Creole Turtle Soup
User Reviews
4.9
105 reviews
Excellent
-
Prep Time
20 mins
-
Cook Time
3 hrs
-
Total Time
3 hrs 20 mins
-
Servings
8 people
-
Calories
408 kcal
-
Course
Main Course, Soup
Creole Turtle Soup
Report
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.
Share:
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 Information
Show Details
Calories
408kcal
(20%)
Carbohydrates
24g
(8%)
Protein
33g
(66%)
Fat
19g
(29%)
Saturated Fat
9g
(45%)
Trans Fat
1g
Cholesterol
211mg
(70%)
Sodium
308mg
(13%)
Potassium
784mg
(22%)
Fiber
3g
(12%)
Sugar
6g
(12%)
Vitamin A
1396IU
(28%)
Vitamin C
27mg
(30%)
Calcium
77mg
(8%)
Iron
4mg
(22%)
Nutrition Facts
Serving: 8people
Amount Per Serving
Calories 408 kcal
% Daily Value*
| Calories | 408kcal | 20% |
| Carbohydrates | 24g | 8% |
| Protein | 33g | 66% |
| Fat | 19g | 29% |
| Saturated Fat | 9g | 45% |
| Trans Fat | 1g | 50% |
| Cholesterol | 211mg | 70% |
| Sodium | 308mg | 13% |
| Potassium | 784mg | 17% |
| Fiber | 3g | 12% |
| Sugar | 6g | 12% |
| Vitamin A | 1396IU | 28% |
| Vitamin C | 27mg | 30% |
| Calcium | 77mg | 8% |
| Iron | 4mg | 22% |
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.
Genuine Reviews
User Reviews
Overall Rating
4.9
105 reviews
Excellent
Other Recipes
You'll Also Love
