Ever since chef Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall fried one up on a TV show and then scoffed it, a fleeting thought flashed through the minds of the carnivorous amongst us: "Hmmm, I wonder if it tastes of chicken."
Well, thanks to an adventurous new dad the answer can now be revealed: it's more like beef!
Have I put you off your lunch yet? No? Let's press on.
After witnessing the birth of his baby son, Guardian writer Nick Bainestook fatherly involvement to a whole new level when he asked the surgeon who performed his wife's Caesarean if he could take home a doggy bag containing 'a few cheeky steaks of placenta'.
The surgeon, not unreasonably, replied: "How are you going to cook it...with spices?"
Then, on behalf of the rest of dadkind, Nick took his wife and newborn baby home before indulging in placentophagy: the act of eating the placenta.
While still frowned upon by some, eating the placenta for its apparent health benefits is growing in popularity. Nick searched online for the best recipes, with an initial attempt at a placenta smoothie proving unsuccessful.
The meat-filled drink 'looked rank', despite being blended with coconut water and banana for 10 minutes.
He wrote: "Up front was the distinct flavour of banana, superseded by a metallic, bloody backnote. It had a mineral earthiness to it and tasted exactly like the delivery room had smelled."
He finally found success with seasoning the meat and cooking it served in a taco, which apparently tasted 'rich, with a beef-like quality'.
He wrote: "The cooked placenta was actually pretty good. As I seasoned it on the chopping board, the bright, almost glowing red chunk of placenta was more attractive than many cuts of offal I've dealt with, and looked quite appetising.
"The meat was rich, with a beef-like quality. It was tender, kind of like roast brisket and not dissimilar to Texas BBQ."
Could I have baby carrots with mine, please?
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