Post
by Chuckwagon » Tue Jun 25, 2013 00:01
Hey, hey, Butterbean!
Did you know there are 32 species of Crotalinae and seventy sub-species? As Ray would say, "Boy Howdy"! I'm sure you know a heck of a lot more than I do about these critters, but I couldn't help postin' my recipe for the WESTERN diamondback. My ol' fishin' partner got nabbed in the sagebrush by one of these devils and it screwed up his entire immune system for the rest of his life.
"Rattlesnake Rub 'N Roast"
(Cookin' A Western Diamond Back Rattler)
If you kill a rattler for supper, step on its head, cut it off and leave it alone. The unpredictable reflexes of the reptile may yet deliver venom up to twenty minutes more. As with any other meat, the flesh must be cooled before cooking it. Wash the flesh, pat it dry, and keep it clean. If you are going to use the head, skin, and rattles to fashion a great hatband that will bewilder, amaze, and impress everyone you cleverly and subtly bump into, make sure the reptile is dead as a can of store-bought corned beef before you start operating. Hang the snake by tying a strong cord around its flesh behind the head. Separate the head from the flesh but not the skin. Make a vertical slice down the belly almost to the rattles. Eviscerate the innards but leave the rattles connected to the skin as you easily pull the skin from the snake. Roll the head, skin, and rattles in plenty of salt, refrigerate the thing, and take it to a taxidermist as soon as possible, or get busy yourself, tanning the skin and preserving its head.
Having removed the entire contents from inside the snake, thoroughly wash and cool the meat. Slice it into two inch sections including the rib bones, and then rub the meat with a little black pepper, salt, onion powder, garlic powder, and a bit of cayenne pepper. Pan fry the pieces in butter or grill them over mesquite coals. The meat is not exceptionally flavorful, and contrary to popular belief, it doesn't taste like chicken. It tastes like... a gall-derned old rattlesnake. Actually, they are quite tasty, although I'd rather see one spread out on the grill than coiled in the sagebrush.
Chuckwagon`s "Rattlesnake Steep"
(20 Minute Marinade For Lean Fish Or Rattlers)
Juice of 1/2 lemon
1/2 cup grape seed oil
1/2 tsp. white wine vinegar
1 tspn. dried herbs of choice
"Robber's Roost Rattlesnake Venom"
(Hot N' Spicy Sauce For Chicken Or Rattler)
1 cup Frank's Red Hot Pepper Sauce
1/4 cup cider vinegar
2 tspns. brown sugar
1/4 cup honey
1 tspn. black pepper
1 tspn. cayenne pepper
1/2 stick of butter
Best Wishes,
Chuckwagon
If it looks like a duck, walks like a duck, and quacks like a duck, it probably needs more time on the grill! 
