Bayou Turtle Soup Recipes

TURTLE SOUP

Steps:

• In a heavy 4-qt. saucepan, bring turtle meat and water to a boil. Skim off foam. Chop 1 onion and set aside. Quarter the other onion; add to saucepan along with bay leaf, cayenne pepper and salt. Cover and simmer for 2 hours or until the meat is tender. Remove meat with a slotted spoon and cut into 1/2-in. cubes; set aside. Strain broth and set aside. Rinse and dry saucepan; melt butter over medium-high heat. Cook chopped onion until tender. Add flour; cook and stir until bubbly and lightly browned. Whisk in reserved broth; cook and stir until thickened. Reduce heat; stir in tomato puree and Worcestershire sauce. Simmer,, uncovered, for 10 minutes. Add chicken broth, eggs, lemon juice and meat. Simmer for 5 minutes or until heated through. Garnish with parsley if desired.

CREOLE TURTLE SOUP

Steps:

• Start by making the turtle stock. Put the turtle meat into a large pot and cover with 8 cups of water. Add the bay leaves and about a tablespoon of salt. Bring to a boil and skim the scum that floats to the top. Drop the heat to a bare simmer and cook until the turtle meat wants to fall off the bone, about 2 to 3 hours.
• Remove the meat from the pot and pull it off the bones. Chop as coarse or as fine as you want. Strain the turtle broth and put it into a pot set over low heat to keep warm.
• In a Dutch oven or other soup pot, melt the butter over medium-high heat and stir in the flour. Cook this, stirring almost constantly, to make a roux the color of peanut butter, which will take about 10 to 15 minutes.
• Add the green pepper, celery and onion and cook for about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook another minute. Add the chopped turtle meat and stir to combine.
• Stir in a cup of the turtle stock at a time until you the soup is the consistency of gravy. Add the tomatoes, Worcestershire sauce, cayenne and paprika. Add more turtle broth until the soup thins a bit. It should be thicker than water, thinner than gravy -- like chicken and dumplings if you are familiar with that. Simmer gently for 15 minutes, or until the vegetables are soft.
• Finish the soup with the sherry, parsley, lemon zest and hard-boiled eggs. Add them all, stir to combine and simmer for a minute or two. Add salt, black pepper and lemon juice to taste. Serve alone or with rice.

WHITE TAVERN TURTLE SOUP

Steps:

• Season turtle meat with salt and pepper. Coat a large cast-iron skillet with the oil. Render the turtle meat (cook until brown) at a medium to high heat. Remove the meat from pot. Reduce heat to medium. Add onions, celery, bell pepper and garlic and cook until tender. Slowly whisk in flour to make a "roux." Return the turtle meat to the pot. Add tomato sauce and 1 cup of water. Cook for 30 minutes. Add lemon, bay leaves, Worcestershire sauce and 4 quarts of water (you may use stock instead). Reduce heat to low and simmer uncovered until soup reaches desired thickness. Serve with boiled eggs and sherry to taste.

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.

TURTLE SOUP

Steps:

• Cut turtle meat into 1-inch pieces, cleaning away any tendons or fat. Grind meat with a grinder fitted with a small die.* In a large Dutch oven, add olive oil, and heat over medium heat. Add turtle meat, and cook until browned. Add thyme, oregano, clove, and chile powder, and cook for 2 minutes. Add onion, celery, bell pepper, garlic, allspice, cumin, coriander, red pepper, basil, bay leaves, and paprika, and cook until the vegetables are tender. Turn off heat, and add Dark Flour, stirring very well. Add red wine, tomato, and sherry, and stir until combined. Turn heat back on, and stir well. Add chicken stock, and bring to a boil; reduce heat, and simmer. Add egg, lemon, parsley, salt, and pepper, and simmer 1 hour; adjust seasoning to taste. Divide soup among serving bowls, and garnish with parsley, if desired. Serve with sherry, lemon, and French bread, if desired.
• Preheat oven to 350°. In a rimmed baking sheet, add 2 cups all-purpose flour. Bake, stirring occasionally, until browned and nutty. Use immediately, or let stand until cool and store up to 1 month in a sealed container.