# Whats for dinner?



## Tomboy Boots (Aug 19, 2008)

Theres a first time for everything... I've always been curious what rattlesnake really taste like  So I decided to find out   But you'll have to wait for my opinion cause I'm not cooking it until tonight...


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## The AmBASSaDEER (Aug 19, 2008)

how are ya gonna cook it?


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## KDarsey (Aug 19, 2008)

How did your hands smell after you cleaned him? I like to have never got the smell off mine, I am going to get me some surgical gloves next time. It is some good eatin' though, you will love it!


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## southwoodshunter (Aug 19, 2008)

*mmmmmm*

Had some once.. my ex marinated it in dales seasoning.. fileted & fried it, was good.. 
chewy like clams but taste like chicken.
Told my mama about it & she immediately asked did I need some groceries..


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## patchestc (Aug 19, 2008)

I think i would need a few drinks first.


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## Tomboy Boots (Aug 19, 2008)

The AmBASSaDEER said:


> how are ya gonna cook it?



I'm planning to season, batter and fry it. I will let you know how it turns out...



KDarsey said:


> How did your hands smell after you cleaned him? I like to have never got the smell off mine, I am going to get me some surgical gloves next time. It is some good eatin' though, you will love it!



My rattlesnake didn't have a smell??? Maybe yours was hanging out in all the wrong places  Seriously, I have smelled oak snakes before, but this snake really didn't have a smell. I did use a surgical scalpel to cut his belly open though. I'm trying to figure out what I want to do with the skin... It amazed me how easy it was to skin out, just peeled right off.


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## DSGB (Aug 19, 2008)

Beautiful snake! See if you can get someone to make a hat band or belt out of it.
Let us know how it tastes!


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## bam_bam (Aug 19, 2008)

nice snake, what you gonna dowith the skin?


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## Tomboy Boots (Aug 19, 2008)

bam_bam said:


> nice snake, what you gonna dowith the skin?



Give me some more suggestions?


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## LJay (Aug 19, 2008)

PM snakeman. He can turn it into whatever you like.


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## KDarsey (Aug 19, 2008)

Tomboy Boots said:


> My rattlesnake didn't have a smell??? Maybe yours was hanging out in all the wrong places  Seriously, I have smelled oak snakes before, but this snake really didn't have a smell. I did use a surgical scalpel to cut his belly open though. I'm trying to figure out what I want to do with the skin... It amazed me how easy it was to skin out, just peeled right off.




Oh Lord, what did I eat? 

Like they said that's a nice skin, get somebody to make you something nice.


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## chuckb7718 (Aug 19, 2008)

Very pretty snake, but you missed the head!
JK...I'd have had the shakes so bad I'd probably have missed the ground under him!


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## Hunter Haven (Aug 19, 2008)

I like the end result no matter how it taste

Nice..


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## notnksnemor (Aug 19, 2008)

Tomboy Boots said:


> Give me some more suggestions?



I'm thinkin' soft tan, trim the edges, apply a soft backing, 3 holes on each end for leather cord lacing with some of Redman's beads on the end of the lacing.
Would make an awesome arm band.

Rick


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## Copperhead Road (Aug 19, 2008)

Who's to say she aimed for the head???? I've heard/read that she's a puuurty good shot!!  The armadillo would certainly agree!


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## Nicodemus (Aug 19, 2008)

Boots, stretch it meat side up and tack it to a board or piece of cardboard. Scrape it clean of meat and fat. Apply a good amount of 20 Mule Team Borax to it. Rub it in well. Put in a dry place for a few days. Mix up some denatured alchohol and glycerin 50-50. remove the4 borax, and paint the skin with the mix. Let it absorb, (a few more days), and paint again. When this absorbs, remove from board. The skin is now tanned. If you can scratch up an old weathered board off a barn or old house, the skin will look mighty nice on it, with antiqued brass furniture tacks holdin` it on.

Oh yea, congrats on the canebrake. You`re purty good  with that shooter, ain`t you!


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## Sterlo58 (Aug 19, 2008)

That is awesome. I have had it breaded and fried and it was good. 
Nic has the recipe for the hide.
Nice goin'


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## doublelungdriller (Aug 19, 2008)

you go girl.


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## Fish_Bone (Aug 19, 2008)

Tomboy Boots said:


> Give me some more suggestions?



How about a bikini???


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## Tomboy Boots (Aug 19, 2008)

chuckb7718 said:


> Very pretty snake, but you missed the head!
> JK...I'd have had the shakes so bad I'd probably have missed the ground under him!



I hit exactly what I was aiming for : I never aim for the head, I want to know where that head is after the snake is dead... Too many times people aim for the head and then don't have a clue where it went after the shot... I want to know where those fangs are  His head was hanging on by a piece of skin  That was the second one I had seen, the first had already been run over by a vehicle, this one was just crossing the road.


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## chuckb7718 (Aug 20, 2008)

Tomboy Boots said:


> I hit exactly what I was aiming for : I never aim for the head, I want to know where that head is after the snake is dead... Too many times people aim for the head and then don't have a clue where it went after the shot... I want to know where those fangs are  His head was hanging on by a piece of skin  That was the second one I had seen, the first had already been run over by a vehicle, this one was just crossing the road.



