This should help you out with the just end of your turtle.
Prior to killing and cleaning a turtle it is a good idea to keep it in a tub of clean water for a period of time. Change the water every few days until it remains relatively clear. This usually takes one to two weeks. We suggest being somewhat selective about where you obtain turtles. Although they often live in sewage lagoons and other sites with low dissolved oxygen, those used for eating should come from clean ponds and streams (unlike Warren's).
Cleaning a turtle is actually easier than you might suspect. Cut the turtle's head off and hang the turtle upside down overnight to eliminate the blood. The next day nail or otherwise fasten the upside down turtle's tail to a stump so that most of the shell hangs off the stump but is parallel to the stump surface. (Pictures for the Chat Thread would be nice.)
Cut and remove the plastron or bottom shell and then cut away each leg and the neck from the carapace or shell. Turtle fat is yellow and should be removed from the meat. Turtle meat is best if cooked immediately, but it seems to keep well if frozen in water.
Another way to clean a turtle in preparation for cooking is to parboil it first. Dick Stauffer, Conservationist art director, says about five minutes of parboiling the turtle, after killing it, makes a much easier job of cleaning Warren's ugly beast. You cut away the plastron, remove the entrails and then fillet the meat, including the legs and tail, away from the top shell. The skin, Stauffer says, should peel off easily after parboiling. The meat, after rinsing and cleaning in water, is ready for whatever recipe you prefer.
Turtles can be prepared in a variety of ways, much the same as squirrels or rabbits. The best results are obtained by parboiling the meat until it can be easily removed from the bone. Try stir frying the meat with bacon in a very hot skillet or adding it to a stew or gumbo.
Or save that poor excuse for a shell and have her on the half shell.
Turtle meat can be delicious if the turtles are cleaned properly, the meat tenderized and prepared with a good recipe.
Don't let her looks deceive you.She will taste better than she looks.
