Cornmeal Crusted Rattle Snake With Cactus Corn Succotash Recipes

HOW TO COOK A SNAKE

Steps:

• Refrigerate the meat as soon as possible. It can also be frozen. The meat's integrity remains intact, and the coloration of the skin is unaffected.
• Skin the snake. Cut off the head, strip off the skin, and remove the guts of the dead snake.
• Rinse the meat, and cut it into pieces with a sharp knife or poultry shears. Make the cuts between and at the same angle as the ribs to avoid cutting the ribs. If the ribs are severed, they may be difficult to remove from the meat after it is cooked. Some people prefer to soak the ready-to-cook snake pieces in saltwater for a day or two to remove any remaining blood or "gaminess" from the meat.
• Dip the segments in a bit of egg white (milk would also do) before dredging them in a pepper and sweet cornmeal mix (or cornbread mix with some extra black pepper). Shake off the excess.
• Heat about 3/4" (2cm) of canola, vegetable, or peanut oil in a heavy frying pan until quite hot. Add the snake pieces one at a time to avoid from dropping the temperature in the pan too quickly. Use tongs to keep your fingers away from the sizzling hot oil, watch for dangerous splatters, and use a screen if necessary to prevent a mess. Turn the snake pieces just as the batter begins to turn golden - by the time it starts to brown the snake will be overcooked. There's not much meat on the bones, and the muscles are thin and lean.
• Drain and cool. Remove the snake pieces before they're quite done - they'll continue to cook after removal from the pan - and set them on paper towels to drain and cool.
• Serve your fried snake bits warm, and provide napkins - this is finger food. Accompany with most anything you'd serve with fried fish.
• Eat the snake meat. There should be a line of muscle along either side of the spine; this is the thickest piece of meat on the snake's body. The ribs are quite firmly attached to the spine, so scrape your teeth over them firmly to remove the rest of the meat from the ribs.

CAJUN CORNMEAL CRUSTED CHICKEN

Steps:

• Preheat the oven 350 degrees F.
• In a medium bowl, whisk 1/2 cup of the flour with the cornmeal, Cajun spice, and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Put the remaining 1 cup flour, buttermilk, and the cornmeal mixture respectively in 3 shallow dishes. Season the buttermilk with hot sauce, to taste.
• With the flat side of a cook's knife or the smooth side of a meat-pounder, pound each breast to equal thickness. Pat the chicken breasts dry and season with salt.
• Lightly coat each breast in flour and shake off any excess. Dip each breast into the buttermilk to coat and remove, shaking slightly so the excess buttermilk drains back into the bowl. Dredge the chicken in the cornmeal mixture, shaking off any excess coating. Lay the chicken on a piece of waxed paper.
• Heat a large (12-inch) cast iron skillet over medium heat with about 1/2 inch of oil. Lay 2 chicken breasts smooth-side down in the pan and cook until golden brown, 3 to 4 minutes. Flip and cook 3 to 4 minutes more. Drain chicken on a paper towel. Repeat with remaining chicken.
• Place all chicken breasts on a rack over a baking sheet and bake until firm to the touch, 6 to 8 minutes. Season with salt, and serve immediately with mustard mayonnaise or sliced tomatoes.

CORNMEAL CRUSTED SHRIMP WITH SPICY 3-2-1 SAUCE AND CHAYOTE SALAD

Steps:

• Preheat a fryer to 375 degrees F.
• Dredge the shrimp in flour/pepper, then egg, last cornmeal. Fry until golden brown and delicious, about 4 minutes. Drain and season with salt and pepper.
• On a plate, place a small amount of the salad in the middle. Surround the salad with the sauce and place 5 shrimp leaning against the salad.
• In a non-reactive saute pan coated lightly with oil, saute jalapenos, garlic, and ginger until brown, about 4 minutes. Add sugar and deglaze with vinegar and soy. Reduce by 50 percent and add tomatoes and butter. Check for seasoning.
• In a bowl, whisk together the mustard, juice and oil. Add the zest and toss with the chayote, and scallions. Season with salt and pepper. This should be done 10 minutes before serving.

CORNMEAL CRUSTED RATTLE SNAKE WITH CACTUS-CORN SUCCOTASH

Steps:

• Using a sharp boning knife remove the meat from the snake by cutting down the back, just slightly to 1 side of the spine from the head to the rattle. Using the tip of the knife peel the meat from the ?rib cage?. Once you removed the 2 long strips of meat, lightly pound them with the back of the knife to tenderize them. Cut the strips of meat into 1-inch pieces and place in a bowl with the buttermilk. Mix to coat well. In a large bowl combine the cornmeal with the flour and the spices. Heat the oil in a large skillet on medium high heat. Dredge the snake pieces in the flour mixture and fry for 2 minutes or until golden brown and then transfer to a paper towel lined plate. Repeat until all the snake pieces are cooked. Serve with Cactus-Corn Succotash.
• Grilling the vegetables first gives another great layer of flavor, however, it is not absolutely necessary. Just omit that step and cook the vegetable right in the pan. In a skillet on high heat saute the vegetables except the tomatoes in the olive oil for 2 minutes. Add the stock and butter and cook until mixture reduces by half. Add tomatoes and seasoning and serve with the warm snake "nuggets" on top.