On Sun, 03 Sep 2006 18:51:08 -0700, Leonard Blaisdell
> wrote:

>In article .com>,
> "LadyJane" > wrote:
>
>> Just last year I discovered an eastern taipan in the garage - one of
>> the more deadly snakes in Oz. Trapped the devil underneath a sturdy
>> container & rang local wildlife park who said "We're not interested,
>> ring a snake catcher" (and gave me the guy's number).
>> He was happy to oblige but wanted $160 to remove the snake to a safer
>> place.
>> No need to guess what happened to said taipan.
>
>Does anybody cook them? Remove the business end of course. I've eaten
>rattlesnake in a seafood cocktail sauce and it was excellent in an
>expensive restaurant many years ago.
>I've consider eating another that I dispatched, but I quit dispatching
>them thirty years ago.
>I haven't and won't google but here's what I'd guess.
>
>Dispatch the head carefully, I used a shotgun, and wait for a few hours.
>First hand experience tells me that a rattler can move and strike
>without a head for at least a couple of hours. I suppose that would
>creep people out, so wait.
>Skin the snake and dispose of the innards which is easy and obvious to
>do with a three foot snake which is typical of our area.
>Cut the snake into three to four inch sections. A cleaver is useful here.
>Roll the sections in a seasoned flour mix of your choice.
>Cook the sections as you would frog legs with the emphasis on less
>cooking instead of more. I'd probably fry in a pan with the spine down
>for three to five minutes with a quick rollover to the left and right to
>cook the ribs. Perhaps one minute on the rib sides. That cooking time
>may be too long.
>If I remember correctly, it tasted like chicken or maybe frog. Probably
>closer to frog.
>I'd try it again in a heartbeat, but alas, my wife wouldn't eat it. I'd
>be happy to try the recipe I surmised above. But I haven't.
>Oh, I'd also suspect that the ribs could be a problem if overcooked and
>the meat wasn't pulled off them lightly by my teeth. Snakes are mostly
>ribs with a little meat along the spine.
>Well, it's hunting season and for the next month, rattlers may be about.
>I'll think about getting one if I see one, but I won't think much about
>it. I now have to try to remember how my mom made dove pot pie.
>Hrmm. Filet the dove breasts, pull feathers out of the shot holes. Check
>for shot in the tiny filets. Go from there.
>I have the filling down. I'll probably buy the crust. Eww!
>
>leo


Illegal to eat them in Australia(Fauna is protected under Australian
Law); regardless of how they ended up dead(Unless you're an Indigenous
Australian). Might be different for captive-bred snakes, but I've
never seen a market for the meat here.



-----------------

Cheers,

Rod.....Out Back


==================================================
For a selection of my pics from the past 12 months,
visit the web site below:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/rod_outback/

Rod Out Back wrote:

> Illegal to eat them in Australia(Fauna is protected under Australian
> Law); regardless of how they ended up dead(Unless you're an Indigenous
> Australian).

sorry Rod, protected or not - if those suckers are in MY domain and
threatening MY family, they are dead meat, and no, I am not an
indigenous Aussie.

They don't mess with me - I won't mess with them.
They mess with me - they end up dead: no ifs, buts, or whyfores.
My house. My rules.
Should mention this only applies to venomous beasties - all other
non-venomous beasties welcome anytime, anyday.
Just ask the possums.....
http://i2.tinypic.com/282kju1.jpg
(local inhabitant who decided my cookbooks were a great place to spend
the daylight hours!)


LadyJane
--
"Never trust a skinny cook!"

