I have 5 lbs. of frozen alligator meat - any recipe ideas?

It's one big block of "tenderized alligator tail meat" that was gifted to me by a friend who hunts 'gators every year in Florida, and he had some extra meat that he passed on to me. I thought of making some 'gator chili, perhaps. Once I thaw it, I'll have a 5 lbs. to use relatively quickly. Any other thoughts from anyone? Thanks!

Alligator quiche. With a nice fruit salad.

I've only had it once in deep-fried nuggets, but what I could guess is that the meat is a bit more like fish than it is like chicken - something like frog legs. I'd err on the fish side of preparation. Maybe tacos? Stir-fry?

Look forward to hearing which way you go with it...

The "semi-traditional" Florida way to do gator tail is to fry it in a light batter and serve it with a mustardy dipping sauce. You can pretty much do anything with it that you would do with dark meat chicken though: fry, stew, marinade and grill, you name it.
Since you have such a large quantity, why not try preparing it a few different ways? Maybe you could even have a cocktail or dinner party, and get rid of it all in one fell swoop with a few different preparations: certainly a memorable party "concept".

Love the idea of an alligator themed party (what do you expect from a caterer?). How about alligator satay? You could try a couple different sauces...peanut, the Florida-inspired mustardy sauce, maybe a fruit chutney.

The last 'gator I had was on a stick at Naperville's Ribfest, so maybe that's not a very good indicator of quality gator.

Regardless, I'd throw in a vote for gator tacos. Some fried meat, some not, maybe some avocado, onions...mmm.

How about gator sausage? Smoked gator? Shredded BBQ gator?

I'm on record as a Floridian and Gator who believes alligator meat is, at best, a novelty. I worked in a beachside kitchen with gator, grouper and boiled peanuts. The gator didn't belong in such delicious company. However, it's not all bad, and since you have it, I would suggest looking for a Thai crocodile recipe. I believe they do the best job with these kinds of "strong" meats. Pick up some snake wine to wash it down.

Hmm...

The Chairman wrote:Tonight's theme ingredient is.....

ALLIGATOR!

Perfect for Iron Chef America.

A friend gave me 5 lbs. of frozen alligator tail meat a while ago. I'm going to make alligator chili for Super Bowl with 2.5 lbs., but wondered if anybody has any old (or new) family recipes for 'gator meat? He'll probably be giving me some more after his next hunting trip, so I want to find tasty ways to prepare it. Thanks!

Hi,

They had fried alligator bits at Chuck's Mardi Gras the other night. Whatever alligator may taste like, it is really something that once rolled in batter and fried is very well hidden.

I don't know if you have any hankerings to come to the LTH picnic this year (pencil in Saturday after Labor Day), but I know your friends here would be interested in trying your alligator chili. Of course you are free to do whatever you want, though this is just one avenue to consider.

Regards,

Cathy2 wrote:Hi,

They had fried alligator bits at Chuck's Mardi Gras the other night. Whatever alligator may taste like, it is really something that once rolled in batter and fried is very well hidden.

I don't know if you have any hankerings to come to the LTH picnic this year (pencil in Saturday after Labor Day), but I know your friends here would be interested in trying your alligator chili. Of course you are free to do whatever you want, though this is just one avenue to consider.

Regards,

I'm not sure if the chili will keep that long, but it's an idea! I must be getting old enough (like the 'gator meat) that I forgot that I posed this same question 5 months ago. I just couldn't bring myself to thaw the whole block. But yesterday I got smart and had a butcher run it through a band saw while frozen. Easy as pie, 2 X 2.5 lb. blocks. Sure makes my life a lot simpler!

I've had alligator a few ways, mostly in those fried "nuggets" that have been mentioned already. Chili is a great idea, but making sausages is also fun. If you have a grinder (I have an attachment for my Kitchenaid mixer) you can make it fairly easily. A quick search turned up this recipe.

Have fun!

