The Post-It Place

I recently cooked Gator Bites and never realized that the majority of my friends had never heard of them, much less had them…or that Gator was considered exotic meat. I grew up where it was the norm along with Turtle Stew, Crawfish, Shark, etc.

My Dad was in the Army and his dearest friend was a man named Clinton who hailed from the Florida coast. As a matter of fact he lives on an island known as Bird Island near Perry Florida and my Mom is there now visiting. Clinton and his late wife Charlotte were know as Uncle Clinton and Aunt Charlotte. My sisters and I grew up with their two children “Little” Clint and Sissy. Uncle Clinton ran a fishery. He fished daily along with shrimping, scalloping, and hunting using big and small lures like I had never seen before. I always loved looking in his “tackle” box at all the interesting things from places like Big Agnes Fly Creek Tent. And everything had a caught a different way.  Seafood was always plentiful…but we always had to help gather and prepare it. I could eat my weight in scallops. My Aunt Charlotte could cook them like no one else.  I have so many wonderful memories of summers on Bird Island. It is where I learned to swim by jumping off the dock into the  canal. I learned to drive an AirBoat through the marshes, how to treat Jellyfish stings, what a Horseshoe crab is and how to catch flounder which is still my favorite fish to this day. By the way, you catch a flounder with a spear…but you have to be quick and patient.

“Little” Clint was the hunter. He was always going out and bringing home something to cook for that night’s meal. Turkey, Deer or Alligator. You just never knew what would be on the table after a day full of activities but that is where I had my first taste of Gator. Over the years I have ordered it in restaurants but it was never the same. The raw meat looks a lot like chicken, the texture and taste are also very similar to chicken but it has a little bit of a seafood taste. It has very little fat content and if it is cooked right, it is fabulous!

I have only ever had gator tail. I am not sure if you can eat other parts of the gator or not, I will have to ask Clint, who is not so little anymore. But Gator tail is what I was given by a friend of mine (Earl) who recently went Gator Hunting so that is what I cooked. I cut it into one inch cubes and soaked it in buttermilk overnight. I then mixed Cajun seasoning and flour, then breaded it. Then I fried it just like you would chicken.There are many other ways you can cook gator meat, this is just the one I decided upon and that was most familiar to me.

So, now you know how to cook Gator should anyone ever ask. And if you ever have to opportunity to try it, I suggest that you do. I think everyone should be an adventurous eater. You never really know what you are missing out on until you try it and you never know…you might just like it!