Restaurant Recipes
Furnace Creek Inn Rattlesnake Empanada
Ingredients
- 1 pound boneless rattlesnake meat
- 3 ounces raw chicken meat or chicken fat, used as a binder
- 1/2 cup each red, yellow and green bell peppers, chopped fine
- 1/2 cup nopalitos (cactus), julienned
- 1 tablespoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon pepper
- 1 teaspoon granulated garlic
- 1 teaspoon chile powder
- 1/4 cup lime juice
- 2 boxes puff pastry sheets
- 1/2 cup shredded Colby cheese
- Egg wash (well-beaten eggs)
Instructions
- Heat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Grind rattlesnake and chicken together (should look like ground pork when finished).
- In a skillet, sauté peppers, cactus and meat together about 15 minutes.
- Add remaining ingredients (minus the pastry and cheese). Cook for 15 to 20 minutes more, drain and let cool.
- Add cheese to well drained mixture.
- Spread out pastry sheet and cut into 4 inch circles with a biscuit or tart cutter (a tuna can also makes a great cutter).
- Brush with egg wash and place some of the mixture in the middle of the pastry circle. Fold over and crimp edges closed. Bake for about 12 minutes.
- Served on a bed of lettuce with freshly made guacamole, diced bell peppers and onion. The empanada can be drizzled with crema or sour cream.
- Serve with a dip such as salsa, guacamole and sour cream mixed together or Ranch dressing.
Attribution
Chef Michelle “Mike” Hanson, Furnace Creek Inn, Death Valley, California