DOES ALLIGATOR REALLY TASTE LIKE CHICKEN

[John Eilertson]

I've never tried gator, but I have eaten everything else mentioned here--including nutria, which I thought was delicious. As far as the whole, "tastes like chicken" description, let's be honest, only chicken tastes like chicken. Everything has its own flavor, and in the case of all things mentioned here, to me that is a good thing. I think I'll have lunch, now...

 

[Onomea]

...

PS---i have an honest to goodness good snappin turtle story to tell---but its long. That is if'n you want to hear it.

Sure, let's hear it.

I had gator in Florida, Kissimee, I think the name of the place was. This was at the gator show where the one-gloved Michael Jackson lookalike would lean off his perch, to which he was chained in case the gator got him, and drop chicken carcasses to the leaping gators below. It was served fried in batter on a little cardboard hotdog container. It was okay, but nothin' to write home about... I bet it is good if cooked properly like ol geeser is talkin' about.

Hmm. Maybe it did kinda taste like snake now that I think about it.

 

[therevjay]

I wonder if Alligators think people taste like chicken.

I asked my pal 'Wally Gator' and he said "Actualy y'all are a lot like pork."



I sent off to "Cajun Grocery" for some cajun battered alligator tail. Yes it does taste just like chicken. The only differance I could see was, Gator is somewhat chewier. And costs 6-8 times as much. (10 after shipping & handling)

 

[michael thornton]

taste like fryed wild turkey to me, not bad but not as good as coon or armadillo.

 

[straightshooter1]

Blackened, fried and baked are the ways to cook gator tail. And, yes, the tail is the only part one eats.

I ate my first as a young policeman. We had several that encroached into the city and rarely would the Game and Fish folks respond at night, so ... we handled the situation and disposed of the carcass.

Still find it in a few restaurants, but I've never found it to taste as good as home-cooked gator tail.

Rattle snakes encroached, too, and were summarily dispatched. I took one home after its demise, used a little Shake N Bake and took it into the station asking the female records clerks to try my first batch of home-made chicken. They fell for it, but were pretty mad when the facts became known.

This was back in the late 60s and one could get away with things then that would land someone in a lot of trouble today.

Bob

 

[Stan]

It's hard to believe there is a person on this board that hasn't had "gator slim-jim" at the gunshow. Those things are all over the place.

 

[Stu1205]

To me it tastes like alligator.

 

[jkc]

Gator's on the menu as an appetizer at a few local restaurants, as is what's claimed to be rattlesnake meat. It is invariably heavily breaded and deep fried, and variously seasoned from mild to unrecognizable. It's pretty high on my "what's the point?" list --- both bland, blond, pretty much tasteless meat, relying on spices and/or batter to make it interesting. I've long since quit bothering with rattlesnakes as food --- not worth the risk and bother of dealing with them, for so little meat as they provide. Gator's are few and far between, although not unknown, in these parts...

 

[LouisianaJoe]

It is a mild tasting meat and like jkc said, it tastes like the batter it is prepared with. I do prefer the tail as it is white as some fish. It is more chewy than chicken, more like pork.

I have eaten nutria sauce piquante (pronounced sos pee-kon). Sauce piquante is a spicy red stew served over rice.

 

[Aubie]

Does chicken taste like chicken?

 

[HOUSTON RICK]

Gator tastes like a very tough, greasy, gamey chicken.

 

[mamasfatty]

taste like fryed wild turkey to me, not bad but not as good as coon or armadillo.

WAIT A SEC!!! coon really! come on man,,i wouldnt eat a raccoon if it was the 2nd,3rd or 4th meal left on earth,lol,,{possum,skunk,crow...] im not eating a raccoon!

 

[Stevens]

Alligator tastes kind of like pork to me, if it is not cleaned well by someone who knows what he is doing it will taste fishy, more like rancid fish!
I never order it in a restaurant same for softshell crabs which often have the same problem if not cleaned well or frozen too long.
I have a buddy who catches alligator and some times drops off a bag ot two of meat. They clean it well and it is still good after freezing for several months. My favorite way is small chunks seasoned with cajun seasoning, dusted with a bit of flour and deep fried, or in a creole soup recipe which is very good, topped off with a spoonful of dry sherry.