On 4 Sep 2006 00:35:57 -0700, "LadyJane" >
wrote:

>
>Rod Out Back wrote:
>
>> Illegal to eat them in Australia(Fauna is protected under Australian
>> Law); regardless of how they ended up dead(Unless you're an Indigenous
>> Australian).
>
>sorry Rod, protected or not - if those suckers are in MY domain and
>threatening MY family, they are dead meat, and no, I am not an
>indigenous Aussie.
>
>They don't mess with me - I won't mess with them.
>They mess with me - they end up dead: no ifs, buts, or whyfores.
>My house. My rules.
>Should mention this only applies to venomous beasties - all other
>non-venomous beasties welcome anytime, anyday.
>Just ask the possums.....
>http://i2.tinypic.com/282kju1.jpg
>(local inhabitant who decided my cookbooks were a great place to spend
>the daylight hours!)
>
>
>LadyJane


I wasnt questioning the need to kill them at all. I was answering the
question(from another poster) as to whether we ate them or not. My
understanding is that regardless of how the animal died (like with a
large shovel), it isnt legal for most Australians to eat them. To my
understanding, the only way we could legally eat them is if the animal
was captive raised for the purposes of consumption. I dont know of
anyone with that permission here in Australia(for snakes, anyway).

In my case, I follow this approach: When it comes to the bitey ones,
they are welcome to the 74,999 acres away from the house to live, play
and be happy. However, if they appear in or around the house, they
meet the shovel of destiny.

Identify them, and if they are bitey, thwokk hell out of them!



-----------------

Cheers,

Rod.....Out Back


==================================================
For a selection of my pics from the past 12 months,
visit the web site below:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/rod_outback/

In article >,
OmManiPadmeOmelet > wrote:

> Rattlesnake is excellent... Back when I was in high school, we lived in
> California in the foothills of the mojave desert. Plenty of timber
> rattlers. I had a couple of neighbor boys that would bring me freshly
> killed rattlers with the heads removed for me to skin for them. They
> could not quite get the technique down for skinning them with the
> rattles still attached. <G>

In my youth I slit one down the middle of the belly for a hatband. I
clipped the meat at the tail to preserve the rattles. I still have the
nifty hatband forty years later. They can also be peeled from the neck
to the rattles and clipped at the base. I honestly don't advocate the
stuff I used to do now. I started to appreciate their rattling honesty
when I got a bird dog, and a rattler conveniently warned us of its
danger. I walk around them now on the rare occasions that I encounter
them.

> Ever priced canned rattlesnake?
>
> http://tinyurl.com/gxhfb

That's probably not too expensive for the amount of meat per snake, the
processing and the market.

leo

--
<http://web0.greatbasin.net/~leo/>

In article >, Leonard Blaisdell > wrote:
>In article .com>,
> "LadyJane" > wrote:
>
>> Just last year I discovered an eastern taipan in the garage - one of

Is the "eastern taipan" just the old "taipan"? -- Life's getting too
bloody complicated! :-(

>> the more deadly snakes in Oz. Trapped the devil underneath a sturdy
>> container & rang local wildlife park who said "We're not interested,
>> ring a snake catcher" (and gave me the guy's number).
>> He was happy to oblige but wanted $160 to remove the snake
>> to a safer place.

Last time I checked, the going rate was $20 per "incident" here.

>> No need to guess what happened to said taipan.

It's still under the mop bucket? ;-)

>Does anybody cook them? Remove the business end of course. I've eaten
>rattlesnake in a seafood cocktail sauce and it was excellent in an
>expensive restaurant many years ago.
>I've consider eating another that I dispatched, but I quit dispatching
>them thirty years ago.

Somewhat more than 30 years ago a mate and I attempted to skin a 17
foot python that had been raiding the rellies' chook pen. The flesh
was beautifully white and "clean" looking. We would have been tempted
to try it, but the animal had been dead since the previous evening and
this is the tropics. (I might add we only got half the skin; but it
was still enough for belts, handbags and shoes for a couple of female
rellies.)

ObFood:
Stolen from More Road Kill Cookery by Phil Mosies found at:
<http://tinyurl.com/k2lgw>

Barbecued Black Snake
This is a meal I have actually eaten at a mad Bush Party, during
the '80s. This is another recipe that requires minimal damage for
good results. The one that we ate was accidentally stepped on a
few times (they weren't protected at that time).

