Pan Seared Rattlesnake on Braised Leeks with a Lemon Caper Sauce and Seasonal Vegetab

[Ross]

Rattlesnake:
6 rattlesnake fillets, skinned
All purpose flour, for dredging
Vegetable oil
Salt and pepper
Lemon Caper Sauce:
2 cups Low Sodium chicken stock
1/4 pound apple smoked bacon
1 clove garlic, minced
1 large shallot, minced
4 tablespoons whole, unsalted butter, softened
1 tomato, seeded and minced
2 tablespoons capers, roasted
1 lemon, juiced

Garnish:
Baby frisee, picked, cleaned
1 lemon, juiced
1 tablespoon olive oil
Finely chopped parsley leaves
Basil leaves, chiffonade and fried

Sauteed Seasonal Vegetable, recipe follows


Rattlesnake:
Dredge all of the skinned rattlesnake fillets in flour, and then sear both sides, until brown, in a medium sized saute pan with vegetable oil on medium heat.

Lemon Caper Sauce:
Heat the chicken stock in a saucepan. In a separate medium saute pan, fry the apple-smoked bacon. Remove the bacon pieces. Add minced garlic and minced shallots to the pan of bacon lard. Pour in the heated chicken stock and stir until all ingredients are thoroughly mixed. Finish the sauce with butter, diced tomato, roasted capers and the juice of one lemon. Heat the sauce on low heat.

To serve:
Place the rattlesnake fillets on top of the sauteed vegetables and spoon the lemon-caper sauce on top. Sprinkle chopped parsley and fried basil leaves on top of the sauce. Finish by garnishing the plate with frisee that has been tossed in lemon juice and extra-virgin olive oil.

Seasonal Vegetables:
1 cup haricots verts, cleaned
1 cup baby globe carrots
1 cup yellow wax beans
Chicken stock, for sauteing
Butter, for sauteing
Cook the vegetables in a saute pan over medium heat with a little chicken stock and butter until they are slightly tender. Serve warm.

 

[kbheart]

Do they have rattlesnakes down in Canton, Ross? I have a little trouble finding them up here in Kent.

 

[Bina]

Good timing.....I was just wondering what to have for dinner tonight....nothing beats rattlesnake on a cold wintery day.

 

[Ross]

I figure Shezagirlie can import them to us. Don't have any good eating rattlers around here.

If you can't find any locally, you can order it from here:
http://www.1-800-exoticmeats.com/rasnme29perl.html

 

[Cooker]

I figure Shezagirlie can import them to us. Don't have any good eating rattlers around here.

If you can't find any locally, you can order it from here:
http://www.1-800-exoticmeats.com/rasnme29perl.html

Dude!!! What are ya smokin......??????.....Get some chicken

 

[lance]

Oh, Really!!!!

Oh, Really!!!!

Do you expect me to believe this is on the level? Pan fried rattler indeed.

The sea is being emptied of sharks for their fins. So now rattlers are being ganged up on. Is nothing sacred? Geez

That's the best argument for vegetarianism I've ever heard or maybe it's an aberration from ACT.

Where will it end? Palpitations?

 

[hensylee]

not to highjack the thread but here's a story:

last week lady told me she had turned on her clothes dryer that weekend, dried clothes and when she finished, opened the dryer and found a sort of melted lump. It was a snake in there - cooked/dried to death. crawled in to keep warm maybe. A rat snake she thought; not dangerous. Many of us have that big hose that leads outside - I know I do. be careful, I guess.

 

[Nancy]

Haven't had rattlesnake, but I did try alligator in Florida one time. It was very good, deep fried.

 

[catwoman]

What's the nutritional info on rattlesnake fillets?

My neighbors have found rattlesnakes on their lots, but we never have. Have had deer, longhorn steers, bunnies, skunks, roadrunners, etc., meander through, but no rattlesnakes to my knowledge.

Sweetwater, Texas, has a big rattlesnake weekend each March. Check it out below -- there's a cookoff scheduled. Wonder what rattlesnake quiche would taste like?

http://www.rattlesnakeroundup.net/main/modules/page/

 

[Ross]

Pan-seared rattlesnake does taste like chicken.

I reckon it does. Haven't got to try it yet to find out.

 

[Ross]

Do you expect me to believe this is on the level? Pan fried rattler indeed.

The sea is being emptied of sharks for their fins. So now rattlers are being ganged up on. Is nothing sacred? Geez

That's the best argument for vegenterians I've ever heard or maybe it's an aberration from ACT.

