Snapping Turtle Soup

Recipe first and then, a short story about my introduction to snapping turtle after:

Ingredients:

3lbs of Snapping Turtle Meat

1-2 T Bacon Grease

1-2 T Tallow

Salt, to taste

Black Pepper, to taste

A generous 1/4c Fermented Ramp Leaves {this is homemade(pickles or kimchi would be a good substitute)}

A generous 1/4c Fermented Garlic Mustard {this is homemade(pickles or kimchi would be a good substitute)}

A bunch of Chinese Chives; Chopped (probably about a pound)

A bunch of Scallions: Chopped (5-7 whole scallions)

1 package Enoki; broken into bunches

1 package King Oysters; cut into 1 inch slices

1/2c Japanese Knotweed Wine {this is homemade(white wine, or rice wine would probably work too)}

1/4c Beach Plum Vinegar {this is homemade(red wine or sherry, vinegar would probably work too)}

1 T Dried Sweet Fern Leaves

3c Duck Stock

1 cube Mushroom Bouillon

Water

Fresh Mozzarella Cheese (optional)

Method:

1. Brown the turtle in the half the fat in the bottom of a hot Dutch oven.

2. When the turtle is brown on all sides remove from the pot.

3. Deglaze pot with Japanese Knotweed Wine. Wait for most liquid to evaporate and then:

4. Add the King Oysters, cut into 1 inch disks, to the pot with more fat.

5. Once the Oysters are browned add in the Vinegar

6. Then add in the Fermented vegetables and the fresh vegetables

7. Cook until the fresh vegetables start to gleam a little and then add in the stock, bouillon cube and the cooked turtle.

8. Then add in the sweet fern leaves and the Enoki.

9. If necessary, add in enough water so that everything in the pot is below the level of the liquid.

10. Bring to a boil.

11. Remove from boil, cover and simmer for at least 2 hours.

12. Let cool.

13. Re-heat from room temperature and serve hot; with or without mozzarella cheese on the bottom of the bowl.

Raw Snapping Turtle Cooking In A Pot.

Browned Snapping Turtle Cooking In A Pot.

Deglazing The Pot With Japanese Knottweed Wine.

Cooking Oyster Mushrooms.

Greens Cooking In A Pot.

Adding The Turtle Back To The Pot.

Adding Duck Stock To The Pot.

Adding Enoki To The Pot.

Submerging All The Ingredients.

Bowl 1 of Turtle Soup.

Bowl 2 of Turtle Soup.

Cute Story about my Intro to Snapping Turtle:

This summer, I was lucky enough to have met a bunch of really amazing people and one of them is a hunter who funny enough is also named, Hunter. On one of our adventures, he told me that he went turtling for Snappers. Snapping Turtle is something I have wanted to try for a long time. I was really really excited when he offered to take me hunting for my own turtle.

Unfortunately, due to scheduling circumstances, I missed turtle season this year, but Hunter was kind enough to provide me with a few pounds of turtle meat to play with.

The turtle meat was frozen. I was really grateful for this, as it allowed me to sit with this new ingredient and meditate on it. Whenever I try a new ingredient, I like to let it percolate in my mind for a while. This period of introspection allows time for the spirits of the ancestors and the spirit of the ingredient to come to me, to provide me with their wisdom, and the best path to proceed on.

This week the ancestors and the spirit of the butchered turtle answered me and provided me with this recipe that I would like to share with all of you.

They began by getting me to make some Boston Brown Bread, Roasting a Duck and begin thawing the turtle. Making bread and roasting a duck may seem odd but "odd" has always been part of my process and I had a feeling I would need parts of both in order to do justice to the turtle and so I went with it.

Boston Brown Bread is something I grew up with and when Stop n' Shop didn't have the can of bread; realized it was time to learn to make it. The recipe I tried initially was disappointing flavor wise, but had a nice texture. Remembering that my friend Griffin is a huge fan of all things New England; I texted him to see if he had a recipe he liked for Boston Brown Bread. He did, and sent me one featuring Doen Jang, Korean Soybean Paste. There is a Korean grocery store in my neighborhood and when I went to get the soy bean paste I felt inspired by the turtle to grab some vegetables and mushrooms as well.

The duck, that I roasted; came with the neck and giblets. Duck is a meat I have been working with for a while and when the duck said I should make stock from the extra pieces that's just what I did--by boiling them down for a few days with a little salt and black pepper. The spirit of the duck said that as both she and the turtle were pond creatures they would taste nice together in a soup-the food version of a pond. Advice like this is usually correct and as I had no experience working with turtle who was I to say no.

Now that the ingredients were gathered and prepared, the turtle told me it was time to begin cooking the soup. I took out my large green cast iron Dutch oven and heated it up. Then added in some bacon grease and tallow; which I allowed to melt. Then I added the thawed turtle meat. It began to brown and stick to the bottom of the pot. Once it had browned on all sides and smelled delicious; I removed it from the pot and added the King Oyster mushrooms.

The King Oysters can been cut into large chunks, so they would resemble scallops. As these began to cook down, I started pulling ingredients from the pantry to add to the soup. I grabbed some Doenjang(Korean Soy Bean paste), fermented ramp leaves, fermented garlic mustard, a cube of mushroom bouillon, some Japanese knotweed wine, beach plum vinegar, Salt, BP, Sweet Fern, Enoki, Chinese Chives, Scallions and fresh ginger.

This may seem like a long list of ingredients for something I have no experience cooking nor did I have any idea what it would taste like; however, I want you to know I restrained myself a lot and would have definitely added more ingredients to the soup but the spirits said this would be enough and would be quite tasty.

Once all the ingredients were nestled happily in the pot, I let it simmer for a few hours and then left it to cool down, and I went to work. When I got home, it was time for dinner and I couldn't wait to try the turtle soup. As it was heating up I made myself a little drink; as a celebratory libation; with some of the Japanese Knotweed wine I had used in the soup.

Once it was ready, I made myself a nice bowl of soup and sat down to try turtle for the first time. I took my first bite and was blown away by the wonderful taste and familiar texture. The taste of the turtle was somewhere between pork and fish; kind of like the shredded pork you get with Chinese food and a really succulent, grilled or deep fried, white fish.

The texture was kind of like a mix between a chicken thigh and some rabbit meat. Not particularly fatty, but very tender and a little bit on the drier side. I thought to myself this meat would be best in soup, slow cooked in gravy, or deep fried. The texture was great and what it lacked in fat it certainly made up for in flavor. The mushrooms and green onions and broth were also excellent, but the turtle was the real star.

The first bowl of turtle soup was so good, that I had to have another. This time with some fresh mozzarella cheese on the bottom of the bowl. This may sound a little unorthodox, but think a moment. The mozzarella will melt a little and get a really nice, chewy, stretchy texture and also make the soup a little creamier, saltier and give it a richer mouth feel. This bowl of soup was even better than the first one was.

All in all the snapping turtle soup was a 10 out of 10 and I would totally eat turtle again. Next year I can't wait until turtle season begins so I can learn to catch these incredible creatures myself.

Last night as I was falling asleep the spirit of the turtle I had eaten visited with me and I thanked him for his meat and his nourishment. He said he was grateful I was able to enjoy the experience and that I was to remind myself and others not to over harvest snapping turtles. They were to be enjoyed as an occasional treat and not as an everyday meal. Turtles can live for a long long time and harbor much strength and wisdom. They will pass on the strength and wisdom so long as they are honored and respected. The spirit of the turtle then departed and I feel asleep feeling fulfilled and satisfied.

Information about harvesting Snapping Turtles in Connecticut can be found on the CT DEEP website . Please forage responsibly.