OK...I stand properly corrected! I usually try and "shoot" 'em with a F-150 and I pick my feet up off the floorboards as I go over!
Now, how'd dinner turn out?


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## Hooked On Quack (Aug 20, 2008)

Fish_Bone said:


> How about a bikini???


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## Workin2Hunt (Aug 20, 2008)

Fish_Bone said:


> How about a bikini???





Hooked On Quack said:


>




Pervs..


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## KDarsey (Aug 20, 2008)

Fish_Bone said:


> How about a bikini???



I don't think a bikini would stay up on a snake and it sure wouldn't cook up too good either......


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## Tomboy Boots (Aug 20, 2008)

chuckb7718 said:


> Now, how'd dinner turn out?



I cooked it, and I had to share it... sure doesn't go far. My son, daughter, 2 nephews and I all loved it! Next time I have to kill several rattlesnakes or just don't tell anyone "whats for dinner"


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## Jim Thompson (Aug 20, 2008)

ok I am snake hunting this weekend!


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## Tomboy Boots (Aug 20, 2008)

Jim Thompson said:


> ok I am snake hunting this weekend!



Rattlesnake just took on a whole new meaning... Food


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## The AmBASSaDEER (Aug 20, 2008)

Dang that looks pretty good.


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## Jake Allen (Aug 20, 2008)

Great job Boots, shooting, story telling, cleaning and cooking,
pictures of it all. Bonus, Nic telling us all how to tan a rattlesnake hide. I sure enjoyed reading that.
I like that stainless pistol.
Are you going to enter vittles like that in the cooking deal next March?


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## Tomboy Boots (Aug 20, 2008)

Jake Allen said:


> Great job Boots, shooting, story telling, cleaning and cooking,
> pictures of it all. Bonus, Nic telling us all how to tan a rattlesnake hide. I sure enjoyed reading that.
> I like that stainless pistol.
> Are you going to enter vittles like that in the cooking deal next March?



Thanks Jake, but on the cooking deal...

Nope... I don't like to cook  I like to hunt


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## Slings and Arrows (Aug 20, 2008)

Looks delicious!  I filet the meat off the ribs so you can do anything with it that you could do with any meat...Fajitas, gumbo, pizza, tacos, snake on a stick, snake gravy and buscuits, etc.


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## ClydeWigg3 (Aug 20, 2008)

So......you making a bikini outta that skin?


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## Tomboy Boots (Aug 20, 2008)

Nicodemus said:


> Boots, stretch it meat side up and tack it to a board or piece of cardboard. Scrape it clean of meat and fat. Apply a good amount of 20 Mule Team Borax to it. Rub it in well. Put in a dry place for a few days. Mix up some denatured alchohol and glycerin 50-50. remove the4 borax, and paint the skin with the mix. Let it absorb, (a few more days), and paint again. When this absorbs, remove from board. The skin is now tanned. If you can scratch up an old weathered board off a barn or old house, the skin will look mighty nice on it, with antiqued brass furniture tacks holdin` it on.
> 
> Oh yea, congrats on the canebrake. You`re purty good  with that shooter, ain`t you!



Thanks for the instructions Nick, I might just use them for the rattler I've got in the freezer...


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## Auchumpkee Creek Assassin (Aug 20, 2008)

fine looking snake and great looking meal........


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## ClydeWigg3 (Aug 20, 2008)

I've only had it once, yes it was at Whigham, and I loved it.  Made me think of fish the way the meat flaked up and being white.  Very tasty too.  Course, I think you could fry a boot and it might taste good with a little salt.

Question for Nic - If I follow your method of tanning, will the skin be plyable, or will that require some extra work?

This is almost as informative as the one where the guy was skinning a beaver.


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## tv_racin_fan (Aug 21, 2008)

Snake nuggets, not bad at all. I'd say that was very good shootin, and a very good explanation as to why you don't shoot the head.


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## dgr416 (Aug 21, 2008)

Dang no snakes here in Alaska.I guess I will just have to stick to porcupine,lynx,grizzley bears and moose.I did pass on whale it smelled too bad.Grizzley bear makes good sauage but black bear is even better.Good luck snake hunting !


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## merc123 (Aug 21, 2008)

Looks good.  Made me hungry


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## Nicodemus (Aug 22, 2008)

ClydeWigg3 said:


> I've only had it once, yes it was at Whigham, and I loved it.  Made me think of fish the way the meat flaked up and being white.  Very tasty too.  Course, I think you could fry a boot and it might taste good with a little salt.
> 
> Question for Nic - If I follow your method of tanning, will the skin be plyable, or will that require some extra work?
> 
> This is almost as informative as the one where the guy was skinning a beaver.



Clyde, after it`s dry, you can work it a little and it will be fairly pliable, enough that you can use it for whatever you want to make out of it.


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## ClydeWigg3 (Aug 22, 2008)

Thanks Nic.


