Rattle Battle: Inside America’s Wildest Rattlesnake Cookoff

At Fort Worth’s Rattle Battle, rattlesnake isn’t just a dare. It’s dinner.

Held in the Historic Stockyards as part of PBR Rattler Days, this rattlesnake cookoff brings together bold chefs, bull riders and adventurous eaters for one of the most unusual food competitions in America.

Chef Grant Morgan of 97 West Kitchen & Bar knows the challenge well, from deboning rattlers to turning the meat into sausage, fritters and other dishes built for brave appetites.

And yes, if you’re curious enough to try it yourself, there’s a rattlesnake fritters recipe waiting at the end.

Rattle Battle Turns Rattlesnake Into Dinner

What could be more American than dining on rattlesnake? How about battling it out in a rattlesnake cookoff? Whether you like your snake smoked, seared or sauteed—or have never tried it before—you might be surprised at how delicious it can be in the hands of master chefs at Rattle Battle, a rattlesnake cookoff held every fall in Fort Worth’s Historic Stockyards.

Around 20 of the city’s finest chefs face off at the competition, which takes over Mule Alley in front of the cowboy-luxe Hotel Drover. It’s all part of PBR Rattler Days, a three-day bull riding extravaganza and Western celebration hosted by the home team, the Ariat Texas Rattlers.

Along with brave riders on rank bulls at Dickies Arena, you’ll find a full-fledged festival all weekend long with concerts, tailgate parties and a Western parade. It’s a true-blue American spectacle, and Rattle Battle ramps up the energy even more.

READ MORE: Dale Brisby Swaps Bull Riding for Catfish & Elk

Chef Grant Morgan Takes On The Rattlesnake Cookoff

Fans at the rattlesnake cookoff get to sample and vote on a diverse smattering of “rattlesnacks,” such as rattlesnake tamales with black mole, rattlesnake empanadas with smoked salsa and rattlesnake brandade fritters with piri-piri.

Or how about rattlesnake and alligator andouille sausage, served over red beans and rice with cactus chow-chow and prickly pear vinaigrette? That’s what Chef Grant Morgan served up last year, a dish that took four days to make.

“It was really fun,” Morgan says. “It’s not something I get to do every day.”

Morgan is the Executive Chef of 97 West Kitchen & Bar, Hotel Drover’s award-winning restaurant. Raised in Idaho and Arizona, Morgan has cooked at prestigious kitchens across America, from a 4-diamond restaurant in Colorado to Las Vegas’ Bellagio Hotel to the James Beard House in New York.

But when he signed on at the brand-new Hotel Drover in 2021, he encountered something new: cattle traffic, from the Stockyards’ twice-daily cattle drive.

“I’m always in a rush to try to get across the street before the cattle drive starts,” he laughs.

To make his sausage for Rattle Battle, Morgan marinated the meat in buttermilk for 24 hours before grinding it, stuffing it into casings, smoking it and finishing it in the oven. But first, he had to debone the rattlers.

“It was an extremely difficult task,” he says. “Snake has to be one of the hardest things to get meat from. I can’t think of anything else that has such little bones and so many of them, and then such little meat.”

How To Cook Rattlesnake At Home

For home cooks inspired by the rattlesnake cookoff, buying pre-cleaned meat is the way to go. And, Morgan points out, be sure to marinate it.

“It’s really important to marinate the meat in something that’s going to break it down a little bit,” he says. “My go-to is buttermilk, because it adds a good flavor, and also it works really well as a tenderizer.”

The pale meat cooks like (and tastes like) chicken, and frying suits it well, which is why Morgan also likes making rattlesnake fritters. “Use a nice cast iron pot pan to heat up your oil, or something similar that holds a good temperature and will keep it even,” he adds.

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Why Rattle Battle Fits the American Spirit

Morgan isn’t sure what he’ll cook for this year’s Rattle Battle. But he is sure that the competition will be ferocious—and fun.

“The cool part for me is seeing how creative the chefs are with the rattlesnake,” he says. They outdo themselves every year, giving out snake-stamped tortillas, “anti-venom” drink shots and snake bone toothpicks.

