Are you a fan of wild game and other exotic meat? You might have started off small, with venison or frog legs for your first time trying something a little different. We’ve given you several recipes for wild game and a guide on how to buy it online, so let’s slither deeper into the world of exotic dining experiences with a look at snake meat.
What Does Snake Meat Taste Like?
The first question everyone asks is: Does snake meat taste like chicken? No less an authority than the New York Times looked at whether one type of snake tastes like chicken and said, “In fact, rattlesnake tastes, at least when breaded and fried, like a sinewy, half-starved tilapia.”
In the Southwest, rattlesnake meat is referred to as “desert whitefish,” meaning that it doesn’t really taste like anything unless you add a lot of spices.
In Southeast Asia, snake meat is considered a delicacy, with both medicinal and nutritional properties. In Hong Kong, for example, you can find Cantonese snake soup made from water snakes or python.
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If you’re buying snake meat from a butcher or online, you’ll have a choice of python or rattlesnake. You can buy the raw meat either as boneless fillets or as bone-in pieces. Python tends to be a little less expensive, and both cook up and taste about the same.
If you’re going to try and kill a wild snake to eat it, well, just make sure you do it safely. The most important thing to remember is to not eat snakes that are venomous; if you’re buying snake meat online it shouldn’t be an issue, but if you hope to kill a snake in the wild and eat it, make sure you know what kind of snake it is.
The other thing remember is that snake meat is a lot of muscle with less fat, which means it’s going to have a tough and chewy texture, with a gamey taste.
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How To Cook Snake Meat
There are a few different ways you can cook snake meat; whatever you choose, don’t overcook it. It’s good in soups and stews, but you can also grill it or bread and deep fry it. Basically, if it’s a way you would cook chicken or fish, you can do the same thing with snake meat. However, you cook it, plan to use a good amount of seasoning or condiments for taste.
Eating snake isn’t wildly popular in the United States, but if you’re into trying an exotic game, you should definitely give it a shot.
