Reptile and Amhibians as.... Food.. your opinion and experience...

I Know that subject like that could be controversial here on reptile forum so please dont crucifies me right away....

I wanna know Who of You had experience with reptiles and amphibians as Food...

What You eat??? Do you like it???
And as reptile lovers do you have mix feeling eat something You and other people consider as pets???

Personally living in Florida before for 4.5 years I've tried fried Gator tried Gator Steak.. Tried frog legs... and I like that stuff.... a lot.. o course I know that this animals was farm animals produced just for that case... but still sometimes i wonder how Python or Boa will taste..

What About You???

Gator/croc - delicious
Frog legs - delicious
Snake - haven't tried it, heard from a friend who tried it in China that it's terribly chewy

I have no ethical issues eating the same species that I keep for pets. Frankly, I'd love to have a pet cow, but I certainly wouldn't stop eating steak.

On top of that, plenty of herps need to eat other herps as a large part of their diet. I have no issues with those animals or people who keep them and feed them their proper diet of toads/lizards/snakes. If it's not wrong to feed herps to those animals, it's not wrong to eat herps myself.

I'm very weird, idk if I could ever eat snake or gator or anything. I have trouble eating venison without apologizing to it while I eat it lol. I'm certainly not a vegetarian, but if I ate something that I also kept as a pet I'd feel horrible lol. Even though I feel bad for the poor cows and chickens that I eat on a regular basis, they sure are tasty...lol

It's just a natural part of life. And as with everything else in life, some folks are going to be utterly disgusted by it, and others will embrace it enthusiastically. Most of us fall somewhere in the middle.

I've had gator, frogs legs, and rattlesnake chili. None of it is anything I'd intentionally look for to eat, but I don't mind trying exotic (to me) new things and have no issues using animals as food, so long as the animal is not endangered. I probably wouldn't want to eat cat or dog...but that would be a matter of personal taste, and not a moral concern of mine.

Judy How You liked Rattler Chilli ??
That one specie of :snake: I like to try as well....

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Originally Posted by Aes_Sidhe

Judy How You liked Rattler Chilli ??
That one specie of :snake: I like to try as well....

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LOL...honestly, it wasn't any different than any other chili. Pretty spicy and had more beans and veggies than it did meat. I wouldn't have guessed it was rattlesnake if I hadn't been told.

I love gator, but not frog legs as much. I have a great recipe for rattlesnake fajitas too! I've also had squirrel, house sparrow, beaver, wild hog, and other random things. I also saw an episode of "No Reservations" were they cooked guinea pig. It looked amazing! Personally, if its killed humanely, I see no reason why you shouldn't eat it. But I also grew up on a farm, killing my own chickens. So to me, its not really a big deal.

I've had gator and rattlesnake on several occasions and they were great. I didn't care for frog legs. I really don't feel that it's an issue with me as long as its not endangered.

My family always ate frog legs, as a child I never cared for it but I'd love to try them as an adult and see if my tastes have changed.

I love snapping turtle, I have it whenever I can catch one big enough to make it worth all the work it is to clean them fit to eat.

Never tried rattlesnake, but I've heard it's good.

I'd love to try alligator. I read an article in Reader's Digest once where they called it Bayou Steak. The writer of the article said when shown a plate of alligator tail meat and a plate of skinless chicken breast, he couldn't tell the difference.

I don't have any issue with eating animals other consider pets, although I think I'd draw the line at eating my own pets. :weirdface

I like most wild food I have tried; such as squirrel, rabbit, venison, and quail. I also like the buffalo/bison I have tried. I hope to get the chance to try other things like elk, moose, antelope and maybe even mountain lion. I would probably even try guinea pig, knowing they were originally bred for food in their native habitat.

Gale

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Originally Posted by angllady2

I'd love to try alligator. I read an article in Reader's Digest once where they called it Bayou Steak. The writer of the article said when shown a plate of alligator tail meat and a plate of skinless chicken breast, he couldn't tell the difference.

Gale

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Maybe for Eyes but not for taste definitely.. in My opinion Gator meat taste more like veil not like chicken.. with that slight aftertaste only reptiles have...
As Guinea Pigs I love to try them too:cool: Some day Some day...

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Originally Posted by angllady2

I love snapping turtle, I have it whenever I can catch one big enough to make it worth all the work it is to clean them fit to eat.

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Hmm How's it taste ??

Frog legs taste like chicken - I really enjoy it.
Living in Mississippi, I've had butter with smoked alligator in it at a restaurant (that now exists in Nashville) that was given with the fresh bread which was tasty too.

I'm not opposed to people eating any animal. Cultures are different and that makes them interesting. I'd try cat or dog even though I wouldn't dare eat MY cats or dog. (my husband has asked me several times if there is an apocalypse and we ran out of food, would I eat our animals. He would, I wouldn't!)