Firstly, after making sure the snake is dead, remove its head a
few inches behind the eyes. Slit the snake's underbelly and
remove the vein. Peel the skin off like a rubber glove, exposing
beautiful white flesh. Cut the meat into 4 inch long portions and
chuck it on the barbie, splashing with generous amounts of
white wine while turning, and in between mouthfuls... a good
cook should never dry out!

Snake flesh has the taste of chicken and the flaky texture of
fish, and cooks as quickly as fish. 5/5 Yum
<End theft>

It "has the taste of chicken"? Why am I not surprised?

Cheers, Phred.

--
LID

In article >, OmManiPadmeOmelet > wrote:
[snip]
>By the end of one summer, I had put around 40 rattlesnakes, skinned and
>cleaned, into the freezer. Mom decided to debone and can them. Canned
>rattlesnake is excellent and does indeed taste a lot like frog legs...

Well *that's* a change! ;-)
Oh... Hang on. What do frog legs taste like? Chicken? 8-)

>We used it mostly in salads.
>
>Ever priced canned rattlesnake?
>
>http://tinyurl.com/gxhfb
>
>Mom did it in 1/4 pint jars.

Cheers, Phred.

--
LID

In article .com>, "LadyJane" > wrote:
>
>Rod Out Back wrote:
>
>> Illegal to eat them in Australia(Fauna is protected under Australian
>> Law); regardless of how they ended up dead(Unless you're an Indigenous
>> Australian).
>
>sorry Rod, protected or not - if those suckers are in MY domain and
>threatening MY family, they are dead meat, and no, I am not an
>indigenous Aussie.
>
>They don't mess with me - I won't mess with them.
>They mess with me - they end up dead: no ifs, buts, or whyfores.
>My house. My rules.
>Should mention this only applies to venomous beasties - all other
>non-venomous beasties welcome anytime, anyday.
>Just ask the possums.....
>http://i2.tinypic.com/282kju1.jpg
>(local inhabitant who decided my cookbooks were a great place to spend
>the daylight hours!)

The poor bugger is just hiding from that damn carpet snake!

Cheers, Phred.

--
LID

In article >,
(Phred) wrote:

> Well *that's* a change! ;-)
> Oh... Hang on. What do frog legs taste like? Chicken? 8-)

<lol> Sort of... with a hint of fish. :-)
--
Peace!
Om

"My mother never saw the irony in calling me a Son of a bitch"
-- Jack Nicholson

On Mon, 04 Sep 2006 12:19:36 GMT, (Phred)
wrote:

>In article >, Leonard Blaisdell > wrote:
>>In article .com>,
>> "LadyJane" > wrote:
>>
>>> Just last year I discovered an eastern taipan in the garage - one of
>
>Is the "eastern taipan" just the old "taipan"? -- Life's getting too
>bloody complicated! :-(
>

Phred,


Yes, Eastern Taipan is what we used to siimply call a Taipan.

The advent of discovering that the Fierce snake is actually a taipan
resulted in the names of Eastern Taipan and Western Taipan (Fierce
Snake).

Thankfully, most people dont get to tangle with Western Taipans...



-----------------

Cheers,

Rod.....Out Back


==================================================
For a selection of my pics from the past 12 months,
visit the web site below:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/rod_outback/

All these scary snake stories, and out of all of you, looks like I'm
the only one ever actually bit by one. Hmmm.

nancy

Nancy Young wrote:
> All these scary snake stories, and out of all of you, looks like I'm
> the only one ever actually bit by one. Hmmm.
>
> nancy

Nope you aren't, pigmy rattler and cotton mouth. Both bites where on the
hand. Rattle snake almost cost me a finger due to infection from the venom.
Water moccasin caused nausa and fever with a couple of days of discomfort
but no lasting effects. Don't want a repeat of either.

