Hello, Louisiana: How do you cook and eat alligator? See recipe, cuts, tips and tricks (2024)

Cooking alligator may be old hat for many home cooks, and it's quite apparentchefs are cooking it all over the place. But I cooked it the first time recentlyin sauce picante for our "In Judy's Kitchen" video series.

In 2013, I wrote about Archbishop Gregory Aymond's position that alligator counts asseafood position during Lent. I've eaten my share of the alligator dishes at Jazz Fest. But cooking it? What part of the animal is this?

I called the guy who always handlesa live alligator at the Louisiana Restaurant show every summer: Harlon Pearce, of Harlon's Louisiana Seafood. His company packaged the 1-pound bags of frozen alligator I bought at Rouse's Supermarkets for the video. It's not cheap: Each bag was $14.99.

What I bought was the tenderloin, the most tender meat, from the tail of the alligator.

The tail, Pearce explained, "has four cylindrical tubes of muscle, four lobes, like tuna. That's the tenderloin. It looks like a dunce cap, long and skinny. You slice that and pound it like veal, and you cannot tell the difference. You can handle and treat that like a good piece of meat, even grill it."

The meat of the jowl is quite tender on its own, too, he said.

"It's kind of like a grouper cheek, a big piece of meat."

Other parts of the alligator are double-tenderized, he explained. And the fat on alligator is outside the pieces, not striated throughout the meat like, for instance, beef or pork.

Until it's fried, alligator gets good grades for nutrition, especially in the protein department. A four-ounce serving has 110 calories (20 from fat), 2 grams total fat, .5 grams saturated fat, 55 milligrams cholesterol, 55 milligrams sodium, nocarbohydrates and 24 grams of protein.

The legs, which chef Greg Sonnier smokes at Kingfish as gator "wings" with a tomato gastrique, are red meat and not as tender, Pearce said.

Farm-raised alligators are smaller and less fatty than wild ones, Pearce said, adding, "Wild is still great. The wild season harvest is every September." His company also processes the occasional nuisance gator.

Alligator red meat, including the legs and other tougher parts of muscle, are better if braised in a sauce, Pearce said, such as alligator sauce picante or another long-cooked dish.

Sonnier has made many alligator dishes in his career.

"You can cook it so many different ways," he said. "You can stew it, or take the center cut of tail and grill it up like chicken, or definitely fry it."

The alligator "wings" at Kingfish are baked in fat to tenderize them, then drained well, refrigerated and chilled. When ordered, they are fried to a crispy brown, then tossed into a smoked tomato gastrique to coat the exterior.

"The effect is a smoky taste outside and inside is true alligator," Sonnier said. "I think one reason people like it is that it's its own form. It's not mixed with something else."

The chef compared cooking alligator with turtle.

"They probably live in the same environment and eat the same stuff, so it's really similar to that taste," Sonnier said. "Turtle meat's a lot richer. You could classify it as a lighter meat. It's similar to chicken, but it has that little seafood taste component.

"Turtle meat is more similar to beef or venison."

At the restaurant, Sonnier cooks Louisiana alligator bone-in legs, brand name Country Boy Gator, labeled a Certified Cajun product and subtitled "Cajun Swamp Chicken."

The legs are available online, along with several other cuts and processed alligator (patties, nuggets, pistolettes) and several brands of sausage.

Donald Barkemeyer's alligator sausage, brand name Louisiana Cajun Grill Sausage, $6.99 a pound, is sold inWinn-Dixie stores in the New Orleans region and Gulf South. Barkemeyer, also known as "Chef Bucks," said his product is 65 percent Louisiana farm-raised alligator tail meat and 35 percent fresh boneless pork butt. It's processed and naturally hickory-smoked in wood-burning ovens at Crescent City Meat Company in Metairie.

"It's a fully cooked product, but the best way to cook it is on the grill," he said. "You can use it in jambalaya, gumbo, or any kind of stew, any place you would use smoked sausage, such as red beans and rice."

