Normally Id answer it, but at that moment I was elbow deep in snow goose gore; Id shot six the previous day and was in the middle of plucking, skinning, gutting and breaking them down.

It was the mailman.

I couldnt hear everything they were saying, but he appeared to have a large box in hand that he very much wanted to get rid of.

My first thought was my dad, who has sent me whole king salmon from the Pacific Northwest from time to time.

But Id told him to stop doing that, considering that I catch more than I can possibly eat every year now.

Trappers both, and hosts of the radio show Inside the Great Outdoors.

When my book tour took me to Cleveland, Id spent some time jawing with Norm and Joe (I stayed at Joes house) and well, we might have had a few beers and got talking about turtles.

Usually cleaning a snapping turtle involves axes and wire cutters and boiling water and generally a lot of effort.

This turtle was a bruiser, too: I weighed the meat at just over 3 pounds enough for two meals.

There are several classic ways to make it, and well get to that in a moment, but turtle meat tastes like a cool combination of chicken thigh, clam and pork.

The second reason I love turtle soup is because it is an American classic.

Unfortunately, market hunters did such damage to the terrapin population that recreational hunting seasons on them only reopened recently.

Ive never eaten terrapin, which is a smallish turtle thats reported to be very, very tasty.

Its still popular among a certain set in Pennsylvania, Ohio, Maryland and its environs.

Well, to be honest, I like all turtle soups (the Chinese do some cool things with turtle, too) but this one is the most accessible to turtle newbies here in North America.

It also typically has some chopped hard-boiled eggs in it, which is a nod to the old days, when theyd include any eggs they found inside the turtle in the soup.

A half-decent substitute would be to use a combination of clams, chicken and pork.

My first advice would be to cruise the Asian markets in your town, if you have any.

Or, if you have the funds, you can actually buy wild snapping turtle meat online.

Itll cost you, but the tub of meat is enough for several meals.

Alligator is the closest thing to turtle in my experience, and frog legs come pretty close, too.

Barring those options, I might use a combination of chicken thighs, pork shoulder and clams.

Ive never done it, so youd have to come up with your own ratio.) You can skip the clams if you think thats too weird, but remember that turtle does have a seafoody taste.

Once youve cleared the meat hurdle, everything else is easy.

Put the turtle meat into a large pot and cover with 8 cups of water.

Drop the heat to a bare simmer and cook until the turtle meat wants to fall off the bone, about 2 to 3 hours.

My Talking Hank Turtle