--

Joe Cilinceon

On Mon, 04 Sep 2006 12:22:22 GMT, (Phred)
wrote:

>In article >, OmManiPadmeOmelet > wrote:
>[snip]
>>By the end of one summer, I had put around 40 rattlesnakes, skinned and
>>cleaned, into the freezer. Mom decided to debone and can them. Canned
>>rattlesnake is excellent and does indeed taste a lot like frog legs...
>
>Well *that's* a change! ;-)
>Oh... Hang on. What do frog legs taste like? Chicken? 8-)

A little, but with a fishy overtone. I like 'em.

serene
--
My blog: http://serenejournal.livejournal.com
My cooking blog: http://serenecooking.livejournal.com

On Mon, 4 Sep 2006 08:53:03 -0400, "Nancy Young" >
wrote:

>All these scary snake stories, and out of all of you, looks like I'm
>the only one ever actually bit by one. Hmmm.

I got stung by a stingray once, though. Does that count? ;-)

serene
--
My blog: http://serenejournal.livejournal.com
My cooking blog: http://serenecooking.livejournal.com

Nancy Young wrote:
> All these scary snake stories, and out of all of you, looks like I'm
> the only one ever actually bit by one. Hmmm.
>
> nancy

nancy, does my dog Molly count? She was bitten bty a rattlesnake and
nearly died. I do not like to kill things, but I made an exception in
this case.
Rosie

"Serene" > wrote

> On Mon, 4 Sep 2006 08:53:03 -0400, "Nancy Young" >
> wrote:
>
>>All these scary snake stories, and out of all of you, looks like I'm
>>the only one ever actually bit by one. Hmmm.
>
> I got stung by a stingray once, though. Does that count? ;-)

Could count. I'll give you that. That had to smart.

There exists a picture of me getting food at Sea World to feed the
sting rays. They were scary.

nancy

"rosie" > wrote

> Nancy Young wrote:
>> All these scary snake stories, and out of all of you, looks like I'm
>> the only one ever actually bit by one. Hmmm.

> nancy, does my dog Molly count? She was bitten bty a rattlesnake and
> nearly died. I do not like to kill things, but I made an exception in
> this case.

Poor thing. I understand, I know you didn't want to kill the
snake. Sometimes you have to.

nancy

On Mon, 4 Sep 2006 12:28:58 -0400, "Nancy Young" >
wrote:

>
>"Serene" > wrote
>
>> On Mon, 4 Sep 2006 08:53:03 -0400, "Nancy Young" >
>> wrote:
>>
>>>All these scary snake stories, and out of all of you, looks like I'm
>>>the only one ever actually bit by one. Hmmm.
>>
>> I got stung by a stingray once, though. Does that count? ;-)
>
>Could count. I'll give you that. That had to smart.
>

Worst pain I'd ever had (and that includes being stabbed), but a year
later, I got a spinal tap, and that was way worse, so now it's only
the *second-worst* pain I've ever had. ;-)

serene
--
My blog: http://serenejournal.livejournal.com
My cooking blog: http://serenecooking.livejournal.com

On 3 Sep 2006 18:14:56 -0700, "John Kane" >
rummaged among random neurons and opined:

>
>Terry Pulliam Burd wrote:
>
>Snakes be damned. (Of course we don't have poisonous snakes around
>here)
>
>WHAT is a green tuna casserole? It sounds like something for which we
>would call out the HAZMAT team.

It's a tuna casserole where she used spinach noodles that was beyond
nasty. She was of the generation that put Campbell's condensed
mushroom soup into just about everything but cakes.

Terry "Squeaks" Pulliam Burd
AAC(F)BV66.0748.CA

"Most vigitaryans I iver see looked enough like their food to be
classed as cannybals."

Finley Peter Dunne (1900)

To reply, replace "spaminator" with "cox"

"Nancy Young" > wrote in
:

> All these scary snake stories, and out of all of you, looks like I'm
> the only one ever actually bit by one. Hmmm.
>


Nope :-)

Back in '76 I was on an (Army) Exercise near Mingela (Nth Qld). Just
before sunset, and just before it started to rain, I got up to take a
leak, walked about 15 paces, had a leak and then stepped on a snake that
was laying there. Didn't really comprehend what had happened till I got
back to the other guys and said "I think I just got bitten!!"

10mins later, I'm on a Kiowa being Casevac'd out, spewing my guts up.

