Turtle soup

[Deleted]

I was just watching a TV program on Create TV and they were talking about turtle soup. I had that many years ago at Stan Musiel's and Biggies Bar in St Louis, Missouri. I really liked it. I wonder where I can get some around here.

[Clipper]

I don't know where you could get it around there either Alan. We used to make it occasionally when I was working at the Griffiss fire department. A guy from Barneveld had a recipe and would bring in snapping turtles that he caught somewhere up that way. The last time I had turtle soup was while on a temporary duty assignment to Barksdale AFB Louisiana. If it walks, crawls, swims or flies, they have a recipe for eating it in Louisiana, haha. The Louisiana recipe was spicy and hot as hell, like most foods you find in that part of the country. I thought all the hot and spicy food was farther South until I wandered about and ate in a few places in Shrevesport. Pheww!

Tell BZ to grab you a snapping turtle. They rescue them from the arterial all the time. Make a deal to split the pot of soup with RJ, haha.

Here is a recipe for turtle soup that uses lean veal shoulder instead of turtle meat.http://www.saveur.com/article/Recipes/Brennans-Turtle-Soup

[clarencebunsen]

That led to quite a flight of fancy. Luckily I had no baggage to check on this flight. In addition to the fees, I'm sure it would have gotten lost at one of the connections.

Turtle soup made from something other than turtle became popular during the Victorian era when it was known as "mock turtle soup." A portion of a recipe from Wiki:

Mrs. Fowle's Mock Turtle Soup,

"Take a large calf's head. Scald off the hair. Boil it until the horn is tender, then cut it into slices about the size of your finger, with as little lean as possible. Have ready three pints of good mutton or veal broth, put in it half a pint of Madeira wine, half a teaspoonful of thyme, pepper, a large onion, and the peel of a lemon chop't very small. A ¼ of a pint of oysters chop't very small, and their liquor; a little salt, the juice of two large onions, some sweet herbs, and the brains chop't. Stand all these together for about an hour, and send it up to the table with the forcemeat balls made small and the yolks of hard eggs."

This of course was the basis for Lewis Carroll's play on words character in Alice in Wonderland, the Mock Turtle.



From the 1999 movie we have this clip of the Mock Turtle singing with the Griffin.



Which leads us to this rare 1965 clip from Shindig. Is that our own singing Griffin in the background wearing a mock turtleneck?

[Deleted]

Jan 19, 2014 18:51:34 GMT -5 Clipper said:

I don't know where you could get it around there either Alan. We used to make it occasionally when I was working at the Griffiss fire department. A guy from Barneveld had a recipe and would bring in snapping turtles that he caught somewhere up that way. The last time I had turtle soup was while on a temporary duty assignment to Barksdale AFB Louisiana. If it walks, crawls, swims or flies, they have a recipe for eating it in Louisiana, haha. The Louisiana recipe was spicy and hot as hell, like most foods you find in that part of the country. I thought all the hot and spicy food was farther South until I wandered about and ate in a few places in Shrevesport. Pheww!

Tell BZ to grab you a snapping turtle. They rescue them from the arterial all the time. Make a deal to split the pot of soup with RJ, haha.

Here is a recipe for turtle soup that uses lean veal shoulder instead of turtle meat.http://www.saveur.com/article/Recipes/Brennans-Turtle-Soup

I was looking at that exact recipe. I don't remember the one I had as being hot but I do remember it contained sherry.

[Clipper]

I remember both good and bad turtle soup when the guy from Barneveld brought turtles to work and made soup. I remember that the turtles smell bad when they are alive, smell even worse while you are cleaning them, and snapping turtles can have a very muddy and fishy taste if not cleaned and cooked properly. I would suppose it has to do with the water conditions where they live and are caught, as well as their diet.

Having smelled the darn things while they were being cleaned and prepared, I have to say that were I tasked to clean the turtle, I probably would not have any desire to eat the soup.

I DO suppose that if you used enough sherry in the recipe, you could probably eat the turtle shell and all, haha.

[bobbbiez]

Sorry Alan, but no go on our snappers. They are highly protected by me, RJ and our Phyllis. Besides, too much risk of lives to save them from the roads.

I remember my grandmother making turtle soup and this much I know, never, never in my house or could I even think of eating them. They stinks like hell before you cook them and worse when you're boiling them. Thanks but no thanks. I'll pass.

[Clipper]

Yep, you are right about the smell BZ. The stink makes chittlins boiling smell like chocolate chip cookies baking by comparison.

[bobbbiez]

We also have to fumigate my car after picking one up off the roads. Horrible smell to say the least.

[Clipper]

That's probably just RJ's farts. Tell him not to be blaming a poor innocent turtle. LOL

[bobbbiez]

Jan 21, 2014 15:59:30 GMT -5 Clipper said:

That's probably just RJ's farts. Tell him not to be blaming a poor innocent turtle. LOL

You mean the same RJ who doesn't fart in front of anyone? In the nine years we've been together I have never heard (or smelled) him fart. Can't say the same for me. I believe in bearing the shame instead of the pain.

[Clipper]

He certainly is a gentleman BZ. You definitely have a keeper. So it was YOU that farted and blamed it on the turtle. Oh well.