73 pounds of alligator gar, one Pit Boss, three dishes, and a pirate hat that had no business being involved. Nothing goes to waste.
Alligator Gar Three Ways
Guest catch: Jeremy Torres
The Fish (for all three dishes): 73 pound alligator gar, cut into quarter-sized nuggets for frying and larger chunks for soup, sinew trimmed.
Dish 1 — Sweet and Sour Alligator Gar
Ingredients
- Salt and pepper, touch of oil
- 2 parts cornstarch
- 1.5 parts arrowroot starch
- 2 parts potato starch
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- Garlic and ginger
- Raspberries
- Lemon juice and lime juice
- A little vinegar
- Sugar — 4 spoonfuls
- Fresh cilantro
Instructions
- Season the fish with salt, pepper, and a touch of oil.
- Mix cornstarch, arrowroot, potato starch, and paprika; coat the fish and fry until golden.
- Cook garlic and ginger in oil, add raspberries, lemon juice, lime juice, vinegar, and sugar; simmer until the berries break down.
- Toss the fried gar in the sauce and finish with cilantro.
Dish 2 — Gar Caviar
Ingredients
- Chia seeds
- Furikake (seaweed, roasted sesame)
- Fish sauce
- Bragg's amino acids
- Crème fraîche
Instructions
- Mix chia seeds and furikake at a 2:1 ratio.
- Stir in 10 drops of fish sauce and a splash of Bragg's amino acids to make a paste.
- Cover with water, stir, and let sit until it gels.
- Serve topped with crème fraîche.
Dish 3 — Lemongrass Alligator Gar Soup
Ingredients
- Whole garlic cloves
- Lemongrass
- Cardamom
- Coriander
- Kefir lime leaf
- Hot peppers
- Fish sauce
- Water
- Green curry paste
- Fresh ginger
- Jasmine rice
- Cilantro and lime zest, to serve
Instructions
- Toast garlic, lemongrass, cardamom, and coriander in the pot.
- Add kefir lime leaf, hot peppers, fish sauce, water, green curry paste, and ginger; simmer.
- Add the gar chunks and cook through.
- Strain out the aromatics.
- Serve over jasmine rice with cilantro and lime zest.
