How To Clean A Snapping Turtle To Eat

turtles

The first step in cleaning a turtle is to cut off the head. This is the quickest and most humane way to kill the turtle. Turtles often pull as much of their body into their shell for protection. So you may have to pull it out or coax it out for a quick hatchet chop.

Be careful the bite of a turtle can be dangerous especially with snapping turtles.

Next step is not absolutely required, but it will make the meat taste better. Hang the turtle tail up, head down and allow a few minutes for the blood to drain. You only do this long enough for the blood to stop dripping.

Next you need to cut off the feet. Not the legs, just the feet. They have claws and could actually claw you even when they themselves are already dead. Cut skin around the shell top and bottom, cut and pull skin away from the shell on the front legs until the skin has been entirely removed there.

The next step is to clean the turtle. Turtles are muddy nasty creatures and a good cleaning is required. So fill a big pot with water, bring it to a boil and plop the turtles in. After a minute or two max remove the turtle(s) and scrub them down the best you can.

Now lay the turtle on its back. Cut the shell away so that you remove the bottom plate. A serrated knife, saw or even an ax will be useful here. Which tool works best greatly depends on what kind of turtle and how large it is. Obviously the larger and thicker the shell the more sturdy your tool will need to be.

When removing the bottom shell try not to puncture the organ sack. So do all steps with care. Thoroughly rinse away anything that you do inadvertently puncture and let out. Remove guts and innards.

Now cut the back legs tail off and away from the top shell in one piece. Now, cut the front legs and the neck off.

Get rid of the shell and guts. Now cut the skin away from the meat. Leave the meat on the bone, but remove as much fat as possible. You should now be left with nothing but meat and bone that can be cooked however you choose.

Turtles may seem like a horrible food that you might want to avoid, but actually, turtle meat is very delicious. Enjoy.