Turtle Soup Recipe - Creole Turtle Soup | Hank Shaw (2024)

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4.84 from 31 votes

By Hank Shaw

January 21, 2014 | Updated June 17, 2022

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This Creole turtle soup recipe has a pretty funny backstory, and since the recipe is easy to make with regular supermarket ingredients — except for the turtle, obviously — I’ll tell it to you.

Turtle Soup Recipe - Creole Turtle Soup | Hank Shaw (2)

It all started some years ago with a knock at the front door. It sounded urgent. Normally I’d answer it, but at that moment I was plucking geese. No position to greet polite society. “Holly, can you get that?”

Holly answered the door. It was the mailman. I couldn’t hear everything they were saying, but he appeared to have a large box in hand that he very much wanted to get rid of.

“Hey Hank,” Holly shouted into the kitchen. “Um… were you expecting anything… bloody?”

Not at the moment. The mailman knows me well enough to understand what I do and that I occasionally get care packages full of exotic protein. My first thought was my dad, who once sent me whole king salmon from the Pacific Northwest. But I’d told him to stop doing that, considering that I catch more than I can possibly eat every year now. “Open it up!”

Holly grabbed a utility knife and broke open the giant box: “Um… it’s a turtle.”

Oh! Norm and Joe!!

Norm and Joe are my friends from northeast Ohio. Trappers both, and hosts of the radio show Inside the Great Outdoors. It all came flooding back. When my book tour took me to Cleveland, I’d spent some time jawing with Norm and Joe (I stayed at Joe’s house) and well, we might have had a few beers and got talking about turtles.

Turtle Soup Recipe - Creole Turtle Soup | Hank Shaw (3)

Turtles are delicious, but are notoriously hard to clean, so I was thankful that Norm had cleaned this one for me. Usually cleaning a snapping turtle involves axes and wire cutters and boiling water and generally a lot of effort. This turtle was a bruiser, too: I weighed the meat at just over 3 pounds — enough for two meals!

I love turtle soup for two reasons: First, it’s just damn tasty. There are several classic ways to make it, and we’ll get to that in a moment, but turtle meat tastes like a cool combination of chicken thigh, clam and pork.

I know, weird, right? The reason is because turtle meat is all over the map, with at least four different textures and colors coming from the same turtle, depending on what part you’re talking about. The second reason I love turtle soup is because it is an American classic.

Turtle Soup Recipe - Creole Turtle Soup | Hank Shaw (4)

When the great captains of industry had banquets back in the late 1800s, terrapin soup would always be on the menu next to roast canvasback with fried hominy. Unfortunately, market hunters did such damage to the terrapin population that recreational hunting seasons on them only reopened recently. I’ve never eaten terrapin, which is a smallish turtle that’s reported to be very, very tasty.

But I have eaten snapping turtle. And that’s what Norm had mailed me.

Turtle Soup Recipe - Creole Turtle Soup | Hank Shaw (5)

Snapper soup, as it’s called in a lot of places, is just as classic as terrapin soup, but it’s more rustic. It’s still popular among a certain set in Pennsylvania, Ohio, Maryland and its environs.

If you travel farther south, however, you will find my favorite version: Creole turtle soup. Well, to be honest, I like all turtle soups (the Chinese do some cool things with turtle, too) but this one is the most accessible to turtle newbies here in North America.

Creole turtle soup is a standard on New Orleans menus, and everyone has a different version.

One thing to look for is for diced or pulled meat, not ground: You can hide your lack of turtle in the grinder. Finishing the soup with sherry is de rigeur, and the result is a silky, spicy soup kinda-sorta like a gumbo, but with more tomato. It also typically has some chopped hard-boiled eggs in it, which is a nod to the old days, when they’d include any eggs they found inside the turtle in the soup.

I can hear you thinking: “Well Hank, this is all well and good and I am sure this soup is awesome, but where in hell can I find turtle?”

Guilty. Turtle meat is very tough to come by, but I’ve seen it in lots of Asian markets (you can even get live ones there) as well as in some farmers markets in places like Missouri, Ohio and Maryland. And, interestingly, you can also buy it online.

