The Wrath of Grapes

April 24, 2009 11:30 AM

Planning on partying hard this weekend? Here are some yummy (non-scientific) ways to treat your hangover. Canada, England, and the US tend towards piles of greasy foods. Try poutine, fish and chips, or a greasy hamburger. For a Mexican hangover experience, look for menudo (previously) or chilaquiles. Peru lauds ceviche as a cure, while Ecuador turns to encebollado and churrasco. Bulgaria uses sauerkraut brine, Turkey has turnip juice, Korea looks for haejangguk, and Scotland has a soft drink called Irn-Bru.

A couple more hangover-easing recipes: Solyanka and Rassolnik from Russia, Khashi from Georgia (the Republic, not the State), Khao Tom Gai from Thailand, Yassa from Senegal, and Korhelyleves from Hungary.

What does Science say about all this? A recent study suggest that a bacon sandwich might be your best bet. For more recommendations, check out these previous posts. Disclaimer: I do not condone cooking while drunk or severely hungover.

posted by specialagentwebb (63 comments total)

Water. Duh.
posted by Sys Rq at 11:32 AM on April 24, 2009 [3 favorites]

look for Menudo

The cure is worse than the disease, doc.
posted by Inspector.Gadget at 11:34 AM on April 24, 2009 [1 favorite]

A Russian ballerina once told me that the only way to treat a hangover was to drink pickle juice.
posted by Afroblanco at 11:34 AM on April 24, 2009

Oh, bacon. Is there no end to your magical power?
posted by rokusan at 11:35 AM on April 24, 2009 [3 favorites]

Lucozade and cold pizza.
posted by minifigs at 11:35 AM on April 24, 2009

Researchers also found a complex chemical interaction in the cooking of bacon produces the winning combination of taste and smell which is almost irresistible.

Sorry, Science, I already knew that. I really hope there wasn't some publicly funded grants for this study. I like to imagine some college students in lab coats borrowed from the school, putting on a show of "being scientific" and cooking bacon for a lot of friends. "It's conclusive, everyone we cared to invite to our Bacon Bake-In thinks bacon smells delicious, even the scrawny vegetarian kid."
posted by filthy light thief at 11:36 AM on April 24, 2009

Russian ballerina... pickle juice... I know there's a joke there but I can't find it.
posted by rokusan at 11:36 AM on April 24, 2009

Fecking 'ell, does EVERY FPP contain a link (or a link to a link) to a Geocities page?
posted by filthy light thief at 11:37 AM on April 24, 2009

Paradox: If I'm hungover enough that I need to eat a bacon sandwich to clear my head then I am not coherent or able enough to make a bacon sandwich.
posted by The Whelk at 11:40 AM on April 24, 2009 [1 favorite]

Yeah, pickle juice (рассол) is the ancient Russian remedy. There's a Pushkin novella set in the 1770s where the main character is told to drink it (with honey!) when he wakes up with a hangover.
posted by nasreddin at 11:42 AM on April 24, 2009

Shouldn't we ask the experts?? What do the Irish use?

Probably a shot of whiskey on waking.
posted by spicynuts at 11:43 AM on April 24, 2009

My latest discovery (I am, after all, the Queen of the Hangover) are function drinks. Both flavors of urban detox taste horrible but they really are helpful. Even better than Emergen-C, even better than a Big Mac and a Coke - they work. Along with eggs, which give you some kind of magical egg protein that alcohol, in its hatred for all things chicken, removes from your body and bananas, which also help with foot cramps. It is sad that I know all this but everyone must have a specialty.
posted by mygothlaundry at 11:43 AM on April 24, 2009 [2 favorites]

Paradox: If I'm hungover enough that I need to eat a bacon sandwich to clear my head then I am not coherent or able enough to make a bacon sandwich.

This is the human condition in a nutshell. Oh nooo! How did I get in this nutshell??
posted by spicynuts at 11:43 AM on April 24, 2009 [2 favorites]

Filthy Light Thief: You won't have to put up with Geocities links for much longer.
posted by specialagentwebb at 11:43 AM on April 24, 2009

Yeah, it's water and grease for my hangover cure. Sometimes I'll do tacos and orchata instead.

