Gator Bites

Some time ago, my cousin gave me 2 pounds of alligator tail steaks. These were beautiful, thick steaks with a great color. Of course I decided to make 'gator bites out of them! This would be an amazing recipe to have for Mardi Gras, which is coming up in a couple of weeks.

Just to make it clear, these are from real alligators, not some fake fish thing..like most of the 'crab' you see in food now-a-days.

Tasty Tasty

I had never attempted gator bites, never found the meat actually or I would have! We had them quite often at Crawdaddy's down in Cookeville and they are delicious! They do tend to be a bit chewy and I have the fix for that! My next step was to find a recipe that was good enough to match the restaurant ones and also easy to fix. I had to look no further than Paula Deen, one of my favorite cooks. Her recipe is perfection.

This recipe needs to be deep fried to get the perfect taste and texture. You could bake them, but I am not sure how they would turn out..dryer probably and you don't really want that. I again used my awesome little Fry Daddy, which is the best deep fryer I have ever tried. Gets very hot and the food is about half as greasy as with any other I have used. I recommend one if you just need the occasional deep frying.

Don't be intimidated by Mr. Gator, it is not hard to fix at all. I have discovered that you really need to look over the meat and cut out any cartilage or gristly stuff that you find. It is not gross looking but you can feel it is tougher than the meat. That is what I think lends the toughness to the restaurant gator bites. It probably took me 10 minutes total to get all of it out of 2 pounds and it was well worth doing!

Here is the recipe directly from Ms. Deen.

Fried Gator Bites
I found this worked well for the 2 pounds I had.

• 1 pound alligator meat, cut into chunks (can substitute chicken or pork)
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• Flour, for dredging (about 2 cups)
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 1 cup hot sauce
• 1 bottle store bought ranch dressing, for dipping

Heat a deep-fryer to 350 degrees F. (or use the Fry Daddy and don't worry about temperature)

Lightly season gator meat with salt and pepper prior to dredging them in flour. Combine buttermilk and hot sauce into 1 mixture. Dip the gator meat into the buttermilk and hot sauce mixture and dip, once again, in flour. Then place in deep fryer until golden brown, just a couple minutes. Drain on paper towels and serve with ranch dressing or remoulade.

And....

Here is a fantastic recipe for remoulade:

New Orleans Remoulade

• 1 pint mayonnaise
• 2 tablespoons Creole mustard
• 2  tablespoons grated onion
• 3 tablespoons prepared horseradish
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon white wine Worcestershire sauce
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne
• 1/4 teaspoon hot sauce

Combine all ingredients and mix well. It is better chilled for at least a couple of hours, but I can never wait that long to use it! Makes 2 1/4 cups sauce.

Crème Fraîche

Do you like sour cream?  Yes? Then let me introduce you to sour cream's older and prettier sister, Crème Fraîche. Don't get me wrong, I adore sour cream, but crème fraîche is richer, silkier and just delectable. Also, it is very expensive....that is when you can find it. I live in Sparta, TN and no one here would even know what it is, let alone carry it in their stores. Have I ever mentioned that my husband is French? Well he is, and crème fraîche is a must in our home, like many other French delicacies. Being that it is impossible to find, I had to come up with a way to make it and I succeeded!
First, take a look at the glorious stuff:

Makes me swoon! This is dead simple to make. When I show you how, you will be angry if you ever see it for $8 a pot. Ready? Here is how it works.

Crème Fraîche

-16 oz container of Whipping Cream, doesn't matter if its pasteurized or unpasteurized..people will tell you it does, but they are liars.

-4 tablespoons of buttermilk. Make sure it is whole and not the low-fat kind, this does matter in that the low-fat kind will make a runnier crème fraîche.

Directions: 
1. Pour the whipping cream into a little container that you can cover in the fridge. 
2. Pour in your 4 tablespoons of buttermilk. 
3. Stir well. 
Directions: 
Cover with some cheese cloth or loosely with a paper towel. I use cheese cloth and a rubber band...fancy I know! 

 Let it sit for 24 to 48 hours somewhere on your counter. Now listen, really let it sit out. It won't mold or go bad, well actually what you WANT it to do is go bad, so this works. When it is as thick as sour cream or a bit thicker, cover it and put it in the fridge. It will stay good for 2 weeks or more. 

Put it on anything you would use sour cream for or be like me and eat it by the spoon. It is divine. Also, laugh at any store that wants an arm and a leg for it, because yours tastes better!