4.84 from 31 votes

Creole Turtle Soup

This is a classic Creole turtle soup from New Orleans. It's super easy to make... once you have a turtle. See the recipe notes for some suggestions.

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Course: Main Course, Soup

Cuisine: American, Cajun

Servings: 8 people

Author: Hank Shaw

Prep Time: 20 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 3 hours hours

Total Time: 3 hours hours 20 minutes minutes

Ingredients

  • 2 1/2 pounds turtle meat on the bone, or 1 1/2 pounds boneless
  • 4 bay leaves
  • Salt
  • 1 cup flour
  • 8 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • 2 celery stalks, minced
  • 1 green bell pepper, minced
  • 1 1/2 cups minced onion
  • 4 garlic cloves, minced
  • One 18- ounce can crushed tomatoes
  • 3 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
  • 1 tablespoon sweet paprika
  • 1/2 teaspoon cayenne, or to taste
  • 1/2 cup dry sherry
  • 1/3 cup chopped parsley
  • 2 hard-boiled eggs, chopped
  • Grated zest of a lemon
  • Black pepper
  • 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

Instructions

  • Start by making the turtle stock. Put the turtle meat into a large pot and cover with 8 cups of water. Add the bay leaves and about a tablespoon of salt. Bring to a boil and skim the scum that floats to the top. Drop the heat to a bare simmer and cook until the turtle meat wants to fall off the bone, about 2 to 3 hours.

  • Remove the meat from the pot and pull it off the bones. Chop as coarse or as fine as you want. Strain the turtle broth and put it into a pot set over low heat to keep warm.

  • In a Dutch oven or other soup pot, melt the butter over medium-high heat and stir in the flour. Cook this, stirring almost constantly, to make a roux the color of peanut butter, which will take about 10 to 15 minutes.

  • Add the green pepper, celery and onion and cook for about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook another minute. Add the chopped turtle meat and stir to combine.

  • Stir in a cup of the turtle stock at a time until you the soup is the consistency of gravy. Add the tomatoes, Worcestershire sauce, cayenne and paprika. Add more turtle broth until the soup thins a bit. It should be thicker than water, thinner than gravy -- like chicken and dumplings if you are familiar with that. Simmer gently for 15 minutes, or until the vegetables are soft.

  • Finish the soup with the sherry, parsley, lemon zest and hard-boiled eggs. Add them all, stir to combine and simmer for a minute or two. Add salt, black pepper and lemon juice to taste. Serve alone or with rice.

Notes

Your hardest task will be to find turtle meat. My first advice would be to cruise the Asian markets in your town, if you have any. Or you can buy snapping turtle meat online.

More likely, however, you will be substituting. Alligator is the closest thing to turtle in my experience, and frog legs come pretty close, too.

Barring those options, I might use a combination of chicken thighs, pork shoulder and clams. (I've never done it, so you'd have to come up with your own ratio.) You can skip the clams if you think that's too weird, but remember that turtle does have a seafoody taste.

Nutrition

Calories: 408kcal | Carbohydrates: 24g | Protein: 33g | Fat: 19g | Saturated Fat: 9g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 211mg | Sodium: 308mg | Potassium: 784mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 6g | Vitamin A: 1396IU | Vitamin C: 27mg | Calcium: 77mg | Iron: 4mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

Tried this recipe? Tag me today!Mention @huntgathercook or tag #hankshaw!

Categorized as:
American Recipes, Featured, Recipe, Southern

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About Hank Shaw

Hey there. Welcome to Hunter Angler Gardener Cook, the internet’s largest source of recipes and know-how for wild foods. I am a chef, author, and yes, hunter, angler, gardener, forager and cook. Follow me on Instagram and on Facebook.

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Turtle Soup Recipe - Creole Turtle Soup | Hank Shaw (2024)

FAQs

What is turtle soup made of? ›

turtle soup, a stewlike soup made with turtle meat, common in Asia and in Creole cuisine in the United States. The soup gets its consistency from a roux, a thickening agent made by cooking flour and fat together. Turtle soup also typically contains turtle stock, hard-boiled eggs, and various spices and vegetables.

