An Enduring Tidewater Tradition: Snapping Turtle Soup
While most locals and visitors to Maryland’s Eastern Shore indulge in all things crabby – steamed blue crabs, crab cakes, crab soup – it’s the intrepid few who step out of their comfort zones to relish a true local delicacy: turtle soup.
Dating back to the earliest days of our country, turtle soup was first enjoyed by presidents and the upper echelons of society before eventually making its way to the tables of average Americans. The Campbells Soup Company offered its own version in cans. It was a menu item served on the prominent Boeing 314 “Yankee Clipper” that operated from 1938 to 1941 replete with dining and sleeping compartments. It was also served at London's celebrated Hotel Savoy where frequent guest Irish playwright Oscar Wilde was a fan. By the mid-1900s, turtle soup went out of fashion except as a regional item served in parts of the south, especially in some of New Orleans’ more renowned restaurants.
My own love of the dish started at the Touchdown Club in Washington, DC where my dad took me on special occasions. Ordering the soup made me feel like a grown-up, indulging in something fanciful that seemed straight from a fairy tale. The touch of sherry proffered in a silver gravy boat only added to the refinement of those grown-up lunches. Luckily for me, these days a deliciously hearty version is available in my adopted hometown of Easton, Maryland, thanks to Chef Raymond Cropper.
Chef Ray’s Snapping Turtle Soup has been served at Hunters’ Tavern at the Tidewater Inn for nearly 50 years. Today, Executive Chef Daniel Pochron oversees the making of this beloved classic that’s a mainstay on the menu, counting both locals and visitors among its fans.
“Chef Ray and I have always had a good relationship,” says Pochron. “Being classically trained, I was excited to learn some old school cooking.”
As a child growing up near Philadelphia, Raymond Copper often visited his grandparents on Maryland’s Eastern Shore where he learned to cook. “We cooked just about everything we hunted or fished,” says Chef Ray.
The family made a turtle pie that was similar to a chicken pot pie. Chef Ray modified the recipe to make his own version. The process starts when the turtles arrive dressed (minus heads, fins, and innards) and then simmered for about an hour before being steeped overnight in a tomato broth with vegetables and a spice sachet. Cooked in a vat, the concoction looks almost medieval. When the turtles are done, they are removed and picked apart. Beneath the shell is considered the tenderloin area, and its strips of white meat are picked out with the dexterity of a surgeon. Nothing is spared, including the neck, feet and tail, and according to Chef Ray, “turtle meat has about eighteen different textures”.
Chef Ray’s signature soup has been enjoyed by many over the years, including celebrities such as Bing Crosby, Elizabeth Taylor, and Jackie Gleason, who boated on the Miles River on his honeymoon. Chef Ray fondly remembers Miss Taylor as “a delightful person, a true southern belle.”
Terrapins were used until 2007 when a state moratorium was implemented due to overfishing. Since then, snapping turtles were substituted and their harvesting occurs year-round. During the pandemic only the meat was available, but now the turtles come whole again, providing the bones required in a proper stock. Making the soup from scratch is a process, but the result worth every bite. About five gallons are consumed at Hunters' Tavern each week, keeping it a customer favorite. Tomatoes and spices add to the tanginess, giving it the punch of a good Blood Mary, while the roux lends it the consistency of a silky stew. Pochron continues the tradition using Chef Ray’s recipe with some tweaks of his own, including using rice flour to make the dish gluten-free and appealing to a broader audience.
A bowl is substantial enough for a meal and the staff might offer a sample in a cup if diners would like to try it before ordering. The finished product looks rather simple, its benign appearance a visual contradiction to its deeply layered flavors; innocuous enough to entice a neighboring diner to order her own bowl. And newsflash: turtle really does taste like chicken.
Hunters’ Tavern at the Tidewater Inn
101 E Dover Street, Easton, MD 21601
(410) 822-1300; Facebook Instagram