But the only real cure for a hangover is the hair of the dog...
posted by schyler523 at 11:45 AM on April 24, 2009

I'm convinced that it isn't so much the grease that cures my hangover as it is the HFCS*, because McDonald's works faster and better than the taqueria. Though grease clearly has a role, because the taqueria works faster and better than a homemade breakfast.

Next time I'm hung over, instead of going out to get breakfast, I think I'll experiment with doing a shot of corn syrup and a shot of bacon fat and then going straight back to bed. I will report my findings.

*see, it is more sinister than we ever suspected!
posted by padraigin at 11:47 AM on April 24, 2009

I used to have impaired liver function, which made for epic hangovers from the smallest amounts of alcohol. I'd have a Vitamin B12 supplement whenever I drank a sip of anything, and never went without food and a lot of water. The next morning, another B12, Gatordade, and Kombucha (I actually brew it at home; it's my sole concession to hippiedom) were my brunch companions.
posted by foxy_hedgehog at 11:48 AM on April 24, 2009

Interestingly, Kombucha is also from Georgia (the country, not the state).
posted by foxy_hedgehog at 11:49 AM on April 24, 2009

The best cure for a hangover is sleeping the day away. If you can't do that, get yourself a giant, greasy breakfast - French toast, sausage and bacon, eggs, fried potatoes. Then sleep the day away.
posted by Marisa Stole the Precious Thing at 11:50 AM on April 24, 2009 [3 favorites]

So basically, science proves what I knew all along-- bacon is fucking awesome!
posted by anansi at 11:54 AM on April 24, 2009

Along with eggs, which give you some kind of magical egg protein that alcohol, in its hatred for all things chicken, removes from your body

Hmm. Perhaps this stuff is its own cure. It's horrible enough to seem like it should be.
posted by Durn Bronzefist at 11:54 AM on April 24, 2009

The best hangover cure is exercise. Having a lot of experience with both drinking and being a varsity runner at university we would often show up at (most definitely mandatory and early for a reason) Sunday morning long runs after having a few too many the night before. Sucks beyond belief to start out with a bad hangover but after 20 minutes all trace of headache is gone and you just feel tired - mostly from lack of sleep.
posted by jimmythefish at 11:57 AM on April 24, 2009 [1 favorite]

Pho at 11 am. Works every time, like a goddamn wizard's spell. All that protein, water, salt, noodle... yesssssss. I kind of want to GIVE myself a hangover just to make it go away tomorrow morning.
posted by FatherDagon at 11:57 AM on April 24, 2009 [6 favorites]

A recent study suggest that a bacon sandwich might be your best bet.

This is true in pretty much any situation.
posted by owtytrof at 12:06 PM on April 24, 2009

Pho at 11 am. Works every time, like a goddamn wizard's spell.

Sphere Of Greater Pho

(Creation) [Noodle]

Level: Sor/Wiz 1
Components: V, M
Casting time: 1 standard action
Range: Personal
Target: You
Duration: Instantaneous
Saving Throw: None
Spell Resistance: No

Restores 10 HP per level of the caster to a maximum of 150 points at 15th level. Removes effects of Alcohol, Intoxication, Stupor, and Hangover. Does not restore levels or negative energy.
posted by The Whelk at 12:13 PM on April 24, 2009 [4 favorites]

If you're in Malaysia, a ramli burger at 4 am works wonders.

Oh god, I'm drooling just thinking about them.
posted by dazed_one at 12:14 PM on April 24, 2009

I'm pretty qualified in this department

1) gatorade and ibuprofen
2) big greasy breakfast of your chosen type
3) trashy/silly movies
4) beer

works every time!
posted by supermedusa at 12:15 PM on April 24, 2009

Dolsot Bibimbap is the way to go. A giant hot bowl of rice with some greasy beef, a handful of veggies, some sinus clearing hot sauce and a fried egg on top. (Of course, dragging your sad self to K-town when you get up... that's where the plan falls apart.)
posted by Thin Lizzy at 12:21 PM on April 24, 2009 [1 favorite]

8 oz of slightly warmed coconut cream to wash down the Advil. That's what I resorted to in my very worst moments.
posted by mrmojoflying at 12:29 PM on April 24, 2009

I've got to second Pho here as the cure. Also spicy soft tofu soup with seafood chunks. They've both saved my hung over self many a morning. And many an afternoon. And... yeah.
posted by strixus at 12:40 PM on April 24, 2009

When in Thailand I prefer cream of sum yung gai.
posted by cmoj at 12:45 PM on April 24, 2009

Vitamin B12, lots of water, and a 3 mile jog.

