[RIKA]

With all this talk of snakes, can anybody suggest proper serpent field dressing (how do you gut a snake???). How do you get them ready for cooking and how do you cook them? Can I roast a chunk on a green stick over an open fire like a weenie? Any recipes?

Thanks

RIKA

 

[41mag]

NO!NO!NO!NO!NO!NO!Snakes are your friend!The thought of eating a snake is just wrong!

SHAME!SHAME UPON YOUR HOUSE!



































Seriously,I understand that skinned & fried,it tastes like chicken. :nyah:

 

[KJUN]

Seriously,I understand that skinned & fried,it tastes like chicken. :nyah:

Bull Puckey! Do you know what taste like chicken? I'll give you a clue, it is the only thing I've ever tasted that tastes like chicke: CHICKEN!

Rattlesnake is sweeter when cooked right. Ratsnake is just too dang tough to have a flavor....lol.

Before anyone else asks, frog tastes like frog (not chicken), gator tastes like the seasoning (and NOT chicken), iquana tastes like a sweet with a hint of beef, etc.

Of course, taste is personal and different for each person. Those that think everything tastes like chicken are either lying so you don't try to cut into their supply, can't cook worth a darn, or have VERY weak taste abilities. I have pity for those in the third group and disgust for those in the second group....lol.

 

[RIKA]

So are you gonna offer a recipe, KJUN?

RIKA

 

[Rich Z]

Heck, I would have thought that anyone used to Cajun style cooking wouldn't have ANY taste buds left anyway. :nyah:

 

[brass hammer]

and i never said i couldn't cook!

i'm a pretty fair hand at it ,although, the mess i leave behind in my culinary quest is ah, shall we say, dis-heartning :dgrin:

rika, after it is beheaded [rattlesnake, that's all i've prepared] i carry the little swiss key-ring knive[thooth-pick/tweesers/sissors,razor sharpe blade]


slit lengthwise straight down the belly 'traction bands'? then peel,gut [like you would a fish, theres not much to mess with on the last6"to8" or so,about the same on front, your call.

i like it best, cut in 4"to6"pieces then rolled in flour,and pan fried ,[egg yolk also, when i'm turned loose and making a mess]ha! cook like chicken, taste to me, is a cross between chicken /froglegs

i've grilled[i keep a little folding 'clamshell' grill thingie in truck tool box] several, just watch your heat as it will get rubbery/chewey



bon-appite[sp?]





thanks.

 

[mrostov]

Rika, most of the rattler's I've killed and eaten have been out in the bush. I prefer to try and kill them with a rock or other primitive methods so I can practice hunting for food without a firearm. You should be well experienced doing this before any time of crisis. Rattlers offer cleaner meat than rabbits.

Basically, I just dress them out and either cook them in a frying pan over the coals, add them to some other food, or cook them on a sharpened stick over the fire. A little salt or tobasco sauce maybe and you're ready to feast.

 

[RIKA]

Thanks guys!

Serpent a'la RIKA, here I come! (I will only eat my attacker of course )

RIKA

 

[Magnum88C]

Brass Hammer covered the dressing pretty well.

I like to slice it (after fileting it) into 3/4" "rings", throw it int eh cast iron on top of soem olive oil and fry it up good. Drain. Add veggies, I like red and green peppers, onions and a LOT of water chesnuts. Add a little more olive oil, cook until veggies are not quite raw, but still crunchy. Sometimes add a little soy or teryaki sauce.

I think a lot of people say stuf "tastes like chicken" because most people asking only know what supermarket food tastes like, and chicken is often the closest thing. Rattlesnake tastes like rattlesnake.

 

[RIKA]

Magnum, you are a gourmet after my own heart.

RIKA

 

[KJUN]

Heck, I would have thought that anyone used to Cajun style cooking wouldn't have ANY taste buds left anyway. :nyah:

Don't joke. Something is wrong if you season food on your plate no matter where/when BEFORE even tasting it because you KNOW it ain't gonna be seasoned enough....lol. I carry salf, cracked black pepper, and Tony's in my truck at all times in case of an emergency. I cut back once for about a monthj. It nearly killed me, but I was amazed at how much better I could taste lower levels of seasonings. Amazed, I say! But, I creeped back up to normal again as my palate got used to the higher levels again. I guess I should cut back every couple of months top maintain a higher sensitivity level, but those cut-back months just aren't worth living!

Rika, Skin thewm by cutting down the middle of the ventrals after cutting the head and tail off, pull guts out, and pull skin off. I de-bone the larger ones like a garfish (you end up with 2 tubes-o-meat) and just cut the smaller ones into 4-6 inch sections bones and all. Those are great on the pit over a low fire with some Jack Millers on it. Fry the boneless pieces in your favorite breading misture. (My mixture is my secret....lol.)

Those are my suggestions, anyway.

Ernest A. Liner from Houma, LA, has a decent LITTL reptile cookbook. Try to find it in a used bookstore somewhere. BUT, do NOT waste your time trying to substiture Elaphe with Nerodia (YUCK!) in a backed dish unless you are starving and plase don't even true the box turtle recipe. That's just cold hearted, but I can get sentimental towards moving rocks.

KJ

 

[RIKA]

Thanks KJUN. I leave turtles alone. They don't harm me and I don't harm them. Now please, what is Jack Millers and Elaphe with Nerodia? Will look for the cookbook.