I am going to have to try Alligator again I had it one time 10 years ago and to me it tasted like a tough pork chop. After hearing from a lot of other people that eat it I think it may have been prepared wrong. I have eaten pretty much any game you can take in Missouri including frogs and I have no problem with eating anything up to and including BBQ raccoon. I am probably going to get crucified for this but I have said if I were ever in Europe I would probably try horse, and if I ever make it to Japan I would probably try whale.

I can't bring myself to eat venison and don't picture myself trying a reptile of any sort. I don't have a problem with people eating them, just not for me. Now, if I had to eat them to survive I would, no question at all.
I don't eat lobster and shrimp anymore, clams not so much either. I was horrified at the ripe old age of three that lobsters were cooked alive. Every time I go to Maine I feel ill. I do eat fish though, but not while I'm at the ocean. If I think about what I'm eating I'm finished. Yeah, I know but I can't help it!
Luckily for me a burger doesn't look like a cow.

Snapping turtle cooked properly is very good.

And yes, there really are several different kinds of meat in them.

My favorite method of cooking is best for the bigger, older turtles we commonly catch. I stew them.

Basically, once you get the meat free from the shell and innards, you skin it, chunk it up, simmer it in water with about a tablespoon of baking soda in it for about 15 minutes. Drain the turtle pieces, simmer in fresh water or even better chicken broth, with your favorite vegetables for 30 to 40 minutes or until tender. You can thicken the broth with cornstarch, or add cream instead.

If you want to take the time to clean the smaller ones, they are much more tender and are suitable for frying, I recommend soaking the pieces overnight in milk or soda water before frying.

You can also grill or roast pieces of smaller turtles after soaking.

Gale

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Originally Posted by angllady2

Snapping turtle cooked properly is very good.

And yes, there really are several different kinds of meat in them.

My favorite method of cooking is best for the bigger, older turtles we commonly catch. I stew them.

Basically, once you get the meat free from the shell and innards, you skin it, chunk it up, simmer it in water with about a tablespoon of baking soda in it for about 15 minutes. Drain the turtle pieces, simmer in fresh water or even better chicken broth, with your favorite vegetables for 30 to 40 minutes or until tender. You can thicken the broth with cornstarch, or add cream instead.

If you want to take the time to clean the smaller ones, they are much more tender and are suitable for frying, I recommend soaking the pieces overnight in milk or soda water before frying.

You can also grill or roast pieces of smaller turtles after soaking.

Gale

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Now I really want to try it! We're all coming over to eat at your place. :P

That is what I was thinking I really want to try turtle now.

I love gator. It's raised on gator farms for food just like any livestock so I don't see the problem. As long as the animal wasn't poached, I see no problem eating it.

Rattle snake isa very good, but hard to eat off of the bone. Turtle soup is rather good as well. Want to try gator.

I haven't had the opportunity to try any reptiles. I'd be quite interested in trying alligator or croc, but the thought of eating an amphibian creeps me out as much as the thought of eating snails as a delicacy. I have no ethical issue with it, I've owned goats and have tried goat meat, and I love cows but I love how they taste even more. I am a serious carnivore, I love meat as much as I love the animals themselves, lol.

Born and raised in Florida, Rattlesnake was a once a month meal at my household. I have eaten Alligator and Snapping Turtle a hand full of times and Frog legs more times then I can count. I have had dog once while stationed in Korea. I was tricked into eating it, and once I found out what it was, it did not stay inside of me very long. It was good, but eating dog to me was wrong due to the fact that I see them as pets, not food. While stationed in Korea, if it came out of the sea, I probably have tried it at least once. I have also eaten chocolate covered grasshoppers and ants. I will try just about anything once just to say that I have tried it.

Im from the state of Guerrero, México, and was very common there to eat black iguana, so i have, now it is forbidden (since about 10 years ago) so i dont do it anymore, but i have to say they are delicious; dont hate me, it was as normal then as eating chicken or ducks, i have also -and i am ashamed about doing so- eaten turtle's eggs, they are really tasty, but honestly i was about 6 years old, so i did not know i was doing such bad thing, and my parents were not ambientally educated at all, still good persons, now obviously i would NOT eat that eggs, and a lot has changed since then (the 90's). i was told i ate snake, but it was cooked in something called "tamales" so i really dont know if it was actually snake... im not against eating reptiles or another alternative meats, but im definitely against picking them from their habitat, i have complained and filled complaints of people who sell unlegal animals, i would eat that kind of meat if farmed and killed with strict standars that reduces pain at minimum.
btw i have eaten a lot of insects too, like ants, jumiles (kind of bugs), hoopers, worms and some of them are tasty... jumiles are not.