I swear by it.
posted by sourwookie at 12:47 PM on April 24, 2009

What, no drunken noodles? Admittedly, I never put two and two together until I noticed that my favorite Thai place translates it "drunkard's noodles" and explains on the menu that it's a favorite of Thai boozehounds.

When I was a reckless undergrad, I was in the southeastern US, so the clear choice was two eggs over medium and a scattered covered.
posted by clavicle at 12:48 PM on April 24, 2009 [1 favorite]

As mentioned above, hair of the dog is the only thing that cures a hangover. Anything else is just a sticking plaster.
posted by fire&wings at 12:53 PM on April 24, 2009

I don't see "hair of the dog what bit ya" on that list.
posted by Pollomacho at 1:14 PM on April 24, 2009

Maybe I should slow down and preview.
posted by Pollomacho at 1:15 PM on April 24, 2009

Wake and bake is a great hangover cure. You'll still need the Big Breakfast, but it will be for the munchies, not the hangover.
posted by doctor_negative at 1:23 PM on April 24, 2009

I think every nation has it's own favourite cure. A French friend swears by French Onion soup; he says the combination of sugars from the fried onion, fat from the butter and a dose of wine works every time.

Being Scottish I swear by Irn-Bru. If only so Scotland stays the only country where coke isnt the best selling fiz.
posted by BadMiker at 1:35 PM on April 24, 2009 [2 favorites]

I swear by Irn Bru. It's also inexplicably available in Russia. Although I was introduced to pickle juice by a Polish friend, and Solyanka also does the trick nicely. Basically the combination of grease, salts, caffeine, and sugar is what's needed.

I haven't spotted it on this page, but Kvass on the way to work hits the spot.
posted by Wrinkled Stumpskin at 1:36 PM on April 24, 2009 [1 favorite]

On non-preview:

Double Private Wizard Jinx BadMiker!
posted by Wrinkled Stumpskin at 1:38 PM on April 24, 2009

Paradox: If I'm hungover enough that I need to eat a bacon sandwich to clear my head then I am not coherent or able enough to make a bacon sandwich.


You make the sandwich the night before, while drinking. It's fun!
posted by mannequito at 1:48 PM on April 24, 2009

I have an egg test.
The morning after, I lie in bed and think about whether I can face eating eggs. If I cannot, then I am too hungover for remedy, and shamefully return to sleep.
If I can face eating eggs, then I get up - slowly - and cook some eggs. I eat them and pretend it has helped.
posted by tawny at 2:02 PM on April 24, 2009 [4 favorites]

Fish & chips? For a hangover? In England?

Piffle.

Full English, mate. (Or a Bloody Mary if you can't face that.)
posted by ComfySofa at 2:05 PM on April 24, 2009

Well this is a new one on me:

"The cure was invented by the head banquet man at the Ritz, Adolphe Jeantet, and it involved taking a bottle of chilled Coca-Cola, shaking it, and squirting the soda into a glass of cold milk. According to one of Frazier's press agents, one drinks the Coke-and-milk, and then "you take a little nap and after that you feel wonderful."

Some other interesting antiquated cures here.
posted by Evangeline at 2:11 PM on April 24, 2009

Comfysofa - yes.
posted by tawny at 2:29 PM on April 24, 2009

Sadly, America doesn't have Irn-Bru (except as a very expensive import at a handful of places) but it does have Wake-Up Call, which Alka-Seltzer used to call Morning Relief. I try to line my stomach before drinking whenever possible, but if not there's always Perkins and its big-ass breakfasts. Speaking of which, one of the local Irish bars has started doing an Irish breakfast buffet on Sunday morning which I've wanted to check out for a while, but I usually just sleep in until it's time to get up, start the coffee, and play City of Villains.
posted by Halloween Jack at 2:38 PM on April 24, 2009

a pint of homemade orange julius with a raw egg in it followed by some B12 tabs & a long hot shower

&/or what doctor_negative said
posted by jammy at 4:27 PM on April 24, 2009

I've made a full english once. It took about an hour. When I'm massive hungover, I don't have that much time.

