anyone here eat turtles?
 

i was fishing last night and caught a huge softshell turtle and got to thinking. i dont really have any interest in eating a turtle but i wonder how many people do eat them? is a softshell turtle a good kind to eat? how do you prepare them(as far as "skinning" and whatnot)? and how do you cook them? ive got alot of turtles in my lake and im not agenst the idea of trying one but im kinda hesatant about it since ive never had one and i dont really know anyone who does eat them

RE: anyone here eat turtles?
 

I've never fixed it, but turtle soup is awsome!The first time I had it was when I was like 4 or 5. Some of my parents friends cook up a huge batch once a yearand invite everyone over. Dh thought we were crazy until he tried it. Now he can't wait for the outing. I'll see if I can find out how they make it, and pass it on.

RE: anyone here eat turtles?
 

I killed a huge snapper when I was in college. This thing was a monster. I cleaned it, cooked and ate it. It was OK.

I started researching on snappers and found out that this particular turtle was pushing 50yrs old. Kinda made me feel bad for shucking him out just to get some meat that tastes like chicken. LOL

RE: anyone here eat turtles?
 

i dont think ill be trying turtle any time soon id try it but im not going to cook it we have alot of snapping turtles too but we catch alot of softshells while were fishing ive seen some of those huge allagator snapping turtles on them out door shows like crocadile hunter type shows they had 1 they said was close to 100 years old thats amazing to me they can live that long

RE: anyone here eat turtles?
 

I haven't eaten turtle for some time , but it's starting to sound real good !

RE: anyone here eat turtles?
 

absolutley ; all kind , shape , and jender.
If fixed right it is awsome.
One thing to remember is to remove "ALL" fat.that is what messes up most foods,is not knowning how to fix it.

we eat tutle about once a mo.a friend has a fish camp and saves all the turtles for me,plus what I get myslef.

with things getting the way they are(prices and the war and all) we may go back to the , eating what you can when you can get it.;)[:o][8D]

RE: anyone here eat turtles?
 

Used to eat turtle soup about once a year or so, and had it fried up like fish. Very good both ways. If I remember right they were always snapping turtles and ususally ones under 10-15 lbs.

I have no idea how to clean them or exactly how to cook them, but I do remember it was was very tastey and I was quite a picky eater as a kid.

RE: anyone here eat turtles?
 

TURTLE SOUP AU SHERRY

Turtle soup is a great delicacy in Louisiana. 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
 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 puree
 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-qt 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 puree, lower heat and simmer for 10 minutes. Add the stock and simmer for 30 more 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 tsp sherry to each soup plate.
ENJOY!

RE: anyone here eat turtles?
 

Orderinggg..."one turtle soup...and make it snappy":D

RE: anyone here eat turtles?
 

Big snappers are good. If you get above 15#'s or so, the meat is tough.
We catch them on jugs or fish for them. Then we boil a wheelbarrow of water and chuck him in there. The lift him up and take off all the skins, toenails, and cut that airplane shaped shell out of the bottom. Then cut off the legs and neck and tail to eat. Throw all that yellow looking fat away. It tates like $hi^. They are good in soup, but you need to try them fried.

RE: anyone here eat turtles?
 

after reading this i might have to catch me a few anyone know of a site with pictures of how to clean one? i learn best in person or by pictures

RE: anyone here eat turtles?
 

I'll clean one in the next few days (hopefully) I'll take pics in a step by step process for ya. Hopefully I'll get one soon.

RE: anyone here eat turtles?
 

After boiling and scraping off the 'skin' and toenails, cut out the airplane shell.

The bottom shell will lift out like a can lid. Remove the entrails.

Slice the legs, tail, and neck loose from the inside of the top shell.

RE: anyone here eat turtles?
 

I clean mine about the same as farmcntry ; except I don't put mine in boiling water. I just cut off the head,nail the tail to a stump and cut the bottom shell off and then work on the leggs and neck.
After I get all the meat out,I cut all the yellow and white fat off and cut into cooking portions.
put in pressur cooker with seasoning you like till tender,flour and pan fri in hog lard till brown.

