Daisy slithered out the back door last night. Just like her uncle Bert did during the summer of ’79.

If it weren’t for the fact that she’s an adorable eighteen-foot-long Burmese python weighing nearly 300 pounds, none of Daisy’s neighbors probably would have cared. But when she quickly gobbled up all the neighborhood foxes, limpkins, and rabbits, things quickly took a turn for the worse.

Overnight, raccoon sightings were down by 99.3%, opossums by 98.9%, and white-tailed deer by 94.1%.[1] She’s even been known to take down animals as large as alligators, deer, and powerboats with outboard Evinrudes.

More than 6,300 snakes have been captured so far, and if they are labeled safe for consumption, they could soon end up on dinner plates across the state. But that’s a big if.

Native to Southeast Asia, Uncle Bert was the first python found in the Everglades in 1979 — the result of a pet owner “accidentally” releasing him into the wild. In 1992, Hurricane Andrew upped the ante when it destroyed a python-breeding facility and zoo, releasing thousands of pythons into populated areas and the Everglades. And since each female can lay clutches of up to 100 eggs, the serious problem quickly became, well, seriouser.

To solve the problem, the Python Elimination Program[2] was launched by the South Florida Water Management District in 2017 to save the Everglades’ collapsing ecosystem, enlisting contractors and the public to capture the invasive reptiles.

More than 6,300 snakes have been captured so far, and if they are labeled safe for consumption, they could soon end up on dinner plates across the state. But that’s a big if.

Donna Kalil, who hunts pythons for the Python Elimination Program told Insider,[3] “It’s a great source of protein, so if we can find a safe way to use the whole animal and not just the skin, it might encourage more people to get involved in saving the Everglades. When the pythons are cooked properly, they can be quite delicious.” At home, she’ll thrill the family and friends by whipping up python sliders, jerky, and pasta.

It tastes like chicken!

While very chewy, Kalil says, “The white meat of the python can be used in recipes that normally call for chicken or pork. To make the python meat more tender, I use a pressure cooker to cook it for 10 to 20 minutes before putting it in a recipe, such as a stir-fry, chili, and spaghetti sauce.”

“With a stir-fry, you can add fresh ginger, garlic, and vegetables of your choice and serve it over rice,” Kalil said. “Generally, when I pressure cook it for that, I’ll add some applesauce, spice, and hot pepper, which gives it a nice flavor.”

She also eats python eggs, which she said can be wonderfully hard-boiled with Sriracha sauce.

Last year, Kalil even used them in a batch of her famous serpent-themed Christmas cookies. “I’m Heading out to hunt tomorrow with some fresh rocky road & chocolate almond python egg cookies,” Kalil wrote on Instagram, where photos of her culinary creations are intermingled with hulking reptiles.

“The idea of turning invasive species into scrumptious meals isn’t new,” says Eve Conant for National Geographic.[4] “Innovative restaurants across the American South have pioneered the invasivore movement.”

Chefs have turned other invasive species like feral hogs, swamp rats, lionfish, and Asian carp into delectable meals. It’s a win-win for environmentalists, biologists, and the dining public. Others have spiced up their menus using sea urchins, ants, Witchetty grubs, insect larvae, and maggots. Hmmm, hmmmm. It just doesn’t get any better than that.

A little Mercury never hurt anyone

If pythons are commercially cleared to eat, chefs in Florida may soon join the invasivore movement, too. An initiative for testing pythons[5] by U.S. Geological Survey research claims they can have up to 3.5 parts per million of mercury. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency recommends against eating anything with a concentration greater than 0.46 parts per million.

Researchers from Florida Gulf Coast University and the Conservancy of Southwest Florida found lower levels of mercury in pythons that live in the southwest region of the state, including Picayune Strand State Forest and Big Cypress National Preserve.

“If the pythons are on higher ground, it’s likely they will have lower concentrations,” says Darren Rumbold, co-author of the study and director of FGCU’s Coastal Watershed Institute.[6] “It’s very analogous to the alligator, where there are certain areas open to harvesting and for the sale of meat. But there are also areas that are hot spots and things shouldn’t be eaten.”

Researchers with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and the state’s department of health are in the process of testing mercury levels in the snakes’ tissue to determine if they are safe to eat, reports Jared Leone for Cox Media Group. In the meantime, mercury home test kits are available on Amazon and at other retailers.

Pythons at restaurants and home

One exciting way to dip your toes into the water is by trying the plethora of new python dishes at restaurants that currently offer them. Neighborhood Pizza in Fort Myers, Florida is one of the first to offer pizza pies featuring python meat, alligator sausage, and frogs legs.