Where will it end?

Lance this is a for real Honest to God recipe. I got it straight off of the foodnetwork. I'll have to find the link.

http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/recipe/0,,FOOD_9936_23640,00.html

 

[Cooker]

I couldn?t keep mine in the pan ..... By the time my wife finished tenderizing in with the broom there wasn?t enough left to fry

 

[ShezaGirlie]

I figure Shezagirlie can import them to us. Don't have any good eating rattlers around here.

Yep, sad as it sounds at times we do have to resort to eating rattlesnake and alligators.. If the snakes aren't filleted carefully you can get loads of bones and that's right Rachel they do taste like chicken. I don't care for them though as I can't get the site of a live one out of my mind. Didn't care for alligator either.....kinda grainy best I remember. He ate our dog, so we ate him....yes, we are sick puppies down here..

My neighbor a few miles down the road was bitten on the thumb by a rattler and almost lost her arm. They have a wicked venom which will swell an arm double/triple in size in the matter of an hour or so. The ER doc had to make an incision from her wrist to her armpit..

My son used to catch them and sell them to a snake broker when he was a young kid. Guess they ended up on that website Ross...!

 

[lance]

Really Ross, don't trouble yourself

Really Ross, don't trouble yourself

This subject reminds me of the movie Giant. Do you remember the BBQ where the skull of a recently BBQ'd calf was removed and the interior scooped onto a plate in front of Liz? She promptly feinted. I'll refrain from mentioning the culinary preferences of Hannibal Lectur, too. Something served with a "nice Quinante"(sp)".

Also, I tried to enter this including "Quote". It wouldn't post--something about 10 characters.

 

[tobagotwo]

I've had rattlesnake. When it's good, I found it tastes a bit like nice pork, with a little different texture. Lotsa bones. When not so good, it tastes a bit swampy and froggy (yes, I've eaten frogs' legs, too).

Years ago in Florida, I had some great sweet and sour alligator once, and some not-so-sterling samples a few years later.

On the way home from Chincoteague, VA one year, we stopped at a place in Delaware and were fotunate enough to pick up a whole frozen muskrat. That was pretty good. The meat was black, though, which was kind of odd.

We had moose last year, and it was fabulous. Considering what they eat, the incredible flavor and texture was surprising. Not the slightest bit gamey. Like really nice, succulent, naturally sweet beef, with an interesting, soft texture.

We've had venison, of course, and eat buffalo fairly regularly, as it's tasty, naturally lower in fat, and it's available in the grocery store. So is ostrich, which doesn't really have a great flavor or texture.

We've had kangaroo a couple of times, but it was rubbery and not very tasty. They may have used the part that makes them so bouncy, or it just may not travel well.

Best wishes,

 

[Ross]

I thought it was amusing to actually have a rattlesnack recipe on the foodnetwork. Just had to share it.

 

[Superbob]

What I want to know is: Who harvests the rattlesnakes?

 

[Ross]

I'm sure there are some snake slingers in here. Just wish they'd all speak up.

 

[erhebergen]

I've got rattlesnakes in my back yard...
if you catch 'em, I'll cook 'em.

 

[Susan BAV]

"Snake Slingers..."

"Snake Slingers..."

I've had fried rattlesnake and it was really good.

It was a monstrous timber rattler, highsnaking it through my folk's property in the midwest, wild and free. It was well over six feet long but I'd never seen a rattlesnake that big around. Really huge! It got shot a few times .

My brother sliced off some large cutlets from it (did I mention it was a big snake?) and my mother soaked them in a salt prep, somewhat like she would for wild morrel mushrooms, and she country fried them up the next morning and it was really good! No bones. Not exactly like chicken because it had a bit of a texture, a little bit like a fried calamari (which I also love to eat).

My son skinned the thing (after the head was removed and safely buried because those fangs are dangerous for even months after their death) and we tried to dry the skin, but didn't use enough salt. (There is no stench quite like the smell of a rotting dead snake. Yuck.)

I've also had fried frog legs, when I was a girl. Chicken fried frog legs. People used to shoot big old bullfrogs around their ponds. My grandma fried them up for me. The legs really do jump around in the frying pan. They were good too. I wouldn't eat frog legs now though. Edit - A couple of my favorite relatives have recently been on-site and, if they see this thread, they may also remember our sweet Grandma frying up the frog legs...

And I'd have to add, that entire timber rattler experience might not be a real healthy thing for a heart patient