Cooking Louisiana  -  Dave's Turtle Sauce Piquant  
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