Redzed, here is the recipe for the snake sausage.
Timber Rattlesnake Sausage Recipe
I bet you are asking yourself why? Why not? I mean I might as well make more use of these critters than belts and wallets right?
This is sausage is good. Its a very delicate, creamy sausage and garnished with snake meat seasoned with red pepper which gives you a surprise bite in the smooth creamy emulsion.
Its basically a fish emulsion with snake meat as show meat and as with emulsions they can be challenging so you must use your experience to know when to stop and I can't stress the importance of keeping things cold. Though challenging, at the end of the day it is worth the squeeze.
Snakes skinned and about to be filleted. Most of the meat comes from the loin area running along the center of the back.
Basically, the sausage is composed of a fish emulsion garnished with rattlesnake and parsley. Flavor is mild and delicate. I also decided to add some red pepper to the snake meat to give it a bite - pun intended. It did seem appropriate.
Recipe for Emulsion aka Mousseline
1 kg of Crappie Fillets or Speckled Trout - Any delicate white meat fish will do.
1 kg scallops
0.46% Salt
0.89% Old Bay Seasoning
3.3% White Bread Crumbs
0.87 liters heavy cream
7 egg whites - about 3.6 egg whites per kilogram of emulsion meats
Drain fish of any water then season with salt and Old Bay Seasoning mix then place in the freezer till its semi-frozen but not frozen. Then grind meat through meat grinder with the finest plate you have then cover and place meat back in freezer. (you probably could skip this part and just use the food processor)
Make a panada by adding half the heavy cream to the bread crumbs and let sit in refrigerator till needed. You may want to stir this from time to time till smooth and creamy.
Now take the cold fish mince and place in a food processor and beat this as smooth as possible. (Food processor and blade should be chilled) Once it starts binding up add the egg whites and continue processing till you get the mince as smooth as possible. Then slowly add panada mix and continue to process till smooth and creamy keeping in mind that this mixture needs to remain COLD.
Next, begin slowly adding the remaining cream and watch the consistency. You want it soft but firm yet not watery. Again, be careful and keep the mixture cold and do not overwork the mix or the cream will become butter and your end product will not form properly and will be grainy. Go by feel and look and withhold any remaining cream if it begins to become too watery.
At this point put your emulsion in the refrigerator or in an ice bath and poach a test piece to be sure the flavor is to your liking or just trust me. This is pretty good.
Again, it is worth mentioning you might want to slowly add the COLD cream to the COLD mince slowly and depending on the amount of water in your meats you may want to hold back on adding all the cream since your emulsion will be somewhat dependent on the moisture of your meats. Your goal is a spongy consistency like a bologna emulsion and not a watery consistency. And DO NOT over-process. Pulsing is a good way to finish the mousseline.
Procedure for Garnish
0.74 kg Timber Rattlesnake meat. About 2 average sized 4-5 footers should do it.
Dice the snake meat into small pieces small enough to fit through your small stuffing horn. Season with 0.89% Old Bay Seasoning, 0.46% salt, 0.5% red pepper.
Chop up around 2 tablespoons of parsley.
Also worth noting that if you add other non-protein ingredients like onion or vegetables these need to be cooked before adding else they will render water and mess up your emulsion when poached.
Finishing
Fold the chilled garnish into the mousseline then chill and stuff lightly in lamb casings being careful not to overstuff because the mix will swell when poached. (You can adjust the tightness of the links when linking but if over-stuffed you can't undo and they will burst when poached) Link every 4-5 inches. Poach sausages at 165F till the internal temp reaches 145F then chill them in an ice bath till internal temp drops to 60F.
To prepare, either bake or pan fry. Pretty good I think. Surely something different and surely a good use for these vile legless critters.