How to Clean & Cook Snapping Turtles

Snapping turtle dishes are a staple in Southern cuisine. Turtle meat can also be found in both Chinese and French cooking. Soup and stew are two of the most popular dishes made from turtle. When properly prepared, the meat is tender and tastes similar to veal. And turtle is lower in calories than many other kinds of meat. Three and a half ounces has 90 calories. While turtle meat is available in a few select markets, you can clean and cook your own snapping turtle.

Things You'll Need

• Scissors
• Rope
• Knife
• Chisel
• Hammer

Instructions

1. Cut off the turtle's head and hang the turtle upside down for half an hour to allow for the blood to drain. You can tie a rope to its tail and hang it over the sink or outside.

2. Lay the turtle on its back. Cut the claws and feet off. Trim the skin around the turtle's shell and pull the skin off of the front legs to expose the meat. Twist off the front legs, back legs and neck.

3. Place a chisel on the bottom of the shell and crack it open with a hammer. Remove the guts and the innards. Wash all the meat you've take from the turtle with cold water and store in the refrigerator.

4. Chop up the meat for a soup or stew. Look for any bones or broken pieces of shell. Decide how you want to use your turtle meat. Because turtle meat is so flavorful, you want to use a recipe that is going to complement the meat rather than cover up the taste. Avoid recipes that use excessive spices so that you will be able to taste the full depth of the turtle meat flavor.

5. Turtle meat should be eaten within a couple of days of butchering, but you can keep the cooked meat for three to four days.

Tips & Warnings

• Save the top of the turtle shell to use as decoration.

• Check with local authorities to ensure that turtles are not endangered in your state and butchering them is not illegal.

References

• Back Wood Bound: Clean a Turtle
• Gomestic: Turtle Meat for Eating

Resources

• Gumbo Pages: Turtle Soup