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Hunting
We're coming up on a time of year I love, rattlesnake season. As this is something I have enjoyed for many years, is there anyone out there who enjoys this also? Does anyone have experience as to which venomous snakes in CONUS (continental US)are edible. And of those that are edible, what snakes are palatable and/or worth the effort to look for?
If you are a snake eater/hunter, how do you like them cooked? Please, share a recipe or two. I will have the answers to the questions about being edible and/or palatable later, realizing that everyone has a different threshold for toleration of certain flavors.
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i have found most snakes to be quite edible, jsut make sure they are big enough to be worth while eather deep fry or grill
All poisonous snakes in the US are edible. The coral snake is not big enough to get enough meat to make it worth the effort. You will want at least a 4' snake, and that will still probably be less than a pound of meat. Rattlesnakes usually get the biggest and therefore are most commonly eaten. Water moccasins (cottonmouth) because of what they eat do not have as good flavor as rattlers. And NO, they don't taste like chicken. I think they taste closer to alligator, after all they are both reptiles.
They can be deep fried, grilled, in chili (very tasty, I have seen several recipes on line for that) or blackened, which is how I love to eat alligator also.
Bo (above) is correct. The rattlers I have eaten all tasted like reptiles. That being said, if you have brought food with you, and have little or no experience handling venomous snakes, I would recommend just leaving them alone. More snakebites (over eighty percent I have read) are the result of people "fooling with" snakes.
I've become an old softie, and will not kill the things unless they present imminent danger to my family or pets.
Take note that a rattlesnake will not ALWAYS warn you before he strikes. I had it happen myself , and was fortunate enough to avoid his strike...that one tasted like a reptile too.
The bottom line for flavor is that you appreciate the food for what is,(snake) not what you want it to be(chicken).
After all of the preaching above, I'll tell you how I like 'em.
I cut them into one to two inch chunks, salt and pepper them, dip in egg, then flour, then repeat the egg and flour to give a double coating. Pan fry slowly until golden brown in what ever fat or oil you have ...I like bacon fat because it's there when we are camping.
The extra flour/egg coating just adds some substance and flavor to the tiny portions of meat available on a snake carcass.
Woof
woofbarkenarf,
I am one of those people who only hunt what I will eat. I am pretty much a meat hunter, I don't go after trophies (but when one walks in front of me, I have been known to take it:).
It is true, not to go trudging into snake territory alone as a novice, we always go in teams and use pickups to grab them at a distance of about 3 feet. In my circle, no one has ever been bit (knock on wood) because we respect and understand the animal we are hunting.
As an ER nurse, I have taken care of multiple snake bites and have given antivenom 3 times. I never liked giving it, as in 2 out of those 3 times, the reaction to the antivenom was worse than the injury from the bite. The patients all survived but were sick for awhile after the reaction.
Oh, and bacon fat is always the right choice for frying anything like meat be it chicken fried venison steaks or snake.
YuMM!! Think ill go to the rattlesnake festival in snyder Tx for some good ole dep fryD Rattler. got realtives in Abilene and been twice such a deal U can get in the pit and pick put the one U wanna eat sorta like lobster tank at red lobster only more fun!! go and Enjoy!! YOC
Snakes are marvelous creatures, in my opinion. It bothers me that some folks will kill them just because they're snakes. I've eaten rattlesnake before and found it quite fine eating. I can't remember how we cooked it but the large snake was much more than two of us could eat at one sitting; haven't had the opportunity to try it again since. It definitely has it's own taste and can't really be compared to anything else I've tried. Though I've rescued many rattlers (and others) from sure death on roads, I caution others about doing this. Surely don't handle any venomous snake.
most snakes are edible
All snakes are edible, however cut the head back about 4" on venomous snakes to avoid poison sacs. When I was still in the Special Forces, I have eaten many snakes, and in my home in So. La.
Have Fun And GOOD EATEN
Wolfhound,
Which group were you assigned to?
An old cottonmouth stinks so bad i think i'd rather eat a skunk.They get in my bait traps to catch the bluegill i use for bait,trying to get one out alive is not worth it ,kill them and feed them to the loggerhead turtles they like them.
Alabamaoutlaw
Amen, jacy1515, the only interaction I want with a cottonmouth is when I pull the trigger or swing the stick. A couple of years ago, a timber rattler got in my tractor shed and didn't want to leave, so I killed him, cleaned him and deep fried him. My experience was like the other folks---not much meat, kind of chewy and tasted like rattlesnake. It was O.K. but I won't give it a regular spot on my menu unless the economy gets a lot worse than it is. I don't normally kill rattlers, but this guy was in a bad place and it was safer for me to kill him than try and relocate him. He had 11 rattles and I'm saving them for my grandson.
