After the longest workout I think I may have ever done, thanks to training with someone who is better than me, I decided to treat myself to something special. First though, the workout was a 45 mile ride at about 20+ MPH, followed by a 3.7 miles (26 minute) run, and then a 1 hour swim. Brutal!
On the way home I stopped at the farmers market and went to the butcher shop where I was pleased to find rare and exhorbitantly over-priced alligator! So I bought some and made it that night for dinner. I made this alongside a recipe I found for balsamic potatoes. Here’s that recipe:
Ok actually I can’t find it, but it’s something like
- Boiled and quartered New Potatoes
- 1 cup Low-fat, no sodium chicken broth
- 1/4 cup (or more to taste) balsamic vinegar
- Rosemary and Thyme
Bake covered for 1 hour and 5 minutes at 350 degrees, tossing the potatoes every 20 minutes.
Balsamic Potatoes
The alligator, on the other hand, did not live up to it’s expectations…or maybe it did, considering it is alligator. Luckily I cooked and extra breast to go along with it. The meat had a distint flavor, and honeslty, I wouldn’t say it tasted like chicken. I described it as “if a chicken was fed nothing but a diet of fish and then that chicken laid eggs, if those eggs were hatched and grew to be chickens, that’s what their meat would taste like.” Feel me? I cooked it in BBQ sauce at about the same time and temperature one would could boneless, skinless chicken at.
It was overall kind of tough and sinewy. But hey, overall, I made freakin’ alligator and that makes it awesome. Gotta love the Bayou! You can learn to like it, I GAAAAUUAAANNNTTTEEEE it!
Raw Gator
Cooked Gator
Not sure I’ll be adding alligator to my “must-have” food list. That sounds like it would be just a bit too exotic for my budget, but it certainly makes an interesting food post! =)
I have to agree with you there! As a wise man once said, “2 minutes–well worth it!”…$16 for alligator? Not worth it…