Maybe you bought fresh snake meat in a market in a country where it is traditionally eaten, or you hunted and skinned one of these animals with your own hands for dinner; either way, you won't find a specific snake recipe in a regular cookbook. The texture and flavor of snake meat are halfway between those of chicken and fish and can be cooked so that it looks more like one or the other. This article describes a recipe that is also suitable for cooking sun perch, so the final result will be very reminiscent of a small lake fish.
Ingrediants
- 1 snake, purchased from a reputable vendor or hunted in a familiar environment (avoid specimens that may have eaten poisoned rodents)
- 1 package of corn flour
- 120 ml of egg white
- A pinch of black pepper
- 2 cm of oil for frying (the total volume depends on the size of the pan)
Steps
Step 1. Return the meat to the refrigerator as soon as possible
It can also be frozen. The integrity of the meat will not be altered, as well as the color of the skin.
Step 2. Skin the snake. Cut off the head and tear off the skin, finally remove the bowels.
Step 3. Wash the meat and cut the snake into small pieces with a sharp knife or chicken shredder
Try to make the incisions keeping the same angle as the ribs to avoid cutting the ribs. If they are broken, it will be difficult to detach them from the cooked meat. Some people prefer to put the meat in salted water for a day or two to get rid of the blood residue and the "wild" flavor.
Step 4. Dip the pieces of meat in egg white (or milk) before passing them in the pepper-flavored corn flour
Shake them to remove excess flour.
Step 5. In a suitable saucepan, heat about 2cm of canola, seed or peanut oil until hot
Add the snake pieces one at a time to avoid quickly lowering the temperature of the oil. Use kitchen tongs to protect your fingers from splashes of hot oil, and use a guard to keep the whole kitchen from getting dirty. When the batter starts to turn golden, flip the pieces of meat; if it turns brown, then the snake will be overcooked. There is not much flesh on the bones and the muscles are lean and thin.
Step 6. Drain and cool
Remove the snake pieces before they are completely cooked - they will continue to cook anyway - and place them on kitchen paper to absorb the excess oil. Wait for them to cool down a bit.
Step 7. Serve the snake treats while they are still warm and also have some napkins available, as they can be eaten with your hands
Accompany the snake with any garnish you would use for the fish.
Step 8. Eat snake meat
There should be a line of muscle along the spine; this is the thickest point on the animal's body. The ribs are firmly connected to the vertebrae, so you can "nibble" them with your teeth to remove the flesh.
Advice
- Overcooking snake meat (as you can see from the images in this tutorial) gives it a fried flavor, but if you can cook it just right, it will have a nice nutty aroma.
- If you have leftover batter, cut some vegetables, dip them in egg whites and / or milk, dip them in the batter and fry them.
- You can add liquid to the batter and then fry it into small balls as if they were pancakes.
- Snake meat acquires much of its flavor from the way it is seasoned and prepared. If you cook it using the same techniques you follow for chicken, you will get chicken-like morsels.
Warnings
- Avoid eating the snake's head because it is the seat of the poison glands, in case the animal you are consuming belongs to a poisonous species. The body does not contain the poison and can be eaten safely.
- Wash your hands just like when handling any other type of raw meat.
- Many snake species are protected (especially poisonous ones) and cannot be killed. You could be charged with a criminal offense and spend a few days in jail.
- If you go hunting for snakes to cook them according to this and other recipes, then be very careful and cautious.
- Remember to cook snake meat up to at least 62 ° C (core temperature) to kill all bacteria.