What kind of turtle is best for turtle soup? ›

In the United States, the common snapping turtle has long been the principal species used for turtle soup. In this case the soup is also referred to as bookbinder soup, snapper turtle soup, or simply snapper soup (not to be confused with red snapper soup, which is made from the fish red snapper).

How many flavors of meat are in a turtle? ›

A large snapping turtle is said to contain seven distinct types of meat, each reminiscent of pork, chicken, beef, shrimp, veal, fish or goat. (Those less enamored of the protein might describe its flavor as muddy, dirty, mushy and chewy, however.) ...

When did Campbell's stop making turtle soup? ›

Cincinnati food historian Dann Woellert calls the soup one of the "holy trinity" of local specialties, along with Cincinnati chili and goetta. Campbell Soup Company once produced canned condensed version made of calf's head but discontinued it before 1960.

Is turtle soup illegal in the US? ›

Today green sea turtles, like all other species of sea turtles, are federally protected under the Endangered Species Act. If you ate one in the United States, you would be committing a felony. Turtles are one of the most imperiled groups of animals on the planet.

What are the 7 meats in a turtle? ›

The popular saying about turtle meat at the time that still holds to this day is that turtle is made up of a miscellany of meat, seven kinds—shrimp, goat, pork, fish, lamb, beef, and chicken. Of course, it is all turtle meat, yet the blend of these meat flavors remains within the flesh.

Is turtle soup good to eat? ›

Turtle soup is a traditional delicacy in some cultures, known for its unique flavor and thick consistency. It can be delicious to those who enjoy rich, savory flavors. However, it's controversial due to concerns about sustainability and animal welfare, as turtles are often endangered or protected species.

What does turtle soup do for you? ›

It is said that turtles enrich your kidneys by moistening and nourishing them. It will make your blood more enriched and help in cooling your body. When suffering from a terrible fever, you can have claypot turtle soup as a great alternative to the usual medicines.

What is the tastiest turtle? ›

The green sea turtle has always been considered the best tasting.

What is another name for turtle soup? ›

Then Prohibition Saved Them : The Salt By the turn of the 20th century, America's love affair with diamondback terrapin soup — a subsistence food turned gourmet fare — had left the turtle's population teetering.

Did Campbell's make turtle soup? ›

Mock turtle soup did make the transition from arduous task to convenience food, but it didn't stick. Campbell's discontinued their Mock Turtle Soup—with its “tempting, distinctive taste so prized by the epicure”—before 1960. It didn't have the range of fans that true turtle soup did, but Andy Warhol was among them.

Why do people not eat turtle soup anymore? ›

History puts this down to the difficulty with which one prepares a turtle for consumption. Turtle soup declined in popularity in the twentieth century with the rise of more affordable foods that were easier to prepare, like TV dinners and Spam.

When did turtle soup become illegal? ›

In 1973, the Endangered Species Act was passed, which made it illegal to harvest endangered animals like sea turtles in U.S. waters.

Is turtle soup illegal in California? ›

Turtle and tortoise laws and regulations for California. 1. It is unlawful to sell, purchase, harm, take, possess, or transport any native tortoise (Gopherus).

Is turtle soup made with real turtles? ›

Green sea turtles from the Caribbean, named for their green-tinged fat, were the source of this meat for centuries. Overharvesting decimated their population, and today it's illegal to harm or kill them.

What kind of meat is turtle? ›

Well, turtle meat, according to the testimony that Chef David Gooch provided to the Los Angeles Times, can be depicted as a cross between pork and alligator, which is why the two proteins were used as a substitution in mock turtle soup.

What did turtle soup taste like? ›

Its meat is very tender and might even remind you that it's pork that you're eating. Since turtles are creatures from the sea like fish, one might expect that it would taste fishy but you'll be surprised to find out that it's more of a red meat taste.

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