Is it legal to keep em and eat em???

Soft shell turtles are just as nasty as any other turtles.

Why do you think otherwise?

Ingredients
2-3 pounds turtle meat
1 medium onion, chopped
1 bell pepper, chopped
1/2 cup green onion tops, chopped
1/2 cup parsley, chopped
3-5 cloves garlic, chopped
2 tbs Worcestershire sauce
1 can (14 oz) diced stewed tomatoes
1 can (10 oz) Rotel diced tomatoes & green chilies
1 can (8 oz) tomato sauce
2 tbs roux (optional)
cajun seasoning mix (homemade, Chachere's or Zatarain's)



Parboiling and Browning meat:

Parboil the turtle meat for 5 or 10 minutes. Pour off water. If the meat is from young turtle, you can omit the parboiling. Pour off the water.
Season the meat with cajun seasoning mix (homemade, Chachere's or Zatarain's).
Add a small amount of grease or margarine to a heavy walled cast iron or aluminum pot. Heat the pot. When hot, add the turtle meat and brown over high heat until deep brown and until some of the browning sticks to the bottom of the pot. Stir constantly.
Sauté Vegetables:
After the meat is browned, remove from the pot.
Add the onion, bell pepper, and garlic, and sauté until wilted in the brownings.
Smother:
Add the meat back to the mixture.
Add the Worcestershire sauce, stewed tomatoes, Rotel, and tomato sauce. If needed, add water to cover the meat.
Optional Roux:
"Sauce piquante" means to cook in a tomato base. I do not like a strong, distinctive "tomato saucy" taste, so sometimes I like to add a couple of tablespoons of roux to enrich the tomato base flavor. To make your own roux, add 2 tbs flour and 2 tbs oil to a heavy pan. Place on medium heat, and stir constantly until a chocolate brown roux is obtained. This takes awhile. Its hard to make a small batch of roux, so I recommend you use store bought roux.
Cook with the pot covered under low heat so the mixture simmers (lightly boils). Keep adding water so the meat stays barely covered. You need to simmer long enough so the distinctive "tomato saucy" taste is cooked down to a smooth tomato base flavor, and the meat is tender.
Taste and add more cajun seasoning (or salt and pepper) to taste.
Add the garnish:
When almost done, add the chopped green onion tops and parsley.
Serving:
Serve turtle meat and sauce piquante over cooked white rice.


yes, very good!!!

Probably tastes like chicken.....

I caught a softshell on a waterdog at Fayette lake when I was 11 or 12. I thought I had the world record largemouth at the time. What a disappointment.