If one wishes to emulate the classic flavor of terrapin, there are a few options. Perhaps the most famous(?) involves boiling a calves head. A 1900 article in the Baltimore Sun claimed that “Muskrats when served by the Eastern Shore cook as ‘mock terrapin’ will challenge the epicure to distinguish it from the real Chesapeake diamond-back.” Muskrats and calves-heads being hard to come by these days, the most appealing option uses cooked chicken. “Chicken terrapin” often appeared in housewives’ columns as a clever way to turn humble leftovers into something elevated nearly to the status of Maryland’s most famous gourmet dish.I actually suspect that Chicken Terrapin may have originated outside of Maryland. Why make an imitation of something that was so abundant? Chicken terrapin recipes appear in 19th-century newspapers in places like Kansas, Michigan, and Western Alabama.
Maryland can never say no to a good chicken dish, however, and before long Chicken Terrapin was a standard recipe in local cookbooks and newspaper columns. It died out by the 1940s, for the most part. The last time a recipe for Chicken Terrapin appeared in the Baltimore Sun was 1965.
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