RE: anyone here eat turtles?
 

I trap snappers and there good eatin!

RE: anyone here eat turtles?
 

when we were kids mom used to have suprise dishes like tongue, heart, etc; one night she fed us turtle, i dont think she knew what she was doing, it was extremely tough, like chewing on leather, didnt taste bad though.

RE: anyone here eat turtles?
 

You guys have peaked my interest and now I am just going to have to find a turtle!!! Not too many here in the desert called Utah!!!

RE: anyone here eat turtles?
 

they got me too im in no hurry to catch one but next time i do ill try and clean and cook him ive got a lake in the back yard no more then 50yds. from the back door so it`ll be soon. what does the boiling do to it loosen the skin or tenderize it? i dont have a pressure cooker so id have to boil it. but how long do i boil it for? is there a minimum size for the turtles? i dont think we have any HUGE ones in here im guessing the majority of what i see is around 5lbs. when i wanna catch some ill probably set out jugs or some trout lines but whats a good bait? i keep catching them on live bream when im bass fishing but bream wint stay alive ling on a trout line
thanks for the info so far, sean

RE: anyone here eat turtles?
 

rusty ; cut that bream in half and bait the line or jug with it.
I always use a trebble hook and beef liver for turtles.if there are lilly pads in the lake , you can lay the bait on top of them and the fish want eat your bait.
with the trebble hook you will catch a lot of them in the foot.they push the hook out of there mouth with there foot and the other hook gets them in the foot.

if you don't have a pressure cooker ; use a crock pot and let them cook overnight;or boil till you can stick a fork in it (tender).

there are no size limits on them in Fla. I like the soft shells best.the snappers are bigger but less meat(unless you get a real big one)50lbs or more.the small snappers are better tasting(less tough);but you get less.

I had an uncle that comerrical fished for a living.sometimes he would call and we cleaned 15 to 20 turtles at one time.that was a" JOB" to clean that many.

good luck........give them a try (boiled till tender then fry like chicken) you cn't beat it for a change.[8D][8D][8D]

RE: anyone here eat turtles?
 

boiling before you start cleaning makes the shell's soft and you can peel that skin and toenails off easily. Throw it in boiling water for 1min each side and repeat as needed.

5# snapper isn't much meat at all. Good one to try as the first one though.
Jugs work well with chicken liver or shad, etc. You may catch catfish on them if thre are any in your pond

Good luck.

RE: anyone here eat turtles?
 

ive never actually weighed a turtle so i may be wrong on the 5# thing but most of them ive seen are a little smaller then a dinner plate but ill definatly try and catch me a few here soon thanks for the info, sean

RE: anyone here eat turtles?
 

I tried some fried snapping turtle about 10 years ago. The flavor wasn't bad, it was just cheeeeewy. Then again, anything has good flavor if it's fried. [&:] I don't plan on eating anymore turtles in the near or distant future.

RE: anyone here eat turtles?
 

It is good, we have been seeing a lot of them this spring, when working ground, they are enroute to finding a place to lay their eggss, I used to catch them going across the field and pu t them in a bag and give a buddy of mine and help him clean them, we used to put them in a breel for a bout a week to clean them out...

RE: anyone here eat turtles?
 

that is put them in a barrel, having a problem with my fingers I guess.

RE: anyone here eat turtles?
 

can i boil the meat after i clean them? o dont really have anything handy to boil a whole turtle but if i can do it after there cleaned i can just do that in the house

RE: anyone here eat turtles?
 

mow you guys have done it im going to have to go get me some turtles and get cooking yummy

RE: anyone here eat turtles?
 

Rusty you can clean them and then pressure cook the meat. It's just easier to me if you can boil them while in the shell. Aftewards I still pressure cook them.

RE: anyone here eat turtles?
 

I had an odd thing happen today. I caught a turtle on a small Repala Floating Minnow. It definitely was trying to eat it - it wasn't snagged. I caught a crappie on the cast before and casted to the same spot. A few turns of the reel later I thought I had snagged on a log or something. When the log gave way I was reeling in a good sized turtle. It wouldn't let go or else it was hooked. Either way, the lure was firmly in the turtle's mouth. When I finally got it to shore it just spit it out and backed back into the water. Anyone ever experience anything like that before?

