Around the world, there is fame about the magical properties of venomous snake meat, which increases the vitality of the body. Especially tasty and useful is the meat of a snake that has hibernated. On the threshold of winter, it means a good time has come to taste the snake.

In the cult for Russia “Book about tasty and healthy food” (Moscow, 1953) there is not a line about snake dishes. However, in CCCP, there was also allegedly no sex. Confidently, we can only say that there were no “snake” dishes in Soviet catering establishments.

It is believed that the simplest thing is to catch a snake. It is much more difficult to prepare delicious dishes from it. Perfection here reached the Chinese and Vietnamese, they have this real art. Do not be afraid of the unpleasant consequences of eating snake meat: almost all snakes are edible, and poison, as you know, is only in the head.

Snakes smell disgusting. The faster the dish is prepared from the snake, the less unpleasant sensations (of course, if you decide to cook snake delicacies yourself). However, when the meat of the snake remains undercooked, it can also smell unpleasant.

So, if you decide to cook your own snake dishes, then the sequence of actions is as follows.

A still living snake makes a short longitudinal section and collect the flowing blood. Then snake blood can be mixed with vodka or cognac - you get an excellent aperitif.

The head of the snake is not required, so boldly cut off this unnecessary part.

The tidbit of a snake is its heart. It is removed through a previously made incision. The Vietnamese prefer to swallow their hearts raw and drink rice vodka (a strength of 20-30 degrees, depending on the variety, rather, this is rice wine) mixed with snake blood.

Now you need to remove the skin. First, the skin in the direction from the tail to the head must be cut with scissors or a thin knife. Having made a long longitudinal section, they take the skin with one hand, and the carcass with the other. By the way, do not forget to remove the intestines from the carcass. Then the carcass must be washed, cut and then cooked like a fish.

The skin of a snake is also eaten, a crispy snack is fried from it. Soup is cooked from the tail of the snake, and the roast is made from the loin.

Sometimes they say that the taste of snake meat resembles a chicken. In my opinion, this is not true; rather, it looks like turtle meat. However, I honestly admit: I personally prefer "snake" dishes prepared by an experienced chef in a Chinese restaurant.

There is nothing easier than eating a snake in Moscow - there would be money. The first Chinese restaurant under Soviet rule was opened in Moscow half a century ago at the Beijing Hotel. It exists now, but you will not find real Chinese dishes there. Already in the mid-1990s, unified European cuisine ruled there.

In a number of restaurants, dishes undergo very strong adaptation; these Moscow establishments imitate Chinese cuisine. However, there are a few small restaurants serving authentic Chinese food. Only knowledgeable people go there (besides the Chinese), since these establishments are not untwisted.

Dishes in such restaurants (with the exception of pork and chicken) are prepared from products mainly brought from China. The ingredients of exotic dishes, such as the same snakes, are often delivered by plane. Hence the corresponding prices on the menu.

In general, Chinese cuisine has four main areas: Beijing, Shanghai, Sichuan and Cantonese schools. Dishes made from snakes belong to ceremonial Chinese cuisine. One snake can make a whole dinner if you order snake skin fried in oil, snake skin broth, snake meat roast with bones and alcohol mixed with snake blood or bile.

I am impressed by the Chinese approach to food. They can wear cheap clothes, sneakers on their bare feet, but food is sacred to them. This is a whole ritual or, if you want, a cult of food consumption. By and large, everything is correct, because your body is what you ate.

And in the end, the classic recipe from Indochina:
  It is necessary to catch the cobra, then cut off her head. Express blood into a glass and serve with white wine. Finely chop the cobra meat and mashed with a handful of peanuts. Add boiling water, grape leaf and ground yellow ginger. Simmer for one hour. It turns out one serving.

In southern China, poisonous snakes were eaten before our era. Guangdong is especially famous for its reptile dishes. For many years, in the menu of Guangzhou restaurants (the capital of Guangdong province), you can count more than 70 different dishes from poisonous and non-toxic reptiles. Residents of the northern part of China also over time appreciated this delicious and healthy product - snake meat.

The most popular dish is a reptile baked on a grill or charcoal. Various soups are prepared from snakes, stewed by adding to rice or vegetables, and deep-fried dishes are made. But not only Asian people eat reptile meat.

French viper delicacies

In France, until the 18th century, it was believed that viper meat cooked in any way improves the condition of the body, and hence the appearance. Is it possible to eat a viper? This question was asked in another aspect: the sale of snake meat was under the strict control of Louis XIV himself. Trading this meat was allowed only to selected doctors and pharmacists.

Jellies were prepared from snakes, julienne, stuffed game, baked in the oven and much more. It is clear that not every Frenchman could afford this luxury. Everybody knows Madame de Sevigne ("The Adventures of Angelica" was written about her life) once a year for a month, went on an interesting diet - she ate only dishes from the viper.

Useful properties of snake meat

Information on the composition of reptile meat is very scarce. One thing is certain: it is a dietary product. There is less fat in snake meat than in lean beef. It is also low-calorie: 100 grams total 98 kcal. And therefore, for people who are overweight, it is certainly useful. In addition, snake meat contains more than 30% protein, useful trace elements, vitamins and enzymes that lower blood pressure, lower cholesterol in the body, and cleanse the blood. But this product is contraindicated for those who have gastrointestinal diseases.

Today, in culinary there are thousands of different everyday and exotic recipes. Now we will talk about such reptiles as snakes. They are composed of many legends that say that such "yummy" can be eaten. Is it true? Now we’ll talk about which snakes eat and which don’t.

