practice on cattle ranches for young male bovines to be castrated into steers

OAKDALE, Calif. -- The idea may seem a little nuts, but Oakdale's annual Testicle Festival is always a big hit.

On Monday, volunteers with the town's Rotary Club plan to fry up 400 pounds of the private parts of bulls and serve them to diners who pay $50 apiece for the sit-down meal.

The event, whose proceeds benefit the Oakdale Cowboy Museum, has drawn an average of 450 people and last year raised $28,000.

It was called the Calf Fry for years but in 2003, the event became the Testicle Festival. The name change has more than doubled attendance at the ballsy event, according to the Modesto Bee.

It's common practice on cattle ranches for young male bovines to be castrated into steers, which after the initial loss, eventually makes them more docile and easier to handle. Fans of the delicacy, also referred to as "mountain oysters," descend on Oakdale from points around the state.

In order to make the private parts palatable, they must first be peeled and marinated overnight.

"Wine and basil and garlic," says Testicle Festival president Lee Scaief on the museum's Web site. "Then we take them the next morning, we bread them. Then we take the breaded material and deep fry it. We also add bay leaf, rosemary, garlic and we steam them. And after that, they are very, very good."

According to the Rotarians, everyone who comes is guaranteed to "have a ball."

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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