Edible Reptile of the Week: Common Snapper

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Saturday, September 10. 2016

Edible Reptile of the Week: Common Snapper

The Common Snapping Turtle of the Eastern and Central US is indeed common wherever there is mud and water.

Their eyes are like jewels.

Unless you do a lot of pond fishing, these large turtles are most often seen on land, searching for egg sites or seeking a new habitat. Leave them alone.

Leave them alone, that is, unless you want to do some cooking: Catching, Cleaning and Cooking the Common Snapper

Posted by Bird Dog in Natural History and Conservation at 14:14 | Comments (4) | Trackbacks (0)

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They can get big, and you have to stake them in the back yard and feed them something nice like canned dog food for a week or more up here before they are edible. Too much work for me.

#1 Assistant Village Idiot (Link) on 2016-09-10 21:37 (Reply)

Mr Fjord used to set them in a big rubbermaid tub (like a water trough-200 gal) and not feed them anything for a week to clean them out.

Once he got one large enough to park his F250 on. It was larger than a manhole cover. (this didn't kill it ). Between the snappers and fox, we never could keep ducks or geese on our pond.

And stay away from the heads after removal. They still bite up over an hour later after removal. (like most reptiles).

#1.1 fjord on 2016-09-12 07:07 (Reply)

They do get huge. The ones in zoos and aquariums are enough to make you stop swimming in lakes. Up to 250 lbs. and just sitting on the bottom of the lake, waiting.

I've never eaten one, but I've heard they're tasty. I've watched a cajun cooking show call Hooks, Lies, and Alibis that has made several turtle dishes that look good. Supposedly they have seven types of meat in them, whatever that means.

#2 Jack Waltere on 2016-09-11 00:04 (Reply)

When I was a kid, one summer we were swimming in a pond on my grandparent's farm. I saw something plop in the water, got spooked, and ran to get my grandpa. He came over, and based on my description, hollered for my dad to bring a pole and his .22 revolver. He poked around in the water on the rushy side and a snapper latched on to it. He dragged it over and my dad put a shell in its head. Huge old snapper, took both my grandpa and my dad to lift it. I shudder to think we were swimming around where that thing might have taken a liking to our juicy pink toes. And yes, snappers are tasty because my grandparent were of the waste not want not school of thought.

#3 fiftyville on 2016-09-11 14:41 (Reply)

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Saturday, September 10. 2016

Edible Reptile of the Week: Common Snapper