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Dave's Turtle Sauce Piquant
3-4 lbs. cubed Turtle Meat *Marinate
the turtle with a little salt, black pepper and equal parts of
water and vinegar for at least 24 hours*
Stock is very, very important.
Do not use plain ole water.
**** If available, make fresh turtle
stock from the Turtle Bones. Cook long and slow with coarsely cut
carrot, onion, celery, salt and black & red peppercorns.
Simmer for 4-5 hours. At least make the stock from
beef bones using the same method****
Make a light chocolate colored
Roux with one cup of Flour and one cup of Oil (your
preference) in a large iron pot.
Add the following to sauté in the
cooked Roux:
2 large yellow onions (chop
fine) *when available, Vidalia's are the best*
3 ribs of celery (chop fine)
1 large Sweet Bell Pepper (seed
and chop fine)
1 bunch Green Onion (chop
fine)
8 oz. pkg. fresh Mushrooms
(chop fine)
2 mild Green Chilies (seed and
chop fine)
2 Jalapenos (chop fine) *extra heat
in the pulp and seeds*
3 toes fresh Garlic (minced)
1/2 cup chopped fresh
Parsley
Begin stirring-in 2-3 cups of
Stock. Stir-in a small can of Tomato Paste, a 16 oz. can of
Tomato Sauce, 15 oz. can of Crushed Tomato, 15 oz. can of
Petit Diced Tomato and one can of your favorite beer.
When the heat has risen to slow
boil, add juice from one Lemon, 3-4 drops of Bitters and a few
dashes of Dry Red Wine, Worcestershire and Tabasco Sauce.
Season with one tbsp. each of
Salt, Black Pepper, Red Pepper, White Pepper, Creole Season (Tony
Chachere's is my favorite), and dried
Oregano, Marjoram, Thyme and a couple of Bay Leaves and a pinch of
Sugar.
Rinse-off the Turtle and
pat-dry with paper towels. Season with a little Salt, Black Pepper
and Creole Seasoning. Dredge in a little flour and brown in a
skillet. Add the meat to your pot and bring back up to a slow
boil. Cover and reduce heat to simmer or transfer in a slow cooker
and simmer for 5-6 hours. If needed, check to skim-off any fat and
taste to add any more seasoning.
*only taste just before your pot is done
because you have so many ingredients, smells, textures
and flavors "marrying", the taste and smell can be
a little deceiving at first...be patient*
Serve over Pasta or Rice. You
put all this work into it, so fix a couple of sides dishes
and make some homemade biscuits or cornbread.
Bassman
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