Snakes for food

The answer to the question will be positive, you can eat snakes. Moreover, they eat both poisonous and non-toxic. For this very reason, we will not make a long list, the only snakes that do not eat are sea ones. The tradition of eating snakes came to Europe from the East. The most delicious snakes are young. King cobra is particularly preferred.

Snake Dishes

Modern expensive restaurants have a varied menu of these creatures. For example, dishes from a viper, a rattlesnake and many others. To prepare a snake, you need to decapitate it, remove the skin and gut it. After that, the carcass of the snake is washed and cut into small slices. To make the meat delicate and soft, it is soaked in dry wine, and then fried in salted butter.

Many recipes say that the snake is rolled in flour, like fish, but by tradition it is necessary to roll the snake in rice flour. It is fried quite quickly, about 4-5 minutes, after which a golden crust forms, which indicates the readiness of the dish.

One of the oldest fears of man is herpetophobia, that is, the fear of snakes and lizards, as a result, there is a feeling of disgust at the thought of eating reptiles. The Hindu will say that you cannot eat a cow, and a Muslim cannot eat a pig. At the same time, eating a friend of a person - a dog for the Korean in the order of things. The Chinese do not think whether it is possible to eat snakes, they prepare many dishes from them. If you don’t know what exactly the snake was served to you, you can decide what to eat the chicken. Today, Asian cuisine is firmly in our everyday life and even Americans no longer disdain a rattlesnake barbecue. Reptiles have long been not a delicacy for the inhabitants of Latin America and Africa, but for Asian cuisine a completely familiar dish. In some countries, snake meat, if not the basis of the diet, is at least considered useful.

If you are still in doubt, is it possible to eat a snake, go to a Chinese or Vietnamese restaurant and read the menu. In such an institution, there are usually cells in which snakes live. You will be given the opportunity to choose your favorite instance, and you will be absolutely sure of the freshness of your food. Further ritual requires endurance of an ignorant person. They kill the snake, cut off its head with scissors, drain blood and bile, and then add them to vodka. Such a drink is considered very useful. But the most useful is considered a snake heart in a glass of vodka. A kind of ritual: vodka is drunk in one gulp, and afterwards the heart is swallowed whole. Usually a choice of 3-5 dishes is offered and you, casting aside doubts, can choose fried entrails with garlic, snake kebab or traditional Vietnamese lau soup. The main thing is that all this is washed down with previously prepared vodka with blood and bile.

Is it dangerous?

In China, as in Europe, snakes have long been considered symbols of evil, but in South China they are primarily the source of food and have been breeding for quite some time. There are special farms for growing snakes, usually they are artificial caves, fenced meter-long fences. Such caves are laid out of bricks and fastened with clay, on top they have a hatch with a wooden lid. In the spring, snake eggs are transferred from caves to primitive incubators. And as more and more people learn about it, the demand for such a delicacy is constantly growing. Local farms no longer cope with orders, so restaurants have an increasing preference for imported products. Export trade of local products is limited in the interests of ecological balance, since in China snakes are natural enemies of rodents and exterminate rats. Someone may agree that you can eat a snake or a boa constrictor, but will be afraid, eat poisonous. Experts will tell you that the poison they have is located exclusively in the head, and when eating meat, you will not be able to get poisoned. Moreover, it is a rich source of protein. You can enjoy cobra and South American anaconda meat or barbecue from a European garden or rattlesnake North American snake. From blood and bile snakes are made healing drinks. Not only bags, shoes or belts are made of leather, it can be deep-fried and get a great snack.

Are your friends not sure that snakes are edible? Then invite them to a Chinese restaurant or surprise yourself with a viper cooked on your own, or let this article be read. However, you should not do this without preliminary preparation in order to avoid unpleasant surprises.

Regular readers of our site already, so you won’t surprise them for lunch. Actually, why not? Exotic cuisine of different countries today is full of bizarre and very unusual dishes for the average European, and snakes are far from the last place on their menu. Of course, they often eat poisonous snakes - vipers and even cobras - and boas, as they reach large sizes, they have a lot of delicious meat. However, the cost of snake dishes is quite high; not everyone can afford such exotic food.

So, if you want to eat a snake, but you did not have a viper or a boa constrictor at hand, you can quite replace them with ordinary snake, which are found in abundance almost throughout the whole territory of our country. They are not poisonous, therefore during fishing you do not risk being bitten and poisoned by snake venom. The maximum that can do already is to spray you with odorous musky liquid, which serves as a protective mechanism against predators. Well, what can I say - culinary delights require sacrifice! Catching snakes for cooking from them, of course, is better in ecologically clean areas, at least outside the borders of cities and large settlements. It is best to do this in remote forests or near water bodies where the snakes love to settle.

Meat of snakes in the cuisine of different countries of the world

The meat of snakes, including snakes, in many countries, if it is not the basis of the diet, is considered very useful and tasty. It is rich in proteins and is easily absorbed by the human body, almost never causes allergies. In China, he is credited with many additional useful properties, such as: increased life expectancy, improved potency, etc. They prepare various soups and stews from snakes, use grilled or stewed meat, there are also people who prefer to eat raw snakes, but for us this is perhaps too exotic. If you want to join the fans of snake meat dishes, select the most suitable recipe for you on the Internet and at the same time familiarize yourself with the rules for preparing reptiles so as not to accidentally spoil your culinary masterpiece.

So, the answer to the question of whether it is possible to eat snakes is unequivocal - it is possible if you really want to. Against are either followers of vegetarianism, who are generally against eating any meat in food. Adherents of various green organizations are also negatively inclined towards eating snakes. And, of course, those who simply can not overcome the natural disgust and fear of these reptiles.

How do you feel about snake dishes? Would you like to try meat snake?