Fried Alligator Appetizer

This little Fried Alligator Appetizer is uses a Cajun-style seasoning blend of Black Pepper, Chili, and Cumin, which is one of the more common ways you will find Alligator being prepared in restaurants. Sometimes, this consists chunks of Alligator meat that are battered, but I much prefer them when they are very lightly breaded, as I have done here. The process is quick and simple, and the result is very nice indeed.

Alligator is not easy to come by unless you live in an area where they actually exist in the wild. Here, in Nova Scotia, we don’t worry too much about being attacked by them, but that also means it is a foodstuff we don’t get to eat very often. The package above was actually purchased in a shop in a very small Inuit community on the shores of Hudson’s Bay, of all places. It was a novel rarity. and I grabbed it and took it back home with me on my flight the next day.

Alligator Meat, as you can see in the above picture, has an appearance a bit like lean pork. Indeed, there is very little fat in Alligator flesh, and it is touted as a healthy meat choice, and an excellent source of protein. The texture can be a little bit fibrous, but not excessively, or unpleasantly so, and it is generally as tender as many sorts of wildfowl, including Pheasant.

As for the taste, the best way to describe it as being like a composite of chicken thigh meat and fish. It doesn’t have an overly fishy taste, as such, but the fishy notes are sufficiently noticeable, that you will generally be immediately aware that what you are eating did not come from a hen-house. I say ‘generally’ because I have actually had deep-fried Alligator that I might have accepted as chicken if I was told that that was what it was.

The first step is to slice your Alligator into strips and marinate it with a little Lemon juice for at least fifteen minutes..

The Fried Alligator morsels for this appetizer are coated with Breadcrumbs blended with Garlic Salt, Black Pepper, ground Cumin and ground Chili. Naturally, you can adjust the amount of chili to make your appetizer as mild or as fiery as you like.

Breading the Alligator Meat involves nothing more complicated than dipping it in beaten egg, coating in the seasoned crumbs, and shaking off the excess.

You can use a deep-fryer for doing your Spicy Fried Alligator Bites if you like but I find that very wasteful of oil and I find it better to do a few pieces at a time in a shallow pan with about 2cm of oil in the bottom. Simply fry the pieces for a minute or two and drain on paper towels.

Serve your bites while still hot You can provide any sort of dipping sauce you like (or even just a few lemon wedges). Here, I mixed together Tartar Sauce, a squirt of lemon, and a little Sriracha Sauce).

Print Recipe These Fried Alligator morsels, breaded and seasoned with Black Pepper, Chili, and Cumin, make for an exquisitely spicy Cajun-style appetizer.

• 3/4 lb Alligator meat sliced into strips;
• 1 Egg;
• ½ cup fine Bread Crumbs;
• 2 tsp. each Garlic Salt Black Pepper, ground Cumin and ground Chilli;
• 2 Tbsp. Lemon Juice

• Stir together the breadcrumbs and dry spices.
• Marinate the Alligator Meat in the Sherry for at least 20 minutes.
• Beat the egg and pour over the Alligator Meat, stirring to coat well.
• Toss the strips with the seasoned breadcrumbs and shake of the excess.
• Fry the strips in hot oil until golden brown.
• Serve hot with Lemon wedges, or a dipping sauce of choice.