How to slaughter a soft-shelled turtle? How to prepare a soft-shelled turtle? Soft-shelled turtles are highly nutritious tonic delicacies. However, many people are unsure how to slaughter and prepare them after purchase. In fact, once you know the method, slaughtering and preparing soft-shelled turtles is quite simple.Below, we'll explain how to prepare and slaughter a soft-shelled turtle. Method 1: Turn the turtle over so its back faces the ground and its belly is exposed. When it strains to flip itself over, stretching its neck to its fullest, seize its neck with two fingers. Use a sharp knife to sever its skull at the base of the head, then drain the blood.Method 2: Pierce the turtle's mouth with chopsticks. The turtle will fiercely bite down on the chopstick tip. At this point, forcefully pull its head out, then sever the base of its neck with a knife and drain the blood. Steps for Processing Turtles 1.Place the turtle belly-side down. Cut off its head, bleed it out, then clean it. Use scissors or a sharp knife to make a cross-shaped incision on its belly. Remove the internal organs and rinse thoroughly with water. Turtle Slaughter Methods: How to Kill and Process Turtles
2. Place the turtle in 80°C (176°F) water for a short time to scald off the sandy skin layer covering its body.This step is crucial because the sandy skin is inedible and coarse. It must be thoroughly removed, otherwise it will significantly affect the texture.
Placing the slaughtered soft-shelled turtle in hot water, blanch for 2–5 minutes at approximately 70–80°C (adjust time and temperature based on the turtle's age and season). Remove.After cooling, use a small knife to gently scrape off the entire black, dirty skin, paying special attention to the head, legs, and skirt edges. Stop when the surface feels smooth to the touch.
Be careful not to tear or remove the skirt edges. Once the black skin is scraped clean, rinse the turtle thoroughly.
Cut along the lower edge of the skirt to lift the shell and remove the internal organs. Alternatively, use scissors or a sharp knife to make a cross-shaped incision on the turtle's abdomen, scoop out the organs, and rinse thoroughly with water. After removing the organs, wash the turtle clean. Trim off the tips of the four claws and the tail sheath, and remove any yellow fat attached to the legs.Alright, the preliminary processing of the soft-shelled turtle is now complete.
After slaughtering and cleaning the turtle, there's one crucial step before cooking: thoroughly removing the sandy skin layer! Due to burrowing in sandy soil year-round, turtles develop a tough outer layer that's inedible and must be completely peeled off.The method is to place the turtle in hot water around 80°C (176°F) for a few minutes, then use your hands to peel off the sandy skin from the back, skirt edges, head/neck, and legs. Be careful not to remove the skirt edges—only the thin outer layer of sandy skin.
Tip: Removing Turtle Odor: When preparing the turtle, remove the gallbladder from its innards and extract the bile. After washing the turtle, mix the bile with water and coat the entire turtle with this mixture. Let it sit briefly, then rinse thoroughly with clean water. This treatment eliminates any unpleasant odor during cooking.