Mikes Bait Shops Turtle Stew Recipes

BEST TURTLE SOUP

Steps:

• 1. Melt the half cup of butter in a heavy bottomed saucepan, whisk in the flour, cook to make a peanut butter colored roux. Set aside.
• 2. In a large saucepan or dutch oven, melt the 4 Tbsp of unsalted butter over medium-high heat, add the diced turtle meat and saute until nicely browned.
• 3. Lower the heat to medium, add both types of onions, the celery, and garlic. Season with salt and black pepper. Saute until the vegetables are tender.
• 4. Add the tomatoes, season with a little salt so they will break down, cook for 10 minutes.
• 5. Add the tomato sauce, beef stock, worcestershire, cayenne, allspice, and bay leaves. Bring to a boil, then down to a simmer. Simmer for 20-30 minutes, stirring occasionally and skimming off any impurities that may rise to the surface.
• 6. Whisk in the roux, simmer until thickened and smooth. Add the thyme, and marjoram, simmer for 15-20 minutes more.
• 7. Add the lemon juice, 3 tsp of the parsley, and the smashed egg yolk, heat through
• 8. Serve garnished with lemon slices, diced egg whites, and parsley. Add the sherry at the table, about 1-2 tsp per bowl. Enjoy!
• 9. *NOTES: As far as finding Turtle Meat in your area, you may have a bit of a challenge. If you have a great Asian Market in your area, it's probably your best bet, they may even have them live if you would like to butcher them yourself. It's a messy business though, with a lot of blood and Post Mortem squirming. I buy frozen. If you can purchase bone-in Turtle Meat, do so! You can Roast the bones and infuse the flavor into your Beef Stock. Roast them in a 400 degree F oven until a nice deep brown, then add them to your Beef Stock and simmer for 30 minutes to an hour. If you like your turtle soup with a rich brown gravy, leave out the tomato sauce. Adding the tomato sauce will add another layer of flavor and will only change the color of the soup slightly.

LOUISIANA TURTLE STEW

Steps:

• Parboil the turtle meat; drain.
• Make a brown roux of the fat and flour.
• Add onions, garlic, tomato paste, and tomatoes.
• Cook slowly for 20 to 30 minutes.
• Add turtle meat and add enough boiling salted water to cover the meat.
• Reduce by half.
• Add celery, green onions, peppers, wine and seasoning.
• Cover and cook over medium high heat for approximately 30 minutes.
• Mash the egg yolks, chop the whites and add to thicken the stew.
• If the stew gets too thick, add additional water.
• Reduce the heat, cover and simmer for about three hours.
• Half an hour before serving, add the sliced lemon and butter.
• Serve hot.

MIKE'S BAIT SHOP'S TURTLE STEW

Steps:

• Place the turtle, chicken and pork meat into separate pots with enough water to cover the meat. Bring each one to a boil, and cook until tender. Discard the water from the turtle and pork, but save the chicken stock. Debone all of the meat, tear or cut into bite-size pieces, and set aside.
• In a very large stockpot, combine the three meats, onion and reserved chicken stock. Bring to a boil, and cook until the onions are tender, about 45 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Potatoes can be prepared during this time.
• Add the potatoes and butter to the stockpot, and cook for about 30 minutes, or until the potatoes are not quite cooked through. Reduce heat to low, and let the soup simmer down. Stir in the half and half cream and milk. Bring the soup to a simmer, and cook for about 15 minutes. Be careful not to curdle the dairy by getting it too hot. Serve soup hot with crackers.