If you have trouble finding python on the menu, you might want to whip up a python dish at home. “It’s a wonderful tasting meat,” says Kalil. “But it is limiting. I don’t want to say it’s an acquired taste. It’s an acquired thought process.” But even today she won’t eat pythons more than 7.5 feet long because she thinks there’s a bigger mercury danger in snakes that size.

For preparation, Kalil filets the python and chops up the meat. A 7.5-foot python generally yields a 5-foot long filet and 3 to 4 pounds of meat. To make jerky, she marinates the python meat in mojo sauce overnight and then puts it in the dehydrator for 12 to 15 hours.

“It’s a wonderful tasting meat,” says Kalil. “But it is limiting. I don’t want to say it’s an acquired taste. It’s an acquired thought process.”

Miami chef Kris Wessel advises cooking snakes like other reptiles: low and slow. “I cooked for 10 years in New Orleans. All reptiles, because they’re so lean, you have to either grind up, braise slow or smoke slow.” Because of the reptile’s unique shape, other python delectables we can most likely look forward to include Python Tacos and Pythons on a Stick. They’d be naturals!

If you’re ready to take the plunge into more interesting, tasty recipes, here are a few ideas to get you started:

Burmese Python Nuggets[7]

Ingredients:

Python meat, ground or chopped finely

1 egg

1 cup milk

1/2 cup flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon minced garlic

1 tablespoon Tony Chachere’s Creole Seasoning

1 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Directions:

1. Beat the egg and milk together in a bowl.

2. In a separate bowl, combine the flour, salt, garlic, Tony Chachere’s Creole Seasoning, and cayenne pepper.

3. Dip the nuggets in the egg mixture, and then dredge in the flour mixture.

4. Deep fry at 375 degrees until crispy and golden brown.

Sauteed Burmese Python[8]

Ingredients

1 Burmese python fillet

½ cup unsalted butter

1 tablespoon capers

2 teaspoons lemon juice

1 tablespoon fresh parsley, coarsely chopped

4 tablespoons flour

2 tablespoons olive oil

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.

2. In a small pan, heat butter until it just begins to brown. Remove from heat and add capers, lemon juice, and parsley. Set aside.

3. In a bowl, dredge the python filet in flour until evenly covered.

4. In a large, oven-safe pan, warm olive oil over medium heat, then add python.

5. Sear python filet on both sides until golden brown, then transfer pan to the preheated oven.

6. Bake for 5 minutes at 350°F. Remove from heat, top with butter sauce, and serve.

Poached Burmese Python Curry[9]

Ingredients:

1 pound Python steak

4 -5 Shallots — peeled and sliced

1 Tablespoon Turmeric powder

5–7 Garlic cloves — peeled and pounded

Ginger — 2–3 inches long, peeled and pounded

Lime wedges

Kaffir lime leaves — finely chopped

Lemon peel/skin

10 stems Lemon grass — peeled; finely chopped and pounded

2 Teaspoons Paprika

White rice wine

2 Teaspoons Salt

2 Tablespoons Peanut oil

Chilies or black pepper seeds — pounded

Water

Directions:

1. First, boil/poach the python steak with lemon peel, rough lemon-grass stems, skins of shallots, garlic, and ginger in several ounces of water. When the flesh is soft, take the steak out and leave it to cool. Separate the bones from the flesh.

2. Fry shallots on low heat until slightly brown.

3. Add the ginger, garlic, and all other spices.

4. Turn the heat up and keep on stirring for 3 minutes. Add flaked and diced python flesh. Add rice wine, a cup of water, and salt. Reduce heat and simmer until lean.

5. Serve this with a plate of hot steamed rice and boiled seasonal greens.

Removing Pythons in Florida

If you’re interested in spicing up your menu while doing something good for the environment at the same time, get out there and snag a few Burmese pythons. The FWC encourages people to hunt and kill pythons humanely on private lands any time throughout the year with landowner’s permission, except,whenever possible, by using traps or firearms. No permit or hunting license is required. Probably the best way to begin is by hiring a professional python hunting service like Bill Booth Outdoors.[10]

I have no idea if you’ll run into Daisy while you’re mucking around in the swamp. It’s been a while since she scurried out into the neighborhood, so I don’t know what she looks like anymore or if she’s even alive. But if you do, give her a kiss and tell her we said hello. We all miss you at home, Daisy!