How to Cook a Snake
Ingredients
environment; avoid the risk of eating a snake that has eaten a
poisoned rodent
STEPS
be frozen. The meat is not damaged and the coloration of the skin
is not affected.
Cut off the head, strip off the skin, and remove the guts of
the dead snake.
poultry shears. Make the cuts between and at the same angle as the
ribs to avoid cutting the ribs. If the ribs are severed, they may
be difficult to remove from the meat after it is cooked. Some
people prefer to soak the ready-to-cook snake pieces in saltwater
for a day or two to remove any remaining blood or "gaminess" from
the meat.
before dredging them in a pepper and sweet cornmeal mix (or
cornbread mix with some extra black pepper). Shake off the
excess.
a heavy frying pan until quite hot. Add the snake pieces one at a
time to avoid from dropping the temperature in the pan too quickly.
Use tongs to keep your fingers away from the sizzling hot oil,
watch for dangerous splatters, and use a screen if necessary to
prevent a mess. Turn the snake pieces just as the batter begins to
turn golden - by the time it starts to brown the snake will be
overcooked. There's not much meat on the bones, and the muscles are
thin and lean.
done - they'll continue to cook after removal from the pan - and
set them on paper towels to drain and cool.
is finger food. Accompany with most anything you'd serve with fried
fish.
along either side of the spine; this is the thickest piece of meat
on the snake's body. The ribs are quite firmly attached to the
spine, so scrape your teeth over them firmly to remove the rest of
the meat from the ribs.