Landed at Charters Towers Training Hospital, and I thought I had died
and gone to heaven. I was surrounded by young trainee nurses :-)

Spent 5 days there, 4 in ICU, and apparently I died a couple of times. I
didn't know much about it, just what I read on my charts before I
discharged myself to go back to work :-)

--
Peter Lucas
Brisbane
Australia

'Enjoy today, it was paid for by a veteran'

Leonard Blaisdell > wrote in news:leo-
:

> In article .com>,
> "LadyJane" > wrote:
>
>> Just last year I discovered an eastern taipan in the garage - one of
>> the more deadly snakes in Oz. Trapped the devil underneath a sturdy
>> container & rang local wildlife park who said "We're not interested,
>> ring a snake catcher" (and gave me the guy's number).
>> He was happy to oblige but wanted $160 to remove the snake to a safer
>> place.
>> No need to guess what happened to said taipan.
>
> Does anybody cook them?


Yes. After being bitten by one, if I get to kill one cleanly, I'll cook
it.


>Remove the business end of course. I've eaten
> rattlesnake in a seafood cocktail sauce and it was excellent in an
> expensive restaurant many years ago.
> I've consider eating another that I dispatched, but I quit dispatching
> them thirty years ago.
> I haven't and won't google but here's what I'd guess.

Tree snake recipes........

http://www.fort.usgs.gov/resources/e.../recipes/fried
_snake.asp

For Rattler recipes.......

http://www.backwoodsbound.com/zsnake.html


And for 'Snake Cakes' (LOL!!).....

http://tinyurl.com/m2rgo

--
Peter Lucas
Brisbane
Australia

'Enjoy today, it was paid for by a veteran'

Nancy Young wrote:
> All these scary snake stories, and out of all of you, looks like I'm
> the only one ever actually bit by one. Hmmm.

I keep snakes, non venomous - have had 5 over the last 8 years.
Currently have two. All of them have nailed me once (always my fault)
- one snake a couple times (he's a really cranky sort). The worst was
when my old Brazilian Rainbow Boa, Nigel, nailed my right hand and then
coiled around my entire arm, and began squeezing. I was home alone and
it took me a few minutes to figure out how to get him to release (waved
rubbing alcohol in front of his nose.) I eventually traded him because
he was looking at my cat Mimi with that "look" in his eye on a regular
basis...

The worst part about non-venemous snake bites is that they leave their
teeth behind in the wound and it can be painful and it's difficult to
remove them.

Have also been stung by jellyfish - which was much worse than any snake
bite I've had.

-L.

In article .com>,
"-L." > wrote:

> Nancy Young wrote:
> > All these scary snake stories, and out of all of you, looks like I'm
> > the only one ever actually bit by one. Hmmm.
>
> I keep snakes, non venomous - have had 5 over the last 8 years.
> Currently have two. All of them have nailed me once (always my fault)
> - one snake a couple times (he's a really cranky sort). The worst was
> when my old Brazilian Rainbow Boa, Nigel, nailed my right hand and then
> coiled around my entire arm, and began squeezing. I was home alone and
> it took me a few minutes to figure out how to get him to release (waved
> rubbing alcohol in front of his nose.) I eventually traded him because
> he was looking at my cat Mimi with that "look" in his eye on a regular
> basis...
>
> The worst part about non-venemous snake bites is that they leave their
> teeth behind in the wound and it can be painful and it's difficult to
> remove them.

Just remove them in the same direction they went in. ;-)
They are shaped like fishhooks...

It's always been amazing to me how that row of little teensy puncture
wounds can freekin' bleed so badly! But the strike is so hard, the area
is numb for awhile so you can treat it.

Wild ratsnake bites were a pita but never very painful, but even the
largest ones are small compared to boas.

And no, I've never been bitten by a pit viper because I was never stupid
enough to try to catch one by hand! I always used snake hooks for
those... Keeps them at a safe distance.

I used to keep a pair of red tail boas. My female weighed about 30 lbs.
at 8 ft. in length. I got nailed a couple of times feeding her. She hit
my hand instead of the (thawed) fresh frozen rat.

