Mention alligator at a tailgating party and people will automatically think of a mascot. Yet at Louisiana ones it means the main meat on the barbecue menu. It's usually served when Lousiana and Florida college go against each other on the football field. It's not hot dogs and burgers but it is supposed to be tasty.
Christina Morales, a new and regular contributor to the Wednesday New York Times Food section wrote about this Southern staple in today's issue.It actually started as a tease when Louisiana State University or LSU fought against the University of Florida Gators team twelve years ago. Now this is standard despite it being cruel. Tailgaters either bring ones they've caught or ones they've bought at an alligator farm!! The reptile can be char grilled, blackened, fried, stewed or even roasted whole, the last being done on a rotisserie powered by a windshield wiper motor. everyone always what the meat tastes like? Chicken. It has the taste and even the texture of it.It is a white , tender flesh that is usally brined
Many tailgaters also douse the gators with beer for more flavor. It has always been a food source in The Bayou state.The story started with the Indigenous tribe the Coushatas from the southwestern part of the state. They found a gator stuck in a hole of a dried up pond. The creature asked to be placed in a nearby rivet and would reward them, according to Eli Langley a tribal story teller for the Coushatas.
Of course the reward was its' meat. The Chitimacha People, another southwestern Louisiana tribe ate the meat fried in bear grease according to Chitimacha the tribal historic preservation officer Kimberly Walden.The gators were a convenient food source, being so large.They even provided a French government officials with an alligator feast. for the following Cajuns and Creoles the swamps became a pantry. If they killed it , they ate it according to Louisiana chef and cookbook writer John Foise. Now gator meat is served in a variety of ways at different local restaurants. At Prejean's a Lafayette Louisiana eatery serve gator legs . They're marinated in buttermilk for three hours , then breaded and fried like chicken wings. Roux 61 in Baton Rouge goes for the more unusual. They blacken the meat and put into into spicy tacos. They gave the recipe to the article. If you're wondering where to get gator meat , especially in the New York area, there are specialty butchers who do sell it. Try Wild Fork Farms or The Louisiana Crawfish Company which also sells turtle meat and crawfish too.
Alligators do make for an interesting meal. They have a mild tasting meat, perfect for a host of different recipes. However it is cruel to eat them, farmed or otherwise.
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