Grilled Alligator with Crab Boil Gnocchi
Subscribe to our blog here!
People joke that there is nothing southerners won’t eat, provided of course it doesn’t eat us first. A pretty spot-on example of this is alligator. Even though alligator attacks are rare (I’m fairly certain there has never been a fatal alligator attack in Louisiana) it is still one of the more dangerous critters we can consume. Although, this would be debatable had Senator Robert Broussard gotten his wish in 1910. This dude wanted to introduce hippos into the swamps of South Louisiana. Seriously, if you’ve never read that story, look it up. It’s a hoot. Ok, tangent finished. Back to the recipe.
Alligator has a fantastic flavor. If you can imagine what a chicken and fish hybrid may taste like, that’s about it. If you’re worried about it, most times the gamey flavor of gator is pretty mild. Although with most wild game, that can vary. I’ve never had a piece that I would send back. So don’t let the fear of gamey tastes dissuade you.
You’ll typically see alligator in sauce piquante or other smothered, stew kinda dishes. Depending upon which part of the gator you’re eating, gator can be kinda tough. So it benefits well from low and slow braising. The part of the gator you’ll be using in this recipe is the “tenderloin” which is from the inside of the tail. This part is usually pretty tender so worry not.
I love the way gator tastes with a little smoke. So I grill this over a cherry wood fire. But if the heavy smokey flavor isn’t for you, just use charcoal. Or, if cooking outside isn’t an option for you, just look up a good blackening recipe and use that.
The sauce is a fairly straightforward cream sauce with bacon and smoked gouda. Smoked gouda is fairly common in the markets but if you can’t find it feel free to substitute. Just keep it mild with something like provolone or muenster. Anything super sharp will take away from your gator and gnocchi.
Speaking of, these are the two time consuming center pieces of this dish. I know a mortal sin in gnocchi making is parboiling potatoes first. And yes, your gnocchi will not be light and airy, but it also won’t taste like a crawfish boil. So this is a choice I leave to you. Either way, this dish is very tasty and until hippo steaks are readily available in the stores, it’s the only way to eat a critter semi close to us to the food chain.
Ingredients and Instructions
Gnocchi
- 4 russet potatoes skinned
- 6 cups water
- 2 tablespoons concentrated crab boil
- 1 tablespoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- ¼ garlic powder
- 1 egg beaten
- 1 cup flour
- Additional 6 cups of water
- Pinch of salt
Preheat the oven to 400° Fahrenheit.
Add crab boil, salt, black pepper, cayenne pepper, garlic powder, and water to a pot. Bring to a boil and stir to dissolve ingredients.
Add potatoes and cook on simmer until potatoes are just barely cooked through.
Move potatoes to a baking sheet and put them in the oven to finish cooking (5-10 minutes).
When cool enough to handle, run potatoes through a ricer onto a clean cutting board.
Drizzle egg over potatoes and sprinkle with flour a little at a time.
Using a fork, gently combine until mixture forms a dough, being careful not to over work.
Using a bench scraper, form dough into a ball. Cover with a towel and let dough rest for about ten minutes.
With the bench scraper, divide dough into three pieces. Roll each piece into a little rope. Slice the rope into little 1″ pieces.
At this point you gently roll the gnocchi over the tines of a fork or a gnocchi board to get those little ridges.
Bring 6 cups of water and a pinch of salt to a boil. Add the gnocchi a few at a time. Cook until they float and then set aside.
Sauce
- ½ pound of bacon
- 2 tablespoons of butter
- 3 tablespoons of flour
- ½ cup of cream
- 1 ½ cups of milk
- 1 cup of cheese (preferably smoked gouda) grated
- Salt and pepper to taste
On medium heat, cook bacon until crisp in a cast iron pot. Remove bacon, drain on paper towel, and dice.
Reserve one tablespoon of bacon grease in the pot.
Add butter to the pot. When butter stops foaming, add flour and stir to make a blonde roux.
Add cream and milk. Stir until thickened and all is incorporated.
Add cheese a little at a time and stir. Repeat until all cheese is melted. Remove sauce from heat and keep warm.
Alligator
- 1 pound alligator meat.
- 5 wooden skewers soaked in water
- Green Onions chopped
Marinade
- 1 cup of orange juice
- Juice of one lime
- Dash of salt
- Dash of cayenne pepper
- Dash of black pepper
Combine all marinade ingredients in a bowl. Add alligator meat and toss to combine. Refrigerate overnight.
Preheat the grill. Thread gator on skewers and grill until blackned and cooked through. Depending on your grill temperature, this will be about five minutes per side. Keep warm.
At this point, your gnocchi should already be cooked in salt water. Heat a little sauce and a splash of gnocchi water in a non-stick skillet.
Add a few gnocchi and stir until they are covered in sauce.
Put gnocchi in a bowl and cover with a bit more sauce. Then, top with cooked alligator and a few green onions.