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## JR (Aug 22, 2008)

Sweet baby Jesus Boots!!!!  It's bad enough you had to even run up on something like that... Then kill and HOLD IT????    Much less eat it!!!!  Dear Lord.



dgr416 said:


> Dang no snakes here in Alaska.



I know where I'm moving!!!


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## Tomboy Boots (Aug 23, 2008)

kennyjr1976 said:


> Sweet baby Jesus Boots!!!!  It's bad enough you had to even run up on something like that... Then kill and HOLD IT????    Much less eat it!!!!  Dear Lord.



There are very few things that scare me, and a snake ain't one of 'em  Seriously, I catch non-poisonous snakes pretty much every time I see one, just cause I want to. When I was about 4 yrs. old my Mom found me playing with a coral snake in the backyard, then I brought her home a jar with a scorpion in it, then it was a black widow spider...   She thought I was crazy when I told her I'd killed, cooked and eaten a rattlesnake


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## Lostoutlaw (Aug 23, 2008)

Boots That was a good'un hope you enjoy it ...opps you said ya did oh ok ....

But I don't think about it tasting like chicken, well they never did to me....


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## 44mags (Aug 24, 2008)

All I Can Say Is Thats One Pretty Gun An Shooter An One Very Ulgy Snake, Fer Exceipt On Th Plate!!!


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## MERCing (Sep 19, 2008)

Boots,  are those pieces fileted or just cut in sections ??

Sure didn't look very appetitizing laying in the road but looked good on the plate


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## Dead Eye Eddy (Sep 19, 2008)

I've never eaten rattlesnake, but I think I may try it.  I killed a 46" long Timber last September.  I thought about cooking it, but lost my nerve and pitched it into the woods after I skinned it.


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## crackerdave (Sep 19, 2008)

Tomboy Boots said:


> Give me some more suggestions?



I've often thought it'd be cool to have a hardshell pool cue case covered in rattlesnake skin - maybe fasten the rattles to the butt end of the stick,so you could give it a shake - just before you sink the eight-ball!
You'd best be a VERY good pool-shooter to walk in a poolroom with that!  - especially if you had "The Rattler" in gold letters on the case.


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## Tomboy Boots (Sep 26, 2008)

MERCing said:


> Boots,  are those pieces fileted or just cut in sections ??
> 
> Sure didn't look very appetitizing laying in the road but looked good on the plate



They are cut in sections, but several have mentioned fileting it out.... I may give that a try next time, first I have to find another rattlesnake


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## MERCing (Sep 26, 2008)

> first I have to find another rattlesnake



Same here. I keep a snake stick in the Truck, jeep and Rhino, just in case. All I have been able to find are Copperheads and an occassional Cottonmouth.
 Haven't heard anybody say anything about cooking either of those species.....???

Need some pics of the skin when you're done with it


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## The AmBASSaDEER (Sep 26, 2008)

Tomboy Boots said:


> Give me some more suggestions?



Turn the rattel into that lucky thing that hangs from your bellybutton!


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## rutandstrut (Sep 14, 2010)

Nicodemus said:


> Boots, stretch it meat side up and tack it to a board or piece of cardboard. Scrape it clean of meat and fat. Apply a good amount of 20 Mule Team Borax to it. Rub it in well. Put in a dry place for a few days. Mix up some denatured alchohol and glycerin 50-50. remove the4 borax, and paint the skin with the mix. Let it absorb, (a few more days), and paint again. When this absorbs, remove from board. The skin is now tanned. If you can scratch up an old weathered board off a barn or old house, the skin will look mighty nice on it, with antiqued brass furniture tacks holdin` it on.
> 
> Oh yea, congrats on the canebrake. You`re purty good  with that shooter, ain`t you!



Nic,

I was told by a couple of different people that once you skin out a Rattle Snake or any Snake that you want to preserve the Skin...First cut it up the middle of the belly...pull the skin off...turn it over and lightly scrape the back to remove any fat or tissue that is still attached...loosely roll the skin and put it in a covered bucket filled with green antifreeze to cover skin. Agitate the Bucket once a day or everytime you think about it...after 3 or 4 weeks...take it out and pin it to a board and allow it to dry out. Skin will be very supple when finished...

Have you ever heard of this method of curing a Snake Skin?
Curious to see if anyone has heard of this method!


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## rutandstrut (Sep 16, 2010)

chuckb7718 said:


> Very pretty snake, but you missed the head!
> JK...I'd have had the shakes so bad I'd probably have missed the ground under him!



I have seen Debbie shoot a 12 Gauge, Bow and Pistol and if she says she hit what she was aiming at, I believe it! She is a very good shot!



Tomboy Boots said:


> I hit exactly what I was aiming for : I never aim for the head, I want to know where that head is after the snake is dead... Too many times people aim for the head and then don't have a clue where it went after the shot... I want to know where those fangs are  His head was hanging on by a piece of skin  That was the second one I had seen, the first had already been run over by a vehicle, this one was just crossing the road.



Very good explanation of why you shot behind the head! Most people wouldn't even think about that...now I will do the same thing...I know the Head and Fangs can still bite for 6-8 Hours after the Snake is Dead!


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