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Does anyone have any recipes for cooking rattlesnake while out camping? I have been reading about how to clean and prepare them, but just wondering if anyone has experience with cooking rattlesnakes while out camping.

How about other delicacies found in the state?

Umm, under what circumstances would you find yourself with a rattlesnake to cook?

Chop it's head off, gut it, skin it, throw it over a fire. Taste like gamey chicken, best borderline burnt IMO

I'd recommend marinating it in some of that extra camping bud-light first. It works for chicken...

big_load wrote:Umm, under what circumstances would you find yourself with a rattlesnake to cook?

Well I am sure that any avid hiker has had plenty of encounters with rattle snakes. I have killed plenty of them at my property in the past few years. Rattlesnakes do not always make noise when you pass by them, usually only when they feel threatened do they make noise. There are many things in the desert that people do not see because they are looking at certain things and not paying attention to others or concentrating on the hike instead of what is around them, but that is just human nature.

So I would say the real question is.. How many snakes have you passed by without even knowing it?

obviously, a question with no answer... I've passed hundreds that I have been aware of... never felt like killing any of them. I usually bring my lunch, so there just doesn't seem to be any need.

joe bartels wrote:Taste like gamey chicken

Even deep-fried it tastes :yuck: .

chumley wrote:I'd recommend marinating it in some of that extra camping bud-light first. It works for chicken...

Do you debone the snake when you cook it? Here is a URL to an article about rattlesnake:

http://hubpages.com/hub/How-to-Prepare- ... ood-Eating

imike wrote:I usually bring my lunch, so there just doesn't seem to be any need.

Unless I'm hiking with Emiril or Julia, I have no interest in dining on Rattlesnake...

http://www.cooks.com/rec/search?q=rattlesnake

its something that ive been wanting to try, just havent had the chance.

Well I admit that I usually take food with me. My point of view is that I will probably try it once just to try it, maybe more if I like it. I just like to know how to do certain things if by extreme chance I might find myself stranded again. I am not the type of person to think that "well nothing is EVER going to happen to me cause I am very careful". That to me will get a person in a lot of trouble because they are never prepared for the situation.

Just for example: and yes these might be extreme, but not impossible.
Do you know which plants are edible? which one's are poisonous?
Can you find water or find the plants that hold more water than others?
Rabbit tastes much better than snake...I would assume since I have eaten rabbit before....but they are quick and hard to catch without proper tactics.
The desert summer nights are better for traveling when stranded...can you navigate by stars if your compass is broken?
Can you start a fire without matches or a lighter?... I can, but it can be a freakin pain in the butt... but it is possible.

I posted this just to see if anyone had any suggetions because it is something I have been thinking about trying. I apologize if I offended any hikers that only eat 5-star gourmet meals that are served by their butler along the air conditioned trail.

I'd guess most of the folks on this site (at least the ones who post regularly) are a bunch of thick-skinned SOB's...

I understand where you're coming from... In survival situations, I've been taught it's possible eat some pretty nasty things (rattlesnake is gourmet compared to some of them...).

And unless he's going to cook, clean and fluff my sleeping bag on a consistent basis, the butler stays home!

PLC92084 wrote:. In survival situations, I've been taught it's possible eat some pretty nasty things (rattlesnake is gourmet compared to some of them...).

Survival is more a state of mind... food is not really a very important element... it takes 40-60 days to starve; rarely will there be much over 14 days of challenge to get out of any trouble. You can die overnight from stress: shock can do you in fast. Water is important, as is not going into hypo/hyper thermia. More often than not, the search for food will burn more calories than you'll score, and subject you to much greater chance of injury and extended problems... just don't go there. After the third day the effects of not eating will pass (light headedness... hunger) and you'll be good to go for ten to 15 days of moderate level activity.

Snakes will usually begin talking to you after about the 20th day... if you've been nice to them they might even tell you a shortcut home...

imike wrote:Snakes will usually begin talking to you after about the 20th day... if you've been nice to them they might even tell you a shortcut home...

Sometimes they gather in groups on dirt roads...good thing bears usually scare them off. :whistle:

Too bad you changed your avatar, I thought you were talking to someone else

imike wrote:After the third day

ugh
You ever gone 3-15 days?

Hahaha, after a few days of not eating you will have burned off much of your fat reserves and will be as lethargic as a snail. 60 days....pbthhh. Maybe if you were indoors with clean water, good shelter, and all the facilities.

imike wrote:

PLC92084 wrote:. In survival situations, I've been taught it's possible eat some pretty nasty things (rattlesnake is gourmet compared to some of them...).

Survival is more a state of mind... food is not really a very important element... it takes 40-60 days to starve; rarely will there be much over 14 days of challenge to get out of any trouble. You can die overnight from stress: shock can do you in fast. Water is important, as is not going into hypo/hyper thermia. More often than not, the search for food will burn more calories than you'll score, and subject you to much greater chance of injury and extended problems... just don't go there. After the third day the effects of not eating will pass (light headedness... hunger) and you'll be good to go for ten to 15 days of moderate level activity.

Snakes will usually begin talking to you after about the 20th day... if you've been nice to them they might even tell you a shortcut home...

in training some years ago, to maximize my ability to metabolize body fat efficiently, I included a ten day fast in my pattern. That included doing two a day workouts daily... morning up to Mt. Kimbell on Finger rock trail, then a second workout, usually a run to the end of Phoneline, or Blackett's ridge. On the tenth day I did feel a little shaky during the second workout, otherwise energy was good. Body fat stores at 3500 calories per pound... you will also be burning off stored protein (...body converts protein to produce the sugar necessary to metabolize the fat)... I boated 80 hours in a Texas canoe race, sans food... and managed to finish nicely. The body is capable... if the mind allows...

I've had rattlesnake and thought it was not bad. It's more tender than jackrabbit but not as good as a cottontail. You can cook it any way you like; roasted, boiled, or fried. What I had was battered and fried, served at Rustler's Roost. I think they overcooked it.

outdoorsman74 wrote:Does anyone have any recipes for cooking rattlesnake while out camping? I have been reading about how to clean and prepare them, but just wondering if anyone has experience with cooking rattlesnakes while out camping.

How about other delicacies found in the state?

We cooked one that wandered into our camp and got caught many, many years back. One of my cronies killed it before I got back to stop his goofy butt. He skinned it and we pretty much skewered it and roasted it over a fire. It really did taste like chicken. Much tougher meat, though...

I had some rattlesnake while on a hunting trip about 5 years ago. we just skinned and gutted it and roasted it over the fire. no need to de-bone it