Beer Batter Fried Rattlesnake

Yes, that's right.

While trying to cross the road, a rattlesnake got itself run over. The people investigated and found that only its head had been run over, nothing else had been damaged. Feeling bad about killing an animal in the wild, these people decided to at least put the death to good use. So...the snake was collected, skinned (the skin is being tanned), fried, and eaten (hey, it was already dead...might as well). Maybe now the American Redneck Association will accept our application.

Joining in the adventures was a pair of our good friends. The boys pretty much came up with the recipe and did all the cooking.

So...here's how to prepare rattlesnake (starting after the skinning, gutting, and cleaning of course), or at least how this rattlesnake was prepared:

Ingredients you'll need:
Rattlesnake
5 eggs
Flour
Salt
Pepper
Garlic Powder
Onion Powder
Oil
Beer (I have no idea what kind it was, lol. The friend supplied it out of his fridge)


1. Cut your freshly washed meat into "fillets" (about 2 1/2 inch slices). You have to cut between the ribs and through the backbone, so it's a little bit time consuming. Have someone start heating up some oil in a pan (about an inch of oil in the pan).


2. While someone is cutting the meat up, someone can be making the batter. In a large bowl, mix 5 eggs, about a cup or 1 1/2 cups of flour (we just eyeballed it so maybe not even that much), one or two teaspoons of salt, some good shakes of the pepper, garlic powder and onion powder, about 1/2 a cup of beer (I think that was about the amount...again, it was eyeballed) and about a quarter cup of oil. Mix this thoroughly together until it looks like this:


3. When the meat is all sliced, put it in a bowl with a tablespoon of oil and a few shakes of salt, pepper, and onion powder. Make sure the meat gets thoroughly coated, like this:


4. Dip the meat into the batter and then stick it in the frying pan with the hot oil (just like you would do with fried chicken). When the meat first starts to cook it will smell kinda like fish.


5. You want to cook the meat for a while to make sure it's all the way done (white all the way through...not slimy or silvery).


6. Eat! For the most part, you have to big near the spine and then pull the meat off the ribs with your teeth. Watch out for bones. And...it does not taste like chicken.

The two boys thought this was awesome and way fun and exciting...the two girls were glad to go to Quizno's for some real food after the adventure.

Tahitian Punch

What you need:

1 can (46 oz.) pineapple juice, chilled

1 can (46 oz.) orange-grapefruit juice, chilled (I couldn't find any of this, so I bought some grapefruit juice and some orange juice and mixed them together)

2 quarts carbonated lemon-lime soda, chilled

For ice ring:

miscellaneous fruits such as lemons, limes, and oranges, sliced

What to Do:

To make the ice ring, arrange your fruit slices in a bundt cake pan or anything else you have that is of a similar shape. Mix together a little of the juices (NOT the soda) and pour over the fruit just until it's covered. Put the pan in the freezer and allow to freeze overnight. When you are ready to serve your punch, take the ring out of the freezer and while holding it upside-down (with one hand underneath to support the ring) over the sink, run hot water over the pan until the ring falls out. Place this in your punch bowl and pour your punch over the top.

To make the punch, stir together the juices in a large bowl or pitcher. Taste this as you go as the grapefruit juice is very strong and will quickly overpower the other flavors. If you get too much grapefruit juice, add some extra pineapple or orange juice. Also, remember the soda will add some sweetness and will also help. Add the soda. Pour into punch bowl and serve immediately, so you don't lose all your carbonation.

Coconut Cake

This was a super yummy cake! The frosting was like a mix between divinity and marshmallow creme, with fresh shredded coconut sprinkled on top. The fresh coconut on the outside sparkled like glitter. It was awesome. We did have some problems getting the cake to not fall, in fact, we never quite got it right. After three tries, we used one fallen cake to fill in the sunken middle of the next. It worked out really well, and we all really liked the density and moistness of the cake. To avoid this problem, you could just use a white cake mix and get a similar, though less dense, result. What you need for the cake:
2 cups CAKE flour
2 tsps baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup shortening
1 1/4 cups sugar
3 eggs, WELL BEATEN
1/2 cup milk
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups boiled frosting
1 cup shredded coconut

What you need for the boiled frosting:
2 cups sugar
1 cup water
pinch of cream of tarter
2 egg whites
1 tsp vanilla

What to do for the cake:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease and flour 2 eight in. cake pans.
2. Sift flour with baking powder and salt. In separate bowl, cream shortening well, add sugar gradually and beat until the mixture is light and fluffy. Add eggs, a little at a time, beating well after each addition. Fold in the flour mixture in three portions, alternately with milk and vanilla.
3. Spoon mixture into the prepared pans and bake in the preheated oven for 25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Turn out of the pans onto a wire cooling rack and let cool COMPLETELY.
4. Sandwich cakes with boiled frosting and coat top and sides. Before the frosting sets (this sets really really quickly, so move fast!), cover the cake thickly with the coconut.

What to do for the frosting:
I recommend that you don't even start making the frosting until your cake is cool enough to frost. This frosting sets up really fast and you won't have time to wait for your cake to finish cooling.
1. In a saucepan heat the sugar and water gently until sugar is dissolved. Dissolve cream of tartar in 1 tsp water, add to sugar syrup, cover and bring to a boil. Boil 2 minutes, remove the lid, insert a sugar thermometer(if you don't have one, don't panic. Just scroll down and read the alternate directions) and boil sugar syrup steadily without stirring to 240 degrees(soft ball stage). Meanwhile, beat egg whites(I did this before starting the syrup, it was less stressful)
2. Stop the syrup from cooking more by dipping the bottom of the saucepan in cool water. Then, holding the pan well above the egg whites, pour in the hot syrup in a steady stream, beating continuously. Beat until the mixture holds its shape and is no longer glossy. Add vanilla and spread QUICKLY over the cake with a butter knife.

It's possible to make this frosting without a sugar thermometer. After boiling for 8 minutes, test as follows. Lift a little syrup out on a spoon-it should fall to form a thread 3 inches long-or take a small kitchen tool (like a wire whisk) that has a rigid ring or loop on the end and dip it into the boiling syrup. Holding it up, blow through the ring. It's ready when the syrup flies away like a bubble.