<sigh>

Sprained my thumb both times she hit me so hard.

Then there was the shelter rescued ball python (that I passed on to
snake rehab) that was so hungry, when I opened her cage door she came
literally flying out the door and sank her teeth into my belly! She was
a big girl too. I grabbed her coils as her teeth were stuck in my skin
and I did not want to get ripped.

I hollered for mom to come and give me a hand and she pried the snakes
jaws apart with a hairbrush handle.... I had to pick 3 or 4 teeth out
of the wounds and the upper jaws have a double row of teeth. Leaves an
interesting pattern. <G>

The funniest part about that incident is a few days later, one of the ER
docs that knew I dealt with snakes asked me if I knew what a
non-poisonous snake bite looked like (as a bitten kid had just come in).
I lifted up my shirt and said "yeah, looks just like this". The reaction
of the nurses was more than worth it! <lol> The bite pattern was perfect
across my stomach. The bite measured about 4 inches across...

Well, _I_ thought it was amusing anyway. ;-)

Oh well!

The one thing I've noted is that, unlike other wounds I've gotten,
snakebites have never gotten infected. Granted I cleaned them well but
still... The worst ones came from owl or hawk talons buried in my
forearm. :-( Always had to take antibiotics for those. It only happened
twice before I learned to ALWAYS keep a tight hold on their feet when
examining them for broken bones with a pair of welders gloves.

>
> Have also been stung by jellyfish - which was much worse than any snake
> bite I've had.
>
> -L.

So far I've managed to avoid that "pleasure" <G> I wear lycra diveskins
in the ocean. They are very comfortable and protect you from neck to
wrists to ankles from jellyfish...
--
Peace!
Om

"My mother never saw the irony in calling me a Son of a bitch"
-- Jack Nicholson

: This morning I was out working in the rose beds, I was pulling longrass
: that grew around the edges, and trimming and feeding
: A coral snake crawled over my hand and took off into the yard. The
: dogs were in the yard so he had to be hunted down and killed. I hate to
: do that.
: Rosie


Since coral snakes are an endangered species it is illegal to kill them. I
wouldn't be spouting about on the Internet about it...

wrote:
> : This morning I was out working in the rose beds, I was pulling longrass
> : that grew around the edges, and trimming and feeding
> : A coral snake crawled over my hand and took off into the yard. The
> : dogs were in the yard so he had to be hunted down and killed. I hate to
> : do that.
> : Rosie
>
>
> Since coral snakes are an endangered species it is illegal to kill them. I
> wouldn't be spouting about on the Internet about it...


coral snakes are not endangered, check again.
Rosie

On Fri, 8 Sep 2006 20:20:22 +0000 (UTC), wrote:

>: This morning I was out working in the rose beds, I was pulling longrass
>: that grew around the edges, and trimming and feeding
>: A coral snake crawled over my hand and took off into the yard. The
>: dogs were in the yard so he had to be hunted down and killed. I hate to
>: do that.
>: Rosie
>
>
>Since coral snakes are an endangered species it is illegal to kill them. I
>wouldn't be spouting about on the Internet about it...
It may not have been a coral snake, there are several look alikes.
http://www.kingsnake.com/snakegetter...ral-snake.html

The Herd wrote:
> On Fri, 8 Sep 2006 20:20:22 +0000 (UTC), wrote:
>
> >: This morning I was out working in the rose beds, I was pulling longrass
> >: that grew around the edges, and trimming and feeding
> >: A coral snake crawled over my hand and took off into the yard. The
> >: dogs were in the yard so he had to be hunted down and killed. I hate to
> >: do that.
> >: Rosie
> >
> >
> >Since coral snakes are an endangered species it is illegal to kill them. I
> >wouldn't be spouting about on the Internet about it...
> It may not have been a coral snake, there are several look alikes.
> http://www.kingsnake.com/snakegetter...ral-snake.html

Thank you , but it was a coral snake not a King Snake , and I do not
live in Florida. I made sure it was a coral before I killed it.
Rosie