The 2007 San Diego County Fair, Part 3, which was part of Part 2.

mmm-yoso, the blog, had some issues last night.  Cathy had some issues by wanting to fall asleep.  Kirk isn't going to post anyhow.  He probably has  issues, too.

Hi.  I was trying to finish up the post about the County Fair last night and everything kept freezing up on me.  Then it was Friday and I had stuff I needed to do.  Here is the last of the post, and some general information.

Yep, the newest culinary sensation offered at the Fairgrounds.

I asked you to look at the skeleton on the front part of the  grill in this photo.

I assume all of you correctly identified it as being from a snake, and more specifically a Western Diamondback Rattlesnake, or Crotalus atrox to be completely correct.

Yes, the newest food fad is rattlesnake.  Farm raised and costing the owners of this booth $41 a pound.

So, since everyone is in business to make a profit, they are charging $9.50 for rattlesnake chili and $12.50 for fried rattlesnake bites (or, Snakebites) served with fried potatoes and fried jalapeño slices. 

For some reason, I do not consider chili to be a Fair Food, plus the idea of eating a tomato based sauce in the heat and  sun just was not right to me, so , we opted for more fried food.  Snakebites.

There ended up being nine pieces of  breaded fried rattlesnake and as many potatoes and only those three jalapeños. 

The breading was light and crispy and the Snake meat was not too tough or chewy.  There were three of us sharing all of this food at the fair and our Friend, Ms. T, said the Snake tasted more like rabbit, while The Mister said it was kind of like muskrat, better than turtle and way better than seagull.

It was not offensive to me.  I did like the breading and added some hot sauce for the potatoes.

We then went in search of cooling desserts.

Ms. T got a strawberry hot fudge waffle cone sundae.   

The Mister got the ice cream square dipped in chocolate and peanuts.

I, however, still being adverse to sweets, got the "Still only 25¢" Footsie Wootsie and called it a day.

Do try and get to the Fair and maybe think about participating in some of the exhibits.  It is part of our (rather large)community, but still always local.

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Hmmm- Cathy is wearing Cowboy Boots...why would she do that?

Yes, I wear Cowboy Boots.  I know a little bit about rattlesnakes.  They appear in my back yard every year about this time.

I would like to show you why farmed raised rattlers cost so much.  Basically they are larger since they do not have to forage for their meals. Wild rattlesnakes do grow and gain a rattle about every year, but are constantly looking for food and are more likely to be smaller/leaner overall.  Being farm raised and not having to slither all over looking and hoping for food makes you lazy and fat (remember this the next time you are sitting in a Drive Thru lane).

I know this about snakes.  Because, as I said, they show up in my yard every year.

Here are the skins I preserved from two of the five rattlers I killed (no, not The Mister -me- I killed five rattlers) in 2005.  You will notice the rattle in the photograph is 13 in number.  Not his lucky year.

If I was not wearing Cowboy Boots, I would be permanently scarred by that one big boy; when I put the shovel on his neck, he really whipped around and hit my calf. 

Here are my boots, and the rattler who died this past Sunday- June 17, 2007.  Only 7 rattles.

As you noticed, you don't eat the skin.  You save it. Also, you have to bury the head.  You don't want it to be left out, even in the trash.  Yellow jackets will eat the whole head, including the poison sac, and then if those same yellow jackets go out and sting you, well, you get the venom.  You should just call your local Fire Department, on their non-emergency line and they will come out right away, kill the varmint and dispose of him properly.  They will ask if you want to keep the snake and his skin.  You could.  Here is what you do with it.

First, nail each end onto a board, belly up. (This is a Cedar fence board from Home Depot, it costs about $1.67; if you buy a "Cedar Plank" for cooking salmon on the grill, it is one of these boards cut into 4 pieces)(it seems to cost a lot to make three cuts with a saw).

Then cut gently down the center, peel the skin off and remove the meat.

You can really see in this photo that this snake, despite being older, is mostly bone and not meat.  It would be a bother to have to de-bone all of this animal and then what meat would be left would barely be worth your time and effort.

Then you flatten out the skin as much as possible and pour salt over the whole skin, to aid in the drying out. I leave it in the sun for at least a week.  The one from this past Sunday is still there. 

