What are the best turtles to eat?

greenspun.com : LUSENET : Countryside : One Thread

Just wondering are there any turtles that shouldnt be eaten? We have alot of turtles in the pond at the sand plant where i work. I dont know what type they are but they are not snappers.. and one of the other guys I work with, says they've only eaten snappers and he didnt know if they would be any good to eat.

-- MikeinKS (mhonk@oz-online.net), May 03, 2001

Answers

ALL turtles are edible,, but some you shouldnt,, endangered,, or extremly benificial. The B E S T ones to eat,, or the dead though,, eating the lives ones can be tricky

-- stan (sopal@net-port.com), May 03, 2001.

Many turtle species are threatened, but I don't think snappers are. Do any other kinds really get big enough to be worth eating? I know that your pond sliders (painteds) eat sludge and carrion, and they don't get very big, so I'd say those are out. I'd hate to think of anyone eating box turtles or Blanding's, since they have a hard enough time maintaining due to raccoons preying on their eggs, and of course the rampant destruction of their habitat. I dunno...between cars, kids, raccoons, and developers, I think turtles (other than snappers) have a hard time just getting by. I'd leave 'em be.

-- Shannon at Grateful Acres Animal Sanctuary (gratacres@aol.com), May 03, 2001.

I concur with the answers given. Oh please don't eat Box Turtles! They're not worth it meat-wise, and are probably going to go extinct in our lifetimes.

My grandfather used to catch snapping turtles and kill them and fry them up for people, but I found the meat to be very tough and couldn't see what the big whoop was, it wasn't all that tasty, they were dangerous to catch, difficult to clean out of the shell, also difficult to prepare (soaking in brine first, etc.), and I'd rather have a nice piece of fish instead.

It wasn't until years later that I also found out that there is an old indian trick of finding dead bodies that have drown in lakes (human, that is), of tying a string onto a large snapper and letting it find the body. They eat all kinds of carrion too. For that matter, most aquatic turtles are carrion eaters primarily.

-- julie f. (rumplefrogskin@excite.com), May 03, 2001.


Just don't understand why anyone would want to bother with eating a turtle when there are so many other options. 'Course I've never tried eatin' turtle before either. (Or many other "different" types of meat for that matter - no squirrell, no deer, no rabbitt, not even alligator (as close to the Florida Everglades as I am), definately no snake, no frog legs --Heck, I don't even touch seafood!! In Florida!!! Can you imagine? I don't eat shrimp, lobster, crab, or fish.) Then again, maybe I'm just a tad partial to NOT eating turtles since my son, (then 4 yrs) and I, rescued a Florida box turtle from the middle of the road about three years ago. It was right after Hurricane "Mitch" blew through so we named him "Mitch". After I picked "Mitch" up out of the middle of the road, I put him in a dishpan and drove him to a vet that specializes in reptiles. Vet gave him a good once over and gave me the rundown on how to feed and care for him. "Mitch" still resides with us in his own little piece of pasadise (on our screened in back porch), in a kiddie pool. He has his own lagoon, feeding "trough", cave and sunning deck. He is fed mostly live wigglers (purchased from a nearby bait & tackle shop), romaine lettuce, apples, and boiled eggs. These are his "favorite foods". As you can see "Mitch" immediately became a part of the family. He even gets a gift or two at Christmas, same as the 23 yr old cockateil we have and the 1 yr old daschaund. Must admit that the pup gets more toys than the other two. Heck HE even has his own toy box. Anyway, now you have a better idea of why I feel this way. But then again this is comin' from a city-gal who would most definately become a vegeatarian if I had to raise my own meat. I doubt there would be any way I could ever kill an animal I raised, for food. I would most defnitely have to be near death from starvation. I have absolutely NO PROBLEM WHAT-SO-EVER with folks who DO raise and butcher their own meat, and I agree totally with the concept of raisin' your own meat because you KNOW what went into it, where it came from, the health of the animal etc., so PLEASE don't misinterpret this. I just know myself. I tend to go overboard with living creatures. Heck, I'd probably be out in the barn every night singin' the cows and chickens a lullaby before tuckin' 'em in all snug and leavin' on the night light for 'em. Sweet dreams all....

-- Greenthumbelina (sck8107@aol.com), May 03, 2001.

Box turtles are about the only type of meat that might not be safe to eat in the USA. They often feed on mushrooms, including some of the most deadly ones. They can eat them just fine, but there have been reports of people (or animals) getting poisoned by eating the meat.

==>paul

-- paul (p@ledgewood-consulting.com), May 03, 2001.



Here in Louisiana we eat what is called the alligator snapping turtle.They get really big and have lots of really good meat in them.Any other turtle that I know of in this area is not worth cleaning because there is not enough meat to fool with. The only way to eat even this turtle is to boil it first and cook it down into what we call a coubion. If you get a big one let me know and I will send you a recipe.

-- Jimmy Holiday (jholiday@charter.net), May 09, 2001.

Was lookinfg for Alligator recipes when I ran across your question about turtles and which to eat. I saw no mention of softshell turtles. I personally find these good to eat, and they grow 20+ lbs. here in East Texas area. These and snappers are the ones generally eaten in this area. Meat is wonderfully varied, "7 flavors" of meat to be found in each turtle. Soup is popular because this tenderizes a usually tough meat. I also enjoy it fried. I boil meat first to tenderize, then batter and fry just long enough to brown the batter.

-- pete hartz (haveatitagain@aol.com), August 20, 2001.

Moderation questions? read the FAQ