You should never take ibufrofen (or any other NSAID) for a hangover, it's much worse for your liver and stomach than the booze that caused your problem in the first place.
posted by schyler523 at 4:29 PM on April 24, 2009

Irn-Bru is disgusting. I don't care if it's made from girders or stolen by snowmen.

What I heard in college from a chem major was that alcohol metabolizes to an intermediate form, acetaldehyde, and that was what gave you the hangover. (Acetaldehyde is related to formaldehyd and tanning products, and basically turns parts of your tissues into living leather).

Cysteine is an amino acid that is a good catalyst for metabolizing acetaldehyde into simple sugars and water in the human body. It's made in small quantities by the human liver (or some other organ), but if you take a bunch of it while you're drinking and when you start to feel hungover, you'll be in good shape.

Eggs and pizza are high in cysteine, but you can buy it in supplement form... I haven't had a hangover in years.
posted by infinitewindow at 4:42 PM on April 24, 2009 [8 favorites]

Whoa there, hoss.

You don't eat poutine hungover the next morning. You eat it stumbling drunk at 3am. And it is pure manna, and you wonder how the world functioned before some Quebecois genius sprinkled curds over fries and then drowned the whole thing in gravy.

Then you regret it the next morning.

(At which point, as noted already in this thread, pho is a first-rate remedy. So's bun cha - grilled pork, noodles, lots of salty fish sauce. Plus also if you're in Hanoi there are places that do American-style breakfast on sizzling platters that are better than any greasy spoon on the planet and there's a cold beer stall on every street corner for the Hair of the Dog and really what I'm trying to say is that Hanoi might be the best city in the world to be hungover in.)
posted by gompa at 5:09 PM on April 24, 2009

I have yet to try this out myself, but I heard that Pedialyte is great for hangovers. It's made for kids with diarrhea, and it has way more electrolytes than Gatoraide, even.
posted by showbiz_liz at 5:13 PM on April 24, 2009

It's what plants crave!
posted by arto at 5:29 PM on April 24, 2009

I and the tattered remains of my once-mighty liver have done extensive research on this subject*, and I'm adding my vote to the "HOORAY PHO" pool. Gallons upon gallons of hot beefy awesomeness, maybe some crunchy spring rolls, and ca phe sua da, and you're well ready for another night's drinking.

*FOR SCIENCE!
posted by elizardbits at 6:29 PM on April 24, 2009

Jeeves, observing Bertie's painful state of mind, goes directly to the kitchen and returns with a drink on a tray, suggesting that Bertie drink it. It consists, he explains, of Worcester Sauce for colour, raw egg for nutrition, and red pepper for bite, among other ingredients. Bertie willingly swallows the contents of the glass, and feels a change immediately:

For a moment I felt as if somebody had touched off a bomb inside the old bean and was strolling down my throat with a lighted torch, and then everything seemed suddenly to get all right. The sun shone in through the window; birds twittered in the tree-tops; and, generally speaking, hope dawned once more.
"You're engaged!" I said, as soon as I could say anything.
posted by timsteil at 6:55 PM on April 24, 2009 [1 favorite]

I think I'm in agreement with infinitewindow re: IrnBru. On our recent trip around Scotland, he bought a bottle because our hosts had been raving on about it. I took a sip and nearly choked.

Having said that, my favorite cure for a hangover is simply opening up the fridge and consuming the first thing in it that strikes my fancy. Works wonders, but will fatten you up in no time. :-P
posted by arishaun at 7:42 PM on April 24, 2009

look for Menudo

You may be confused. In Mexico, "menudo" can mean two very different things. One is tripe. And one is made of cow's stomach.
posted by jonp72 at 9:20 PM on April 24, 2009 [1 favorite]

Vegemite on toast and the biggest cup of coffee I can manage. Followed by a fried egg sarnie for lunch, should the hangover continue.