After the skin is dry, you do not want it to get hard and brittle or it will fall apart in a few years.  Rinse off the salt and then coat the skin daily with glycerin (sold in the Pharmacy Department of most stores) for about another week will preserve the skin and keep it pliable for years to come.

That's it.  Hope everyone has a nice first Summer weekend.  Enjoy the Fair.

Comments

[Captain Jack]

I thought it was illegal to serve rattlesnake in California. The owners of Crazy Burger had their rattlesnake confiscated even though it was farm raised in Arizona.

[Cathy]

Well, they are not protected species, CJ. The booths at the Fair are inspected by the Health Department daily and I would think that by now, if there were such a law, someone would have done something. Perhaps it sounds better for Tioli's to tell the people that story than to lose money on a rattlesnake burger. The owners of the Rattlesnake Booth have been interviewed several times and the $41 per pound price tag comes up each time.

[MrBally]

The ice cream bar reminds me of the ones sold at Costco but theirs are dipped in almonds. Now that I thinkof it, it reminds me of the ice cream bar dipped in chocolate & peanuts and served in that cone with two "cups" on the top but the classic cone shaped handle sold at the Christmas Carnival we used to go to at Cobo in Detroit.

[Cathy]

You can just keep waiting for that post, Mr. B...
Oh God, the Christmas Carnival... wow, haven't thought about that in so long...but yes, this ice cream tasted exactly like those. Food does bring back such good memories, doesn't it?

[Wandering Chopsticks]

Whoa! I'm so impressed. I wear cowboy boots sometimes too. But mine are just for show. I'd run the opposite direction if I saw a rattler!

[Steamy Kitchen]

You are a brave one. I would have screamed bloody murder and climbed up a tree. Wait. Can snakes slither up trees?

[Captain Jack]

Very interesting take on the whole Tioli's thing Cathy. I think you may have called it right. It does not reflect well on the Crazy Burger owner's integrity.

SK,
Pythons often drop on their prey from the branches of trees, so clearly they can climb. Not sure about rattlers, they are desert critters, not many trees to climb.

[Cathy]

Hi, WC- I like the comfort of Ariat brand boots- they are the Official Footwear of the US Women's Olympic Equestrian Team and are cute, too. The first time I encountered a rattler, I froze. That is more instinct. Two of my dogs were outside and froze and then walked backwards from it. INstinct is good. I called the Fire Department and they came out and killed it right away.
Hey, SK- For some reason, I haven't had any instinct to scream when I see a snake- vermin, yes.
We have King Snakes in the yard some years and those climb trees. King Snakes are good, except for eating baby birds out of the nest. I sometimes hate the food chain.
Hi Again, Jack- Eh, all of it is a business and everyone is in business to make a profit, not to lose money or give stuff away. I haven't ever seen a rattler in a tree. They would blend in though...but the burrow in the dirt...about 5 days after the fires in 2003 were out, if you drove down Wildcat Canyon Road in Lakeside- you could see thousands of rattlers slithering on the ground...they survived all of it.

[Jay]

I believe the "illegal to serve so-and-so animals" laws are the jurisdiction of the Department of Fish and Game, and not the county health department. The list of animals is set down in the state code, and it includes several animals that are not endangered or protected.

There's apparently little coordination between DFG, county health and other departments on this issue, as much of the meat on the "illegal to sell" list is easily available through mainstream distribution channels in California. However, the DFG is authorized to levy fines and imprisonment against anyone serving the meat.

If I recall correctly, Tioli's said that a DFG made them stop serving the rattlesnake burger. I know of no reason to disbelieve them.

Jay from the Linkery

[Cathy]

DFG makes more sense to me to be the governmental agency who would fines for illegal products, Jay. Thanks for that clarification.
I was merely thinking logically, that if you have to pay $41 a pound for meat and need to mark it up so as to make a profit and then it goes to waste, just stop carrying it...and the story of blaming a confiscation sounds beter than telling people it wasn't a profitable product.

[Cathy]

I just talked to a friend who retired from Fish and Game. She said when they do an inspection, they ask for proof of the source for the meat (or whatever ingredient is being used in the kitchen). As long as the rattlesnake is sourced from a farm which raises rattlesnakes for food, and there is an invoice, it would not be confiscated.