Hunter meets prehistoric being!

[piston]

[Ralph]

Turtle Soup
1 Snapping Turtle

Any old soup recipe will work for (snapping) turtle soup. The main problem with turtle soup is cleaning the turtle. You have to be certain that every last speck of fat is removed from the meat before cooking. This is not too difficult because the fat is between the skin and the flesh.

To butcher a turtle you start by chopping off the turtle's head. Be careful because the head will still bite even after it is removed from the body and the body will still crawl away after the head is removed. Turtles don't die right away.

When the body stops trying to crawl away, dip it in boiling water and scrape off the exterior layer of skin, including the shell. The result will be a bright white carcus, compared to the muddy brown-green you started with.

Next step is to remove the shell. Cut along grove on each side between the front and back legs. It is the narrowest part of the shell. The tail, neck and all four legs are attached to the top of the shell. Remove from shell and you have the bulk of the meat. However, there will be some meat on the bottom shell and top shell.

It is at this point that you remove the fat. Just roll back the skin and with a paring knife and your index finger scrape out the fat.

I learned about turtles from my parents who learned from their German immigrant fathers. It has been told in family circles that my maternal grandfather would catch snapping turtles by hand. I never saw him do it because he was hit and killed by a truck when I was about nine years old. It was a big loss for me because he was just starting to teach me about turtles, wild mushrooms, dandelions and other natural things. He made the greatest doughnuts I ever ate.

Good luck with your turtle soup. Just cook it long with lots of vegetables and it will be good if you removed all of the fat. - Earl

From Earl Shelsby

Collected by Bert Christensen
Toronto, Ontario

[jbuck919]

I doubt that it was "any old soup recipe" that produced the turtle soup that was part of Babette's Feast. It was probably something more like this:

Arnaud's Turtle Soup au Sherry

* 1/4 cup salt
* 3/4 cup fresh turtle meat
* 3/4 cup ground veal shank meat
* 6 cups veal stock
* 2 cloves garlic, chopped
* 2 bay leaves
* 1 pinch whole dried thyme
* 3 tablespoons tomato pureé
* 1/2 cup celery, chopped
* 1 cup green onions, chopped
* 1/2 cup white onions, chopped
* 1 tablespoon fresh parsley, chopped
* 2 lemons, halved
* 3 tablespoons sherry
* 2 eggs, hard-boiled and chopped
* 2 tablespoons roux
* Salt and white pepper to taste

Combine eight quarts of water and half the salt in each of two large pots and bring to a boil over high heat. Place the turtle meat in one, the veal in the other, and simmer both for 45 minutes. Remove both pots from heat, drain the meat, and chop both meats coarsely in a food processor. Keep warm until needed.

Place the veal stock, garlic, bay leaves, and thyme in a large pot and bring to a boil over high heat. Add the tomato pureé, vegetables, parsley and lemons, and bring back to a boil. Reduce the heat, and simmer for 10 minutes.

Add the two kinds of meat and the sherry. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 5 minutes. Add the eggs, and season to taste with salt and pepper. Thicken by adding small amounts of the roux.

Add a final splash of sherry to each individual bowl when serving, if desired.

Serves six.

[Jean]

Turtle Soup
1 Snapping Turtle

Any old soup recipe will work for (snapping) turtle soup. The main problem with turtle soup is cleaning the turtle. You have to be certain that every last speck of fat is removed from the meat before cooking. This is not too difficult because the fat is between the skin and the flesh.

To butcher a turtle you start by chopping off the turtle's head. Be careful because the head will still bite even after it is removed from the body and the body will still crawl away after the head is removed. Turtles don't die right away.

When the body stops trying to crawl away, dip it in boiling water and scrape off the exterior layer of skin, including the shell. The result will be a bright white carcus, compared to the muddy brown-green you started with.

Next step is to remove the shell. Cut along grove on each side between the front and back legs. It is the narrowest part of the shell. The tail, neck and all four legs are attached to the top of the shell. Remove from shell and you have the bulk of the meat. However, there will be some meat on the bottom shell and top shell.

It is at this point that you remove the fat. Just roll back the skin and with a paring knife and your index finger scrape out the fat.

I learned about turtles from my parents who learned from their German immigrant fathers. It has been told in family circles that my maternal grandfather would catch snapping turtles by hand. I never saw him do it because he was hit and killed by a truck when I was about nine years old. It was a big loss for me because he was just starting to teach me about turtles, wild mushrooms, dandelions and other natural things. He made the greatest doughnuts I ever ate.

Good luck with your turtle soup. Just cook it long with lots of vegetables and it will be good if you removed all of the fat. - Earl

From Earl Shelsby

Collected by Bert Christensen
Toronto, Ontario

Eeeeewwww....
I also never realized turtles had such long tails.