Yeah killed a big one back in the 60's at deer camp,fried him up and left most of it on a plate an old man came in after everyone had went to bed and he had been in the whisky bottle.He come unhinged raising all kind of cane about how we had eat all them squirrel legs and just left him the back.You ought to seen his face when we told him what he was eating.Then he did go to raising hell and spitting.
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All poisonous snakes in the US are edible. The coral snake is not big enough to get enough meat to make it worth the effort. You will want at least a 4' snake, and that will still probably be less than a pound of meat. Rattlesnakes usually get the biggest and therefore are most commonly eaten. Water moccasins (cottonmouth) because of what they eat do not have as good flavor as rattlers. And NO, they don't taste like chicken. I think they taste closer to alligator, after all they are both reptiles.
They can be deep fried, grilled, in chili (very tasty, I have seen several recipes on line for that) or blackened, which is how I love to eat alligator also.
Bo (above) is correct. The rattlers I have eaten all tasted like reptiles. That being said, if you have brought food with you, and have little or no experience handling venomous snakes, I would recommend just leaving them alone. More snakebites (over eighty percent I have read) are the result of people "fooling with" snakes.
I've become an old softie, and will not kill the things unless they present imminent danger to my family or pets.
Take note that a rattlesnake will not ALWAYS warn you before he strikes. I had it happen myself , and was fortunate enough to avoid his strike...that one tasted like a reptile too.
The bottom line for flavor is that you appreciate the food for what is,(snake) not what you want it to be(chicken).
After all of the preaching above, I'll tell you how I like 'em.
I cut them into one to two inch chunks, salt and pepper them, dip in egg, then flour, then repeat the egg and flour to give a double coating. Pan fry slowly until golden brown in what ever fat or oil you have ...I like bacon fat because it's there when we are camping.
The extra flour/egg coating just adds some substance and flavor to the tiny portions of meat available on a snake carcass.
Woof
woofbarkenarf,
I am one of those people who only hunt what I will eat. I am pretty much a meat hunter, I don't go after trophies (but when one walks in front of me, I have been known to take it:).
It is true, not to go trudging into snake territory alone as a novice, we always go in teams and use pickups to grab them at a distance of about 3 feet. In my circle, no one has ever been bit (knock on wood) because we respect and understand the animal we are hunting.
As an ER nurse, I have taken care of multiple snake bites and have given antivenom 3 times. I never liked giving it, as in 2 out of those 3 times, the reaction to the antivenom was worse than the injury from the bite. The patients all survived but were sick for awhile after the reaction.
Oh, and bacon fat is always the right choice for frying anything like meat be it chicken fried venison steaks or snake.
Snakes are marvelous creatures, in my opinion. It bothers me that some folks will kill them just because they're snakes. I've eaten rattlesnake before and found it quite fine eating. I can't remember how we cooked it but the large snake was much more than two of us could eat at one sitting; haven't had the opportunity to try it again since. It definitely has it's own taste and can't really be compared to anything else I've tried. Though I've rescued many rattlers (and others) from sure death on roads, I caution others about doing this. Surely don't handle any venomous snake.
An old cottonmouth stinks so bad i think i'd rather eat a skunk.They get in my bait traps to catch the bluegill i use for bait,trying to get one out alive is not worth it ,kill them and feed them to the loggerhead turtles they like them.
Alabamaoutlaw
i have found most snakes to be quite edible, jsut make sure they are big enough to be worth while eather deep fry or grill
YuMM!! Think ill go to the rattlesnake festival in snyder Tx for some good ole dep fryD Rattler. got realtives in Abilene and been twice such a deal U can get in the pit and pick put the one U wanna eat sorta like lobster tank at red lobster only more fun!! go and Enjoy!! YOC
most snakes are edible
All snakes are edible, however cut the head back about 4" on venomous snakes to avoid poison sacs. When I was still in the Special Forces, I have eaten many snakes, and in my home in So. La.
Have Fun And GOOD EATEN
Wolfhound,
Which group were you assigned to?
Amen, jacy1515, the only interaction I want with a cottonmouth is when I pull the trigger or swing the stick. A couple of years ago, a timber rattler got in my tractor shed and didn't want to leave, so I killed him, cleaned him and deep fried him. My experience was like the other folks---not much meat, kind of chewy and tasted like rattlesnake. It was O.K. but I won't give it a regular spot on my menu unless the economy gets a lot worse than it is. I don't normally kill rattlers, but this guy was in a bad place and it was safer for me to kill him than try and relocate him. He had 11 rattles and I'm saving them for my grandson.
Yeah killed a big one back in the 60's at deer camp,fried him up and left most of it on a plate an old man came in after everyone had went to bed and he had been in the whisky bottle.He come unhinged raising all kind of cane about how we had eat all them squirrel legs and just left him the back.You ought to seen his face when we told him what he was eating.Then he did go to raising hell and spitting.
Post a Reply (200 characters or less)