# The Lord blessed us today...



## deaconjim (Oct 31, 2005)

with a nice snapping turtle. :dance: Found him taking a stroll across my pasture. Anyone care to share a recipe?


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## DavidUnderwood (Jul 5, 2007)

After I clean them, I boil them good,
then pick off the meat. Roll it in fish
breader and fry it nice and brown.
Or you could make soup, but hay,
you can make soup out of anything,
right?


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## deaconjim (Oct 31, 2005)

DavidUnderwood said:


> After I clean them, I boil them good,
> then pick off the meat. Roll it in fish
> breader and fry it nice and brown.
> Or you could make soup, but hay,
> ...


Soup is what I had in mind, something Cajun perhaps. This will be my first time doing this. I've been told it's good to keep them in a tub of water for awhile before you butcher them. Is that necessary?


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## DavidUnderwood (Jul 5, 2007)

Not really nessecary. They get quite
nasty when confined. How in heavens
name can such a small animal crap so
much?! 
All reptiles carry salmonella, so scald it
after its dead, before you cut it. Just 
pour hot water over it and the skin will
turn loose.


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## shanzone2001 (Dec 3, 2009)

Oh, I thought you had a new pet!!!


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## Our Little Farm (Apr 26, 2010)

Oh gross!


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## big rockpile (Feb 24, 2003)

I've been Baking them lately.

I thought I would share this

http://www.catfish1.com/forums/cont...-=211-Snapper-From-field-to-table-illustrated

big rockpile


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## Danaus29 (Sep 12, 2005)

Not cajun but very good, cooked turtle meat added to homemade veggie soup. 

I suppose to make cajun turtle you could make etoufee and put the meat in that.


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## springvalley (Jun 23, 2009)

Tastes like chicken?? >Marc


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## Danaus29 (Sep 12, 2005)

No snapper I've ever eaten has tasted like chicken. It's different and hard to describe because different parts have different flavors, but none taste like chicken to me.


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## deaconjim (Oct 31, 2005)

big rockpile said:


> I've been Baking them lately.
> 
> I thought I would share this
> 
> ...


Thanks Rockpile! That answers a lot of questions I had running through my mind.


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## Farmerwilly2 (Oct 14, 2006)

I just read this weekend, when checking on trout streams in Ky. the the alligator snapper is protected in Ky. Eastern snapper was legal, but not the alligator.


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## deaconjim (Oct 31, 2005)

Farmerwilly2 said:


> I just read this weekend, when checking on trout streams in Ky. the the alligator snapper is protected in Ky. Eastern snapper was legal, but not the alligator.


This is definitely an Eastern snapper. If it were an Alligator snapper, you can be sure I would have protected him on his journey down to the river.


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## gone-a-milkin (Mar 4, 2007)

Our Little Farm said:


> Oh gross!


Pretty much my thoughts too. 
Needs a lot of those cajun spices.


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## Jolly (Jan 8, 2004)

The following is from a web page. If true to taste, I prefer Arnaud's.

Another really good recipe page for Louisiana cooking is John Folse:

http://www.jfolse.com/newfindrecipe.htm




Turtle soup is a great delicacy in Louisiana. The flavor of the turtle meat is both delicate and intense; there are supposedly seven distinct flavors of meat within the turtle. Commander's Palace Restaurant, in New Orleans' Garden District, is famous for its turtle soup -- it's a dark, rich, thick, stew-type dish, filling enough to be a meal in itself. More often, though, it's the first bookend of a great meal that's finished by a fantastic dessert. Arnaud's Restaurant, in the French Quarter, also has great turtle soup, and the recipe is quite different. Commander's is thicker, and Arnaud's is a little lighter, using a white veal stock instead of a dark beef stock.


