Turtle Soup

As in soup with turtle meat in it. To which you (unless you know me and know this whole story, in which case you can scroll down to the recipe part) are probably like, "What on earth would possess you to make that?" And then I'm like, "Well, my dad processes snapping turtle meat for a living." And then you're like "That's the weirdest profession ever!" And I'm all like "I know. I think it's awesome." That's about how the conversation usually goes when people ask what my parents do. And I'll be perfectly honest, I loooooove telling people that. Mostly, I'm proud to be from a family that has made its way in the world through creativity and ingenuity. When I was 11 and my dad (pictured left) was slaughtering snapping turtles in the back yard and I wanted to be cool and my friends and their parents would come to pick me up and my dad was covered in blood and guts and that was really NOT cool, I didn't like it so much. But today, having benefited from the success of this endeavor and as an adult who can appreciate any instance of the American dream of independence actually thriving, I think it's super rad. So, when I went home for Thanksgiving I got some turtle meat so I could try and cook it up because I have never really tried and it seemed like something I ought to be able to do.


Turtle meat is a bit of a culinary adventure and so is Cajun soup. (Apparently, a Cajun recipe is the only legitimate way to eat the stuff.) Turtle is a red meat, can be tough and stringy if you don't cook it enough, and truth be told, doesn't smell all that great before it's cooked. However, if you cook it to the point of being tender, it has great texture and an interesting flavor that's hard to describe. I guess it's a little gamey but not too much. Just enough that you know you're eating something unique. Cajun soups are different because they are almost always based on a red roux. Roux, in case you don't know, is basically flour stirred into melted butter over medium heat, which is used to thicken things like cream sauces and gravies. Red roux is cooked, stirring constantly, until it turns an orange-red sort of color. It was neat and the flavor of the stew was more complex because of it. I think I'll try another Cajun soup of some kind in the future. Generally, soups are a light, healthy option. Not so with this recipe, largely because of the roux. It's made from an entire cup of butter and an entire cup of flour. Good thing I'm putting in 35 miles this week! The end result was pretty tasty. I did leave out two ingredients - the hard boiled eggs and the sherry. I may still add the eggs in. The sherry, on the other hand, was supposed to be added after the cooking was done and I only cook with alcohol if it's going to be heated for a while. Soooo, I left it out and may throw a tiny bit of vinegar in to see if that adds the right flavor. Though the soup is creamy and rich and delicious, I feel like it's missing the bite or whatever that is that it gets from the wine. Anyway, below is the recipe I used. I'm including the directions as they were written with notes about what actually happened when I made it. There were some complications, as usual.

Turtle Soup (from LouisianaFoods.com)

Ingredients:
2 Pounds of Turtle Meat (cubed)
2 Sticks Butter (unsalted)
Cup All Purpose Flour
1 Cup Celery (diced)
2 Cups Yellow Onions (diced)
1 1/2 Cups Tomato Puree
1 Quart Beef Stock
6 Hard Boiled Eggs (chopped fine)
3 Bay leaves
1/2 Tsp. Oregano
1/2 Tsp. Thyme
1 Tsp. Course Black Pepper
1 Shot Dry Sherry
3 Tbs. Minced Parsley
Juice of One Lemon

Method:
In heavy saucepan melt butter. When melted add flour and cook until the flour turns the color of a penny. This roux must be stirred at all times so it will not burn.

When roux reaches the desired color add your vegetables and turtle meat and cook until turtle is brown and vegetables are clear. (At this point, I ran into some trouble. My sauce pan was too small so I moved it to another. That pan was, of course, cold, so nothing would brown or cook and all that was happening was my roux was sticking to the bottom and starting to get crispy. So, I just threw in the tomato puree and spices and proceeded to the next step without browning the meat or cooking the vegetables very much. I think this was the right thing to do, but I also think I sacrificed some flavor. Lesson: use a bigger pan.)

Add the tomato puree and cook for about 15 minutes on low fire.

In stock pot simmer beef stock. While boiling add the mixture from your saucepan and stir until soup is mixed and roux is dissolved. Stock should be smooth and have body.

Simmer soup until turtle becomes tender at which time you may add your lemon diced eggs and parsley. (Here, I also varied from the recipe. I simmered the soup on the stove for about 15 minutes while also plugging in my crock pot. I had somewhere to be, so I threw it in there on low and let is simmer while I went to hang out with a friend. When I returned, it had been simmering for about three hours and the turtle meat was nice and tender, so it worked out.)

Each plate should be served with a shot of sherry on the side. (Again, not sure what I'm going to do to replace this step but I'll probably just add some vinegar or maybe even Worcestershire sauce.)