Vegemite - B group vitamins, salt, other goodness.
posted by Jilder at 9:41 PM on April 24, 2009 [1 favorite]

When I was in the Peace Corps they gave us packets of rehydration salts for use when we had giardia or amoebas and whatnot. However, they were an excellent hangover cure, the best I've ever experienced. I switched to Pedialyte back in the US and I highly recommend it, with a side of a bacon, egg, and cheese English muffin.
posted by emd3737 at 9:43 PM on April 24, 2009

However, they were an excellent hangover cure, the best I've ever experienced

You have not partied unless you've seen medical students and paramedics putting in saline drips to help hangovers.
posted by The Whelk at 10:03 PM on April 24, 2009

> but if you take a bunch of it while you're drinking and when you start to feel hungover, you'll be in good shape

You are correct sir. Combined with Thiamine (vitamin B1), you got a solid recipe for preventing hangovers.

Actually, cross referencing between the naturally occurring sources of thiamine and cysteine, you start seeing some trends that encompass most other peoples "surefire" hangover cures. Eggs contain both, etc.
posted by mrzarquon at 10:19 PM on April 24, 2009 [1 favorite]

You're all doing it wrong. The next morning? What?

Here's how I roll.

ACT I

ME: Pray, pass me that yonder beverage.
TRUSTY FRIEND: Nay, that is but the empty remains of a glorious bottle. Onwards, outwards to pastures new.

Exeunt

ME: Good eve fair wench. Two pints of that glorious nectar with which to quench our thirst, for walking is some terr'ble harsh work.
TRUSTY FRIEND: Quick, sup thy drink posthaste, or we shall be stuck amongst the horde outside the gates. Onwards to rev'lry.

ACT II

OGRE: I dost not believe that you have age enough to grow hair on thy chest! Prove thy manhood, squire!
ME: Silence, ogre, my credentials are irrefutable, as this promisory note can show. Should thou notst be assailing most injuriously thy potential clients? Now, where shall I barter for entrance?
OGRE: In the keep, as is always.
WENCH: Afore one can enter the hall, one must pay tribute to the master.
ME: Tis not an issue, though it pains me greatly that the tribute be so much when the hall suffer from a paucity of decoration, a smell that lingers and sounds from the depths of hell itself.

Time passes

ME: Is there an ill in the world which VKs apple, tropical and blue cannot solve?
TRUSTY FRIEND: Aye, but the euphoria of the moment be always followed by the crushing pain the next morn.
ME: Tis true, good friend, 'tho not always. Follow me.

Exeunt

ACT III

SIMPLE POLACK: 'allo my friend. What is it that you seek?
ME: A hankering for sliced potatoes which have been fried, covered in cheese and then heated by the miracle of science, has brought me here. Canst thou sate my hunger?
SIMPLE POLACK: Yes. Two of your pounds sterling, and fifty of your bronze pence. Mayo?
ME: Yes, and the red sauce also.

Time passes

ME: For each pint of nectar, half a pint of the water of life.

Much time passes

ME: And now, that most reliable of elixirs, the famed up of fry, noted as brunch. Would that I had some reading matter and the dark liquid from the east. But 'tis nothing that cannot be sorted.

Fin
posted by djgh at 4:10 AM on April 25, 2009 [7 favorites]

An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. When drinking, stay hydrated. By the time you've hit the john 3 or 4 times, you should be spacing out those beers with a glass of water in between. Also, before sleeping/passing out down a couple of Tylenol/ibuprofen/aspirin.

If those steps fail, do the following:

1) Bong rip (optional, but recommended)
2) B-vitamin, preferably in fast acting genki-drink format.
3) As many french fries as you can eat/afford. McDonald's fries are the best, of course. The grease and the salt are actually what your body is craving when you're hungover.
4) Fountain soda of your choice
5) Bong rip #2 (optional, but recommended)
6) Watch DVD/TV on a nice soft sofa. Avoid heavy dramas.
7) Repeat steps 1, 3, 4 and 5 as needed.
posted by zardoz at 4:20 AM on April 25, 2009

1) Water before you fall asleep (that's the one that always gets me)
2) Revive Vitamin Water with excedrin when you wake up
3) Bacon & egg burrito as soon as you can face it.

Now I'm hungry.
posted by Space Kitty at 11:23 AM on April 25, 2009