I agree alligator is quite the novelty and a challenging dish to prepare well, but I find it very rewarding when I create a truly wonderful exotic dish. I stumbled upon this site one day and they provide great free recipes for alligator meat.
http://www.exoticmeats.com/recipes-alligator.aspx

You may also purchase alligator tail meat at the same site
http://www.exoticmeats.com/catdescmain.aspx?f=2

I'll second the sausage rec. I had an amazing gator sausage at Hot Doug's a while ago.

if you're interested, i have a sausage maker and i make sausage regularly. I'm in roscoe village and love making sausage. If you want to come over, we can whip up sausages - although i make no guarantees other than it will be technically sound, ground and encased correctly. As for the recipe - thats up to you.

the only thing i require is that i keep a couple small links

djenks wrote:if you're interested, i have a sausage maker and i make sausage regularly. I'm in roscoe village and love making sausage. If you want to come over, we can whip up sausages - although i make no guarantees other than it will be technically sound, ground and encased correctly. As for the recipe - thats up to you.

the only thing i require is that i keep a couple small links

I have to admit, after putting a lot of work and wonderful ingredients into what I hoped would be some great chili, we threw the whole pile out. I NEVER waste food, but this may be one of the first times that my GF and I both literally spit out our mouthfuls of food. The remaining gator meat went out in the trash as well. The chili had a little ominous smell while cooking the meat, sort of fishy but not quite fish. The chili got a slightly off taste combined with an almost "metallic" taste, in addition to a few bites really tasting like sort of skanky fish or seafood. I ate a half a bowl trying to convince myself that it wasn't so bad, but I gave up after half a bowl. Girlfriend wasn't so brave, she just walked away from it. I'll be more than happy to try a sausage at Hot Doug's, but I'm over doing any more gator on my own.

at Hot Doug's today: Spicy Smoked Alligator Sausage with Cajun Remoulade and St. Pete's Blue Cheese
Very good, although I did pick up a slightly shell-fishy metallic tang, it was balanced by the condiments...

Yo,

I've had mixed results eating gator, one of the worst bites, not just gator, but anything I've ever eaten, was in a Milwaukee restaurant at the height of the Cajun Blacken everything craze. A tip for future reference, never order blacked gator in a restaurant known for spaetzle.

On the other hand, the best alligator I've had the pleasure of eating has been at the hands of a top notch BBQ man of my acquaintance, Big Jim down central Florida way. I asked Big Jim for his technique, here it is in his own words.

Welp Gary, what I do is. The gator I get has been run thru a cuber so
that helps to keep the finished product tender (it don't always work). I
like to cut it up into bite sized pieces. Dip it in milk (or marinade it in
buttermilk) then dredge it in seasoned flour. Deep fry in hot oil, 350° to
375°, till nice and brown, Drain and put in a small dry ice chest. At least
an hour. Eat.

Big Jim, in addition to BBQ and Gator cooking, is well known in BBQ circles for his tuna/tomato hush puppies and for building LazyQ BBQ Pits.

Big Jim has a Alligator skinning pictorial up, I find it interesting, some may find the images somewhat graphic. As Cathy2 says here "If you are sensitive and don't like graphic animal parts, then close this window now. I am not going to entertain complaints when you had fair warning."

Alligator Skinning

Enjoy,
Gary

Okie doke, I just picked up my first tail at Gepperth's. I'm too lazy for fried but I really want to taste it, so something like chili is out. What do you recommend for a simple recipe? Can I roast it? (It's a small one, only about 3/4 lb.)

Thanks. (The links above no longer work.)

The best alligator dish I have ever had was at Heaven on Seven,
alligator ettouffe.
All the fried alligator prety much tastes like anything else fried with a hint of reptile.
I would think if you would cut your tail into bitesized pieces, sauté and then fold into a roux, you could make the same?-Richard

budrichard wrote:I would think if you would cut your tail into bitesized pieces, sauté and then fold into a roux, you could make the same?-Richard

I could give that a shot. Thanks!

When I made alligator pie for my Mardi Gras party it turned out pretty nice.
I cubed the meat into like small 1/2 inch dice and soaked it overnight in seasoned buttermilk.
I then sauteed it with some cajun type spices and trinity and put it on a pastry shell.
I think there was cheese involved too
It turned out really good IMHO

I remember that pie and it was outstanding.

It certainly sounds like heaven!