RIKA

 

[KJUN]

Thanks KJUN. I leave turtles alone. They don't harm me and I don't harm them. Now please, what is Jack Millers and Elaphe with Nerodia? Will look for the cookbook.

RIKA

Elaphe is the genus that most ratsnakes fit in. In this case, I was reffering the Texas ratsnakes, grey ratsnakes, black ratsnakles, etc. (Texasin my case - I imagine a fat yankee black ratsnake might be a little better, but I don't know). Nerodia is the genus of most common North American "watersnakes." For example, Broad-banded watersnakes, northern watersnakes, diamondback watersnakes, etc. are all Nerodia. (They were called Natirx a couple of decades ago, and garters/etc. are not Nerodia).

Jack Millers is the BEST BBQ sauce in the world. Thick and hearty with chucks of perfectly cooked seasonings, onions, etc. Nothing like the thick "water" most people are forced to get from the grocery store now. I sometimes open the ice box and eat some with a spoon - it is that good.

To give the flavor a LITTLE more tang, add a little bit of beer (Bud Dry is best IMO) to the Jack Miller's before you use it. It'll thin it down and make it easier to spread, too. (Hmmm, come to think of it, that is the only good use for beer I've ever found....lol.)

Of course, put "Tony's" on everything! You know what that is, right? If so, try it on popcorn, french fries, etc and not just meat. Great.

KJ

 

[41mag]

You know,I bet that a deep fried,beer battered snake would be pretty tasty.I see the point of avoiding Nerodia too.Icky,nasty 'lil buggers.A good bull or gopher snake could provide quite a bit of meat.

 

[KJUN]

You know,I bet that a deep fried,beer battered snake would be pretty tasty.I see the point of avoiding Nerodia too.Icky,nasty 'lil buggers.A good bull or gopher snake could provide quite a bit of meat.

Actually, I'd let those things pass. Pituophis (bulls/gophers/etc.) just look girthy because of the way the pull in air to blow. When "deflated", they don't have enough meet to justify killing one for food in a non-survival situation. They can be pretty uncommon in many areas, anyway.

All said and done, just stick with the fat atrox if you have to eat some. Now, I only eat ones I see get freshly ran over. I still get a few per year that way without having to kill ones I caught to take a photo of....lol.

KJ

 

[41mag]

Actually, I'd let those things pass. Pituophis (bulls/gophers/etc.) just look girthy because of the way the pull in air to blow. When "deflated", they don't have enough meet to justify killing one for food in a non-survival situation. They can be pretty uncommon in many areas, anyway.

You're telling me!The only snake of any size around here is a racer.THAT would not be worth going after for dinner.

It's too bad we don't have alligators in Mi...

Come to think of it though,adult snapping turtles are all over the place & a heck of a lot easier to catch than any snake.

 

[KJUN]

It's too bad we don't have alligators in Mi...

Don't get me started. Alligator is probably by favorite source of animal protien in the world. Yum. I didn't get drawen for a tag this year.

Come to think of it though,adult snapping turtles are all over the place & a heck of a lot easier to catch than any snake.

Sliders are good, too, but much harder to clean. (The scars on my left thumb are an embarrassing reminder of that fact!) Snapping turtles might be protected up there. I'm not sure. Alligator snappers are protected in every state they occur in except one. Common snappers aren't as widely protected, but some states do offer them at least some level of protection against harvest. It is needed in some cases, but not in others.

Closure on the harvest of Alligator snapping turtles makes sense in some parts of that range, but complete closure across the board is stupid. Thankfully, it hasn't comer quit to that point yet. I wish LA had a little mopre protection for the larger, breeding adults, though.

KJ

 

[41mag]

KJUN,we have a snapper season up here with bag,possesion,& size limits.

I read not too long ago that LA was finally going to protect Macroclemmys.It's about damn time too!

It's funny you mention sliders.I was just reading a book on various turt species & there is,supposedly,a slider species from west-central Mexico where the males measure a foot carapace & the females are 20-24 inches.It'd be kinda neat to have a two foot slider.I can see why Fish & Game wouldn't want them imported though.

 

[Magnum88C]

Speaking of "thinning" BBQ sauce, I like to use a couple of shots of whiskey or scotch instead of beer.

Must be the Celt in me.

 

[Glenn Bartley]

I have eaten rattler several times, and have had a few different species. This despite the fact that I keep pet snakes, and breed them too (no not with them). There are many ways to prepare snake meat. Some cook them after gutting them with the skin on. This maybe a good idea if doing so in coals. Then you eat it sort of like a smoked eel. I have cooked them over an open fire on a spit, and also in the pan and the pot. I prefer them sauted in butter and white wine with a hint of garlic a few pinches of salt a dash of pepper and whatever other spices I may experiment with that are on hand. Cook until tender - I don't remember how long that was as it has been years since I have prepared and devoured one.

To field dress a snake it can basically be gutted like a fish. You can par boil to remove the skin more easily, or just peel it off. Remember that Rattle Snakes and other venomous snakes (as all snakes) often are capable of movement after death due to reflex actions. This means that a very dead rattle snake can envenomate you. VERY CAREFULLY cut off the head before handling it for food preparation. If you don't know how to hold a snake to prevent you being bitten, then learn how first, and I suggest not from Steve Irwin.