Commander's Palace Turtle Soup au Sherry
10 ounces (2-1/2 sticks) unsalted butter 
3/4 cup all-purpose flour 
1 pound turtle meat, cut into 1/2-inch cubes 
1 cup minced celery (4 stalks) 
2 medium onions, minced (2 medium) 
1-1/2 teaspoons garlic, minced 
3 bay leaves 
1 teaspoon oregano 
1/2 teaspoon thyme 
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper 
1-1/2 cups tomato purÃ©e 
1 quart beef stock 
NOTE: If turtle bones are available, add them to the beef bones when making the stock for this dish 
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste, as needed 
1/2 cup lemon juice 
5 hard-boiled eggs, finely chopped 
1 tablespoon minced parsley 
6 teaspoons dry sherry 
Melt 8 ounces (2 sticks) butter in a heavy saucepan. Add the flour and cook, stirring frequently, over medium heat until the roux is light brown. Set aside.
In a 5-quart saucepan, melt the remaining butter and add turtle meat. Cook over high heat until the meat is brown. Add celery, onions, garlic and seasonings, and cook until the vegetables are transparent.

Add tomato purÃ©e, lower heat and simmer for 10 minutes. Add the stock and simmer for 30 minutes. Add the roux and cook over low heat, stirring, until the soup is smooth and thickened. Correct seasoning with salt and pepper to taste. Add lemon juice, eggs and parsley.

Remove from heat and serve. At the table, add 1 teaspoon sherry to each soup plate.



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Arnaud's Turtle Soup au Sherry
1/4 cup salt 
3/4 cup fresh or frozen turtle meat 
3/4 cup ground veal shank meat 
6 cups veal stock 
2 cloves garlic, chopped 
2 bay leaves 
1 pinch whole dried thyme 
3 tablespoons tomato pureÃ© 
1/2 cup celery, chopped 
1 cup green onions, chopped 
1/2 cup white onions, chopped 
1 tablespoon fresh parsley, chopped 
2 lemons, halved 
3 tablespoons sherry 
2 eggs, hard-boiled and chopped 
2 tablespoons roux 
Salt and white pepper to taste 
Combine eight quarts of water and half the salt in each of two large pots and bring to a boil over high heat. Place the turtle meat in one, the veal in the other, and simmer both for 45 minutes. Remove both pots from heat, drain the meat, and chop both meats coarsely in a food processor. Keep warm until needed.
Place the veal stock, garlic, bay leaves, and thyme in a large pot and bring to a boil over high heat. Add the tomato pureÃ©, vegetables, parsley and lemons, and bring back to a boil. Reduce the heat, and simmer for 10 minutes.

Add the two kinds of meat and the sherry. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 5 minutes. Add the eggs, and season to taste with salt and pepper. Thicken by adding small amounts of the roux.

Add a final splash of sherry to each individual bowl when serving, if desired.

Serves six.


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## Tiempo (May 22, 2008)

I've had the turtle soup at Commander's Palace, it's fantastic, but then so is all their food!


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## GBov (May 4, 2008)

Havnt had snapper yet (no snappers are legal down here in Florida) but had some red eared slider this spring.

FANTASTIC meat, very VERY nice!

I just simmered it gently till tender (in a little water with onions and garlic) and then floured and fried it.

Even beats squirrel for taste and up till then, squirrel was my favorite wild meat.

I get right cross when I see them dead on the road now, such a waste of great meat!


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## GBov (May 4, 2008)

Oh, forgot to say, try to pick a recipe that doesnt hide the flavor. Its so good you dont want to cover it up with too many spices


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## backwoodsman (Jan 21, 2010)

Big Rockpile that was a very good link. Im a member there too and theres quite a few recipes for fish and game there. Most trapping and hunting sites have a recipe forum too. I/we dont shoot our turtles but otherwise thats exactly how we've dressed them for close to 40 years. Sharp rap on the tip of the nose stuns them and by grabbing the head with channel locks or similar its easy to behead them with a sharp knife. Ive deboned some before after dressing and rolled the meat out, lightly floured it and browned it for stews. Fried is still my favorite but a hearty burgoo with alot of turtle and game meat is hard to beat on Christmas Eve. They say theres 7 different kinds of meat on one. Dont forget the tenderloin inside the back shell. If the turtles big enough, this piece is primo eating.


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## GBov (May 4, 2008)

Wish I could find a link like that for sliders! It took a hack saw and WAY to much time cleaning my first one!

Well worth it though :grin:


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## backwoodsman (Jan 21, 2010)

Never dressed a slider GBov. We call them queenies here.


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## GBov (May 4, 2008)

backwoodsman said:


> Never dressed a slider GBov. We call them queenies here.


They are worth the trouble of getting in but would like a better easier way lol.

Might try cutting the legs and neck free and then using my loppers on the shell edges next time.


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