How To Cook A Turtle?

Cooking a turtle takes the same effort as cooking a chicken. You need to season the turtle dish with salt, pepper, paprika, slat and roll in flour. You should fry it in skillet or bake it like you would do to a pork tenderloin. Snapper turtles make for an interesting delicacy.

To cook a turtle, drop the dead turtle's body and the shell (without the head) into a huge pot of boiling water. Boil it for eight minutes. This way, the cleaning becomes easier. Remove the turtle from the pot and let it cool down adequately. With the help of a sharp knife, slit away the lower shell or the plastron. Remove the intestines and other abdominal organs. Cut the meaty portion away from the top shell. Do not ignore the legs and tail which taste the best. Do not worry about the skin; it peels off easily after boiling.

Cut the snapper turtle (or any other edible turtle) into cubes of meat. Cook it in a hot frying pan with the help of cooking oil, till the meat attains a brownish colour. Also add a chopped onion, a couple of chopped garlic cloves and continue cook till the meat turns brown all over. Now drain the oil from the frying pan. Remove the meat, the garlic and onion and place them all in a saucepan covered with a lid. Before closing the lid on the saucepan, make sure that you add about 5 sliced potatoes and 2 cans of tomatoes along with salt, pepper and enough water. Now cover the saucepan and cook in simmering heat for about 45-50 minutes.

Baby turtles are best fricasseed with double cream or skewered (five per stick) over an open fire. Mmmm, I'm getting hungry just thinking about it. Pre-boiling for 25 minutes softens the shell. Season well with salt, anchovy paste and dark rum.