How to Skin and Clean a Dead Snake

Step 2 Off with its head!

Just like the queen of hearts says.

You can use a nice sharp knife, or a pair of kitchen/poultry shears. Just stay away from serrated knives, as they don't do very well with snakeskin.

This is also the time to make sure you've properly prepped your area- I put a large cutting board on top of several layers of newspapers in the driveway, and put a wad of paper towels and a plastic bag for trash nearby.
Make sure to leave space for your implements, and bring bags and/or a bowl to save the good bits. If your mother is willing to take pictures that's a bonus!

Comments

[sonnimo123]

Did u kill that snake?? thats plain mean and really grosS!!!

[Momotaro37]

If you had read the opening paragraphs, which you apparently did not, you would have known that this specimen was ran over by a car, which the author and his friend found and then prepped.

[snowball25]

Maybe he ran it over him self...

[random joe]

god put animals on this earth to eat if you have ever been to a slauter house it's 20x worse

[daniyalansari]

o_O

[lil jon168]

wow cool

[Stockvillain]

Don't forget: when dealing with venomous snakes [including dead ones], keep your fingers well away from the head at all times. I prefer to hold the head in place with a stick or something similar [tongs would work well] before decapitation. Dispose of the head safely. If you're doing this outside [grilling, perhaps, or out camping] I would recommend incinerating it [the head].

[thorvinrhuebarb]

I would recommend removing the head VERY cautiously since I have seen dead snakes (even beheaded ones) strike when touched or grabbed. As far as I can tell, at least in some snakes, the ability to strike (and bite) is reflexive and can even be performed by a recently deceased snake. From some professional snake handling friends I understand that a dead venomous snake is more dangerous in this respect than a live one, in that it will inject ALL the venom in its sacks in a strike/bite reflex when a live snake will often inject little or no venom in some of its strikes. So make head removal a first priority in venomous snakes, and do it carefully.

[Wolfpack871]

Mhmm. By chance that could be deep fried cajun style?

[canida]

Definitely.

[Sulik]

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