Barkemeyer said he sells 20,000 to 25,000 pounds of the sausage a year, and he ships it around the country. One day last week he shipped 100 pounds to a woman in Vancouver, Wash., who serves the link on a bun for $8 or $10 with onions. He also noted that people "sell the heck out of it" at church fairs and similar events.

His number one tip for cooking alligator tail: Don't cook it too long, he said.

"It's white meat," Barkemeyer said. "It has a very high water content. I've been cooking it for a very long time with just butter, lemon and garlic, baking it at 350 degrees for maybe half an hour, covered. I'm not a big fry person. Or you can put it in a Crock Pot with red gravy."

He shared the recipe for his favorite way to cook his alligator sausage indoors, which can be a main or side dish, for brunch or dinner or pot lucks.

Click here for the recipe

Chef Buck's Alligator Potatoes

Makes 8 servings

WHAT YOU'LL NEED

• 3 pound bag new potatoes
• 3 pounds alligator sausage, sliced
• 2 large onions, diced
• 1-1/2 teaspoons minced garlic
• Minced parsley
• Shredded cheese (optional)

WHAT TO DO

1. Coat a large casserole dish with nonstick cooking spray.

2. Slice potatoes (do not peel) and make a layer of them on the bottom of the dish.

3. Cover with a layer of diced onions and sprinkle with garlic and parsley.

4. Repeat layers until all ingredients are used, ending with a layer of potatoes.

5. Cover dish with foil and bake in a preheated 350-degree oven for 50 minutes to one hour, until potatoes are tender.

6. If desired, remove foil for last 15 minutes so top can brown.

7. If desired, sprinkle top with shredded cheese after baking.

Cochon's James Beard Award-winning chef, Stephen Stryjewski, shared the recipe for one of the restaurant's most popular appetizers. The cornstarch in the buttermilk batter makes the coating crispy. Stryjewski said the restaurant uses peanut oil for frying, but "lard works just as well."

You will have more of the Chili Garlic Mayo than you need for this recipe. However, you will come up with lots of ideas for using the extra sauce (and of course, you can always eat it with a spoon right out of the bowl).

Click here for the recipe

Cochon's Fried Alligator with Chili Garlic Mayonnaise

Makes 4 servings

WHAT YOU'LL NEED

• 1 pound alligator tenderloin
• Salt and pepper
• 2 cups flour
• 1 cup cornstarch
• 2 cups buttermilk
• 1/4 cup packed chopped mint and Italian parsley leaves
• Peanut oil for deep frying

FOR CHILI GARLIC MAYO

• 1 cup mayonnaise
• 1 canned chipotle pepper in adobo sauce, minced
• 1 tablespoon Heavenly Chef brand chili garlic sauce
• 1 teaspoon siracha
• Pinch sugar
• Dash lemon juice
• Salt and pepper

WHAT TO DO

1. Cut alligator into 1-inch chunks and season with salt and pepper.

2. Combine the flour and cornstarch in a mixing bowl.

3. Pour the buttermilk into a shallow dish.

4. Prepare a rack or a plate lined with paper towels to drain the alligator.

For Chili Garlic Mayo

1. Mix mayonnaise, chipotle, chili garlic sauce and siracha in a small bowl.

2. Season to taste with the sugar, lemon juice, salt and pepper.

3. Heat oil in a heavy cast-iron skillet or Dutch oven to 350 degrees.

4. Put the herbs into a large mixing bowl.

5. Lightly dust the alligator with the flour mixture by dropping it into the bowl, then remove it and shake it in your hands to remove as much flour as possible.

6. Dip the floured alligator in buttermilk and remove with a slotted spoon, allowing as much buttermilk as possible to drip off.

7. Put the alligator back into the flour mixture, and again try to shake off as much extra flour as possible.

8. Fry a few pieces at a time until the alligator just begins to float and is golden brown, 5 to 7 minutes.

9. Remove and drain on the prepared rack or paper towels. Season with salt as soon as it comes out of the oil.

10. Put the drained alligator into the large mixing bowl with the herbs and 1/4 cup of the chili garlic sauce.

11. Stir everything gently so you do not knock off the crispy exterior.

12. Serve immediately.