Mock Turtle Soup

Photo: commons.wikimedia.org

In Vermont, and Connecticut, there is a rare species of wood turtles that are facing extinction if not preserved. Some people are trying to get the word out that these turtles need to be kept safe. These wood turtles are really known as Clemmys Insculpta. These rare turtles population has been declining.

These turtles have called Vermont home for over 10,000 years. Yet poachers have found they can sell the female wood turtles for $250 or more on the internet, the young ones selling for $100 or more each.

So many of the people who are trying to preserve these turtles will not tell where they are breeding and keeping them. In the old days, people made Turtle Soup. Although Turtle Soup was made from the meat of the Diamondback Terrapin, the wood turtle was used by the poorer people, who wanted this great delicacy of a soup but didn't have the Diamondback Terrapins.

So back in Colonial Days, the wood turtles became almost extinct. They have still not recovered. Wood turtles are 7-8 inches long full grown. They are amazing animals who hibernate on stream bottoms (unlike other turtles who bury in the mud). They live up to 60 years old, if not used in turtle soup first. While other turtles lay hundreds of eggs, the wood turtle typically only lays 10 to 12 eggs.

So what can you do to help? Spread this recipe for Mock Turtle Soup. Don't use wood turtles for soup, use beef, pork and chicken instead. It tastes the same and can help save one species on this planet:

Mock Turtle Soup Recipe (more like a stew)

20 minutes Prep Time
1 hour, 45 minutes Cooking Time

Ingredients:

1/2 c. oil
1/2 lb beef, diced (inexpensive cut)
1/2 lb pork diced (inexpensive cut)
1/2 lb chicken, diced
3/4 c. flour
1/2 c. diced green onions
1 c. diced onion
1/2 c. fresh parsley, chopped
2 Tbsp diced celery
10 c. beef stock or water
1/2 c. tomato sauce
Salt and pepper
Hot sauce to taste
2 hard-boiled eggs, diced

Preparation:

Heat the oil in a large, heavy pot. Brown beef, pork, and chicken over medium heat. Remove the meat from the pot.
Stir the flour into the pot, scraping the bits from the bottom of the pan. Add the green and diced onions, parsley, and celery, stirring and cooking until the onions are tender. Add 1 cup of the stock. Stir to form a thick paste. Stir in the tomato sauce. Stir in the remaining stock. Add the meat, salt, and hot sauce. Cover and reduce to low heat, and simmer another hour.