RE: anyone here eat turtles?
 

I've had them hit top water, crankbaits, jerkbaits, and worms on carolina rigs. I've also seen them hit bobbers.

RE: anyone here eat turtles?
 

we catch them on live bait all the time we use small bream or shinners about 3' under a bobber they seem to hit them more when the fish is pretty much at its end but we also catch a fair amount on brand new live bait and we catch them with live worms on occasion but i cant say as ive ever caught one on a lure

RE: anyone here eat turtles?
 

TURTLE PIE

11/2C turtle meat ........... 1 onion, diced
cut into cubes ........... 3 TBSP butter
3 TBSP flour .......... 11/2C water

Brown meat in butter; add diced onions and salt and pepper to taste. Add the water and let simmer for about an hour then remove meat from water and put in a greased casserole dish. Make a thin flour paste and add to the turtle meat. Make a baking powder biscuit dough and cover the casserole with it. Bake in hot oven at 350 until biscuit dough is golden brown.

This recipe came from an old cook book I found, dated 1971

Ron:D

RE: anyone here eat turtles?
 

I havn't had turtle in years but reading this has really inspired me to go catch a few. My mom used to fix some kind of stew out of snappers me and my dad would catch when I was a kid and I loved it. She died 10 years ago though so I have no way of finding out how she made it.
I remember how we would catch them though. We'd use chicken gizzards as bait(liver and really any type of meat would work but gizzards stay on the hook really well and for a long time) and just put it on some nylon twine and make a sturdy leader out of some wire so they wouldn't bite through the line. We'd toss them out into one of our ponds and almost allways by the next day we'd have a turtle on.
I also remember my dad keeping them in big tub of water for a week or two before he clean them. He'd change the water every few days and when the water stayed clean for a day or two we'd clean them. This was done so they turles could "clean themselves out" of all the nasty rotten stuff they eat and would supposedly give them a better flavor. I wouldn't think that would be necessary if the turtles came from a nice clean lake or stream but the ponds we caught them from also had cattle around them so I suppose that's why he did that.

RE: anyone here eat turtles?
 

I still havent cooked any yet I catch them all the time I just havent had the urge to try cooking one yet but I will eventually

RE: anyone here eat turtles?
 

I finally ate some turtle the other night, I went to a friends and he had cooked a huge pot of turtle in what id call some sort of stew(I think it was nothing but turtle though?) and it was awesome it reminded me of chicken & dumplins. But now turtles high on my list of things to learn to cook my self. So does anyone else have a recipie or anything?

RE: anyone here eat turtles?
 

I caught one once. I busted his shell up and removed the meat.I floured that puppy up and fried it.Taste like chicken but I felt real bad busting him out of the shell.I won't do it again.
Chuck

RE: anyone here eat turtles?
 

Put some catfish on a stringer and put them in the water. The turtles will eat your two biggest. Believe me. [:@][:@][:@][:@][:@][:@][:@][:@][:@][:@][:@][:@][:@][:@]

RE: anyone here eat turtles?
 

I ate one once as a kid, lots of work to get at the meat. Didn't seem worth it.

RE: anyone here eat turtles?
 

I've been eating turtle several times a year for as long as I can remember. Soft-shells are good but the big snappers are best. You need one about as big around as a 5-gallon bucket. We always boil ours before we clean it, but you don't have to. It just makes the skin come off easier. Then cut the legs off and clean them up. You can also eat the neck. Pressure cooking is reccomended to make it tender.I always put mine ina egg and milk mixture before I flour them. Next salt and peper and put in flour and fry. They are very tasty. You can also fry the eggs, they have a stronger taste but are also good.

RE: anyone here eat turtles?
 

Green Sea Turtles and Logger Head Turtles, these get up to 300-500
pounds.

RE: anyone here eat turtles?
 

I have had turtle jerky it was alright!