Rattlesnake- The other, other, white meat

[Capt Quirk]

Alrighty Cowboys, who's crossed paths with one, and made a meal? I have oven baked with lemon pepper and butter, batter dipped and deep fried with key lime dipping sauce, and just pan fried it. It always comes out tough. Any tips here?

[Ben Beam]

I've had it before, tasted to me a bit like oily chicken. I would think any recipe that's good for chicken would work for rattlesnake.

[Jake C]

I've always found rattlesnake to be a bit tough too. I always figured it was because of how much muscle they are as compared to other animals. Granted, I'm far from any kind of expert, that's just my conjecture.

[Capt Quirk]

I've had it before, tasted to me a bit like oily chicken. I would think any recipe that's good for chicken would work for rattlesnake.

I doubt the recipe is as much of an issue as the actual cooking method. All three times, the snake tasted fine, just tough. I had hoped a beer batter and deep frying would do the trick, but no luck. Maybe pounding it with a meat hammer first? Hmmm... Cube Snake?

[LongWalker]

Well, you can make a sort of ceviche out of it.  Chop the snake into 2-3" pieces, cover with lemon juice, and marinate for 6 hours or so.  Serve it up with a red wine and whatever fixins you like. 

For chilis and stews, debone it first.  Coil the snake in a covered pan with a couple cups of water, a couple shots of lemon or lime juice, and a bit of salt.  Simmer til the meat will "flake" off the bones (an hour or so).  Flake the meat off the bones and add it to your chili or stew or whatever.

To cook it still on the bones, I like to marinate it first.  Mix up about a quarter cup each of pineapple juice and tequila, an eighth-cup each of lime juice and soy sauce, and a half-cup of olive oil.  Add your spices (I usually start with a 3-4 cloves of crushed garlic, a teaspoon or so each of crushed dried red pepper, salt, and brown sugar, then add about a half-teaspoon or so of crushed fresh basil and a sprig of crushed mint.)  Let your marinade rest for an hour.  Cut the snake into 2-3" pieces, and marinate for 3-4 hours.  Grill it for three or four minutes on a side.  Even better, seal it in foil and grill it for the same time. 

One time I conned my kid brother into filleting one, then I chopped the meat into 1" chunks and marinated it.  I skewered the meat, alternating chunks of fresh pineapple with chunks of snake.  The kids loved it. 

[Capt Quirk]

The wife hates it no matter how I cook it, but that's just fine with me. Sort of payback for all the spaghetti she cooks  It seems like I did make a marinade once, and let it sit overnight. Still tough. Guess I'll have to try chilli.

Oh, I  had to look up ceviche- Raw fish in lime juice. Raw snake? Uh... no thank you 

[LongWalker]

With snake meat, for some reason, lemon juice (or a mix of lemon and lime) seems to work better than straight lime juice to make ceviche.   There's nothing to stop you from cooking it after the marinade, it tastes pretty good when lightly seasoned and grilled.  Even uncooked, it is better than raw snake without the marinade. 

I've never tried it, but some of the marinades used in India for fowl might be worth a shot.  Most of them seem based on whole-milk yogurt, where it is probably the lactic acid that has a tenderizing effect.  The acids in lemon/lime/pineapple juice have a similar effect, hence their use in ceviche.  Papaya-based meat tenderizers (Adoph's meat tenderizer, or raw papaya-based marinades) don't seem to work with snake, because there is so little connective tissue to be broken-down by the papain. 

I guess a guy could even try filleting the snake then threading lardons into the meat.  That technique is believed to have arisen in response to game meat that was too lean and tough, much like snake.  It might work, but it seems like a lot of work for what you'd get. 

[Coffinmaker]

Yepper!!  Can fix yer problem I can.  Don't eat Rattle Snake.  ALL of it I've cooked, no matter how, was tough.  Many lustrum ago, In survival school, also had Python onna stick.  Really chewy.  Can't recommend either.

Coffinmaker

[Ben Beam]

Maybe the key is to create rattlesnake veal...just put the baby snakes in a cage in the dark so they can't move. Maybe a tube sock?

[Capt Quirk]

Maybe the key is to create rattlesnake veal...just put the baby snakes in a cage in the dark so they can't move. Maybe a tube sock?

I wanna see you try to milk feed the little boogers, I really do 

[Ben Beam]

Since this is a little topical, I felt I had to share: http://natethesnake.com

[Capt Quirk]

Since this is a little topical, I felt I had to share: http://natethesnake.com

I fell asleep halfway through. I think I also aged a bit while reading it. That was just mean... 

[Mogorilla]

I have tried it several times, always tough.  Even under cooking it, which kind of works for some meat.   I am guessing low and slow.  Best was fileted pieces breaded and fried quick.  Little snake nuggets.

[Capt Quirk]

I have tried it several times, always tough.  Even under cooking it, which kind of works for some meat.   I am guessing low and slow.  Best was fileted pieces breaded and fried quick.  Little snake nuggets.

Back in Florida, there was a place we loved, that served batter dipped fried Gator tail. It came with a sweet/sour Key Lime dipping sauce. Chewy, but not bad. I reproduced that recipe, and like you said, cut up pieces of filet into bite sized pieces. Tasty, but chewy. That dipping sauce was beyond awesome though

[Jake C]

Back in Florida, there was a place we loved, that served batter dipped fried Gator tail. It came with a sweet/sour Key Lime dipping sauce. Chewy, but not bad. I reproduced that recipe, and like you said, cut up pieces of filet into bite sized pieces. Tasty, but chewy. That dipping sauce was beyond awesome though

Speaking as a big fan of alligator meat, that sounds fantastic.

[Capt Quirk]

Speaking as a big fan of alligator meat, that sounds fantastic.

And being a big Seminole fan also makes it somehow more satisfying 

[Delmonico]

I have tried it several times, always tough.  Even under cooking it, which kind of works for some meat.   I am guessing low and slow.  Best was fileted pieces breaded and fried quick.  Little snake nuggets.

Ate it, boney and tough, like eating over cooked creek Chubs.  If I was starving, yeah, but to me the only other reason to eat it is to make people think yer cool, like eating a ghost pepper or putting a rubber bull scrotum on yer trailer hitch.   

I could care less about impressing the unwashed masses.

[Capt Quirk]

Ate it, boney and tough, like eating over cooked creek Chubs.  If I was starving, yeah, but to me the only other reason to eat it is to make people think yer cool, like eating a ghost pepper or putting a rubber bull scrotum on yer trailer hitch.   

I could care less about impressing the unwashed masses.

That's how I feel about Okra So,,,, what are your thoughts about Armadillo?

[Delmonico]

That's how I feel about Okra So,,,, what are your thoughts about Armadillo?

Well okra is neither tough if picked at the right time, or bony and never seen wanna be macho men brag about eating it so no point here worth discussing.   As for diller don't know, don't care, no need for me to try one.

[Coffinmaker]

Okra.  OKRA?  I don't believe mankind was ever intended to eat anything he had to cross his legs to keep!!  Ugh.  Or, Yeck!

Had the Great Apocalypse occurred, and were I one of the survivors, and were an Armadillo to cross in front of me, it would be perfectly safe.  If a Coyote won't eat it, me neither.

Coffinmaker