And the crowd, including the Texas Rattlers bull riders themselves, is always out for a good time. “It takes a very adventurous person to want to try 22 different ways that you can cook rattlesnake,” he says.

But, as Morgan points out, adventure is in our blood as Americans, and rattlesnakes are part of our national identity.

“I think that in every iconic Western movie ever made, somebody gets bit by a rattlesnake, or there’s a rattlesnake involved,” he says. During the American Revolution, one of the most powerful images was the ready-to-strike rattler on the yellow “DONT TREAD ON ME” Gadsden flag—a serious warning that we would fiercely defend our freedom. Today, the rattlesnake is an enduring symbol of America’s spirit of courage, daring and defiance.

From bull riders to renegade chefs and fearless foodies, that same risk-taking spirit lives on at Rattle Battle—where bravery is celebrated, and danger is part of dinner.

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America 250 From Grant Morgan’s Point of View

What does it mean to be a patriotic American? For me, it’s pride in my country. My brother was in the Army and served three tours. Every time he came back, he was stationed in Fort Hood, and I would go pick him up. And just to hear him talk about the people of those countries, how they lived and how kind they were to him and his troops … it really meant a lot to me. I have a lot of respect for the freedoms that we have as Americans.

What are you most grateful for in America? The freedom to pursue the things that I love and enjoy, and the freedom to pursue my goals. The opportunity for my kids to be able to build a better life for themselves, and for them to be able to do whatever they want when they’re older. The United States is a wide-open area for them. They can pursue whatever goals or dreams they have.

How has America shaped you as a person? My grandfather served in World War II, and there’s a lot of American pride in my family. That pride was instilled in me at a young age by both my parents and by seeing what my brother was doing.

For me, I was able to find something that I love to do. I had the ability to innovate, to be independent and to continually achieve new goals. I think that has really shaped my life.

Gadsden Flag Fodder

The Gadsden flag, noted for its yellow field depicting a rattlesnake coiled and ready to strike, was designed in 1775 by American general and politician Christopher Gadsden. The timber rattlesnake, which was found throughout many of the original 13 colonies, was reportedly first used as a symbol of those American colonies by Benjamin Franklin in a satirical commentary in 1751 in his Pennsylvania Gazette.

The column noted that Great Britain sent convicted criminals to the colonies, so Franklin suggested sending rattlers back to the motherland. Then, in 1754, during the French and Indian War, Franklin published what was arguably the first political cartoon in an American newspaper: a woodcut illustration of a snake cut into eight parts, each representing the then-divided colonies, with the famous “Join, Or Die” words underneath.

Along with the bald eagle, the rattlesnake became one of the early symbols of American ideals and society, and it appeared on the official seal of the War Office, adopted by the Continental Congress in 1778.

Incidentally, most if not all of the snakes featured at Fort Worth’s Rattle Battle are Western Diamondback rattlesnakes, the most common large venomous snake in the North Texas area. —Peter Suciu

READ MORE: Soldiers of the American Revolution: What They Carried

Rattlesnake Fritters Recipe

Ingredients:

• ½ cup yellow onions, diced ¼ inch
• ½ cup celery, diced ¼ inch
• ¼ cup jalapeños, diced ¼ inch
• 1 pound fresh corn kernels
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 3 cups cornmeal
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1 tablespoon baking soda
• 2 tablespoons Old Bay Seasoning
• 2 tablespoons kosher salt
• 8 whole eggs
• 2 cups whole milk
• 2 tablespoons Tabasco sauce
• 2 ounces butter, melted
• ½ pound rattlesnake, finely chopped

Directions:

1. In a sauté pan, sweat the onions, celery, jalapeños and corn over medium-low heat until translucent but not browned.
2. Mix the flour, cornmeal, baking powder, baking soda, salt and Old Bay in a large bowl.
3. In a separate bowl, mix the milk, eggs and melted butter.
4. Slowly whisk the wet mixture into the flour mixture. Scrape the bowl with a rubber spatula.
5. Add the remaining ingredients together in that bowl until all are incorporated.
6. Using a small scooper, scoop batter into a fryer or oil at 350 degrees and cook for 4 minutes.
7. Serve with tartar sauce or your favorite dipping sauce and pickled red onions.