Capt. William E. Simpson encounters his first Pacific Rattlesnake of the season.
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Running-around out in the mountains, I knew it wouldn’t be long until we bumped into Mr Grumpy Snake… Unlike some other snakes, rattlers are usually ill tempered.
We had just gone down the road a piece from our ‘campsite’ when I spied a large Pacific Rattlesnake heading for the uphill bank of the road…. normally, if they are far away from my local area, I let em live because they help control the rodent populations… but when they are in my home-range area, like them, I use deadly force…. this guy got beaned on the head with a rock before I stretched him out for the picture…. a pretty hefty rattlesnake!
Unfortunately I didn’t have any ice in the cooler, so I gave the snake to the local racoons, who also like a nice snake for lunch…. if you kill a rattler this size, and you’ve come up short on game, it will make a great lunch or dinner for two people… really!
All you need to do is cut off the head (that’s where the venom is stored) and discard it properly… then you skin and gut the snake (a lot like gutting a fish) and place the meat into a large baggie and ice it down. When you reach camp, you simply fry it up in garlic butter (deep frying is best) and you’ll have a meal that will rival the best fried chicken you ever had! If you’re near camp and have no ice, then after skinning and gutting the snake, you can season it with seasoning salt and toss it into the frying pan.
Now we’re enjoying a rattlesnake-free afternoon {;-)
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Photo courtesy of Laura Simpson
It should be noted that when he says “dispose of the head properly” he means that you can’t just chuck it into the trash can. A rattlesnake’s teeth can still inject poison after they’re dead, and even a drop of the poison, if someone rooting in trash, or a waste disposal worker gets nicked by the tooth, can make you very sick. The best thing to do with a rattlesnake’s head is to burn it in the campfire until it’s charcoal, then bury the remnants, or dig a deep hole and bury it where nobody will dig it up. Firefighters… Read more »
Wow! Nice shot with the rock. If I’m ever up against a rattlesnake I’d like to know that there are things to get him other than my soiled boxer briefs and the sharred remnants of my man card…. oddly enough your recipe sounds pretty yummy though. So yeah, I guess I like my rattlesnake fried… although I’ll take anything other than alive and by my feet.