Turtle

[TruthWalleyes]

Good turtle recipes! Whatcha got??

[almberg]

Here's a good one I've made before. It's stew so you can add or subtract vegetables to your liking. The main thing is to slow cook the turtle meat. It gets rubbery if cooked too fast.

Turtle stew

2 1/4 c. turtle meat - cut in 1" cubes

2 c. diced celery

3 med. carrots, peeled & diced

1 c. tomatoes

Salt and Pepper

4 tbsp. butter

1 med. onion, sliced

3 med. potatoes, peeled and diced

1 c. fresh lima beans

1/2 c. parsley

Place onion, lima beans, celery in Dutch oven and cover with water. Bring to boil and simmer 30 mins. In meantime, saute the turtle meat in butter in skillet until brown on all sides. Add meat, butter, potatoes, carrots, tomoatoes, parsley, salt and pepper to the vegetables in Dutch oven. Simmer for 45 mins. or until all vegetable are tender. Serves 6.

[TruthWalleyes]

Sounds excelent!

[klecker]

I may not be the only one with this question. But how do you cut up or remove the meat from a turle? And what kinds are the best to eat?

Thanks Chad

[Sandmannd]

Not sure how you cut them, but my Dad talks about eating Snapping turtles when he was growing up on the farm.

[fishdale]

I may not be the only one with this question. But how do you cut up or remove the meat from a turle?

This is from the net. My Grandpa used to nail them to a tree to clean but I did not rememeber anything after that part.

How to Clean a Snapping Turtle

1. Put live turtle in a 55 gal. drum for 7 days, to allow it to empty it's system, it helps with the smell. Keep fresh water in the drum. Scoop out the feces with a net.

2. Using channel locks, hold him tight by the mouth with neck stretched out. Cut off his head.

3. Hang him upside down to bleed out for about 30 minutes.

4. Put him on his back, cut claws and feet off.

5. Cut skin around shell top and bottom, cut and pull skin away from shell on the front legs until skin is removed.

6. On the soft shell belly outside edge of shell, cut through soft shell contact points and remove.

7. Remove guts and innards.

8. Remove front legs, may need to twist to break the joint.

9. Cut and peel skin from back legs and neck.

10. Remove back legs and neck, again twisting to break joints.

11. Leave meat on bone, but try to remove as much fat as possible.

12. Wash with cold water, repeat until clean.

13. Freeze submerged in water.

[Tom Linderholm]

And there you go! Thanks for the look-up, pretty self explanatory. When I have received turtle it's always been frozen in 5lb buckets, that takes the guess work out of what fishdale explained.

[ec30_06]

My dad always made it in the slow cooker. I think he rolled it in seasoned flour, browned it in a pan, and then threw it in the slow cooker all day. I do remember it was very good. That is the same way he made squirrel legs.

[kaz2611]

I caught one while fishing 10 yrs ago thought id try it and see how it tasted. I put it in a 55 gal barrel and filled with water CHANGING THE WATER DAILY this flushes out alot of the muddiness. then stretched his neck with pliers and decapitated it and hung in tree for about 4 hrs laid tutrtle on his back and snipped the 2 contact points at the sides of shell and then still using a sharp tin snips i cut the skin down each leg and neck THIS WAS CHALLENGING AS THE MUSCLES IN LEGS AND NECK STILL CAN CONTRACT. then i removed the shell and entrails after i removed the meat i soaked it in salt water for 48 hours. making them i pan fried meat cubes after dipping them in an egg wash with worschestire sauce and hickory liquid smoke. then rolled them in a flour breading with salt black pepper and cajun seasoning with a touch of garlic turned out very well. I took these to a wild game feed at local bar and many people tried them and commented that it didnt even taste like turtle several ladies liked them as well.