Whole Alligator

Description

Looking for something exciting to offer at your next backyard BBQ or your restaurant for your more adventurous customers or friends? How about Alligators Inc’s whole alligator! Our alligators are professionally farm raised in South Florida at our family owned and operated farm and processed in our on-site state certified and inspected HACCP compliant facility.

Our alligators are raised indoors in climate-controlled buildings and fed the best custom blended feed (56% protein and high fat) assuring an excellent result. Our alligators are NOT fed any growth hormones or steroids. They are NOT soaked in any preservatives such as Sodium Tripolyphosphate.

Our whole alligators weigh between 17 and 22 pounds which is the targeted harvest size for our production. They are anywhere from 4.5 to 5.5 feet in length, but length is not how we determine which ones are ready for smoking.

Alligator meat is an excellent choice for health-conscious friends and patrons. They are packed with protein even more than chicken, beef, or pork. Alligator is a lean white meat with a mild flavor like chicken and is low in fat and cholesterol. The tail contains most of the white meat, but the back loins, neck, and ribs are excellent as well. The legs contain a darker meat with a slightly more game taste.

Our alligators are skinned and gutted leaving the feet and head on for that great showpiece look at your next grilling. Our whole alligators are freshly frozen after harvest. They are vacuum sealed and ready for your next cookout. They are shipped frozen in custom insulated shipping boxes with dry ice and cooking instructions.

We ship on every Monday and Tuesday, we recommend to our customers that they should place their order the Wednesday before they want it shipped, as it takes a day or two to process and receive the order.

Whole Smoked Alligator

If you want to have a truly epic get together, smoking a whole gator is the way to do it! Surprisingly easy with great results, the secret ingredient here is time and smoke for perfectly cooked gator! The part that takes the longest is brining overnight, but after that, the gator will only take about 4-5 hours until cooked for a 17-21 lb. alligator.

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Prep Time 16 hrs

Cook Time 5 hrs

Total Time 21 hrs

Course Main Course

Cuisine American

Servings 8 to 10

Equipment

• Briquettes
• Lump Charcoal
• Light or Fruity wood chunks (Pecan was used here)

Ingredients

  

• 1 Whole Alligator

Brine:

• Enough Water to cover Alligator
• 1 cup Kosher Salt per gallon of water
• 3 cups Brown Sugar
• 2 cups White Sugar

Seasoning:

• To Taste Light dusting of your favorite Creole Seasoning
• To Taste A Good Rub (Plow Boys Yard Bird was used here)
• To Taste Jack Daniels
• To Taste Cherry Cola
• To Taste Apple Juice

Instructions

 

• Allow the frozen alligator to thaw for about a day before putting it in a small ice cooler and covering it with enough water to submerge the gator.
• Add Kosher or sea salt, brown sugar, and white sugar to the water in the cooler and let the gator sit in the brine for 16 hours
• Preheat your pit to 250°F. We used a Meadow Creek PR60 Pig Roaster with a combination of briquettes, lump charcoal, and pecan wood chunks.
• Season the gator with Creole seasoning and a rub of your choice.
• Once the pit’s temperature reaches 250°F, place the gator on the pit and mop the gator every hour for 5 hours with a mix of Jack Daniels, cherry cola and apple juice.
• After 5 hours, the gator should be perfectly cooked, and you can serve it immediately (just to be sure, internal temp with a Thermapen should be 155°F degrees)

Notes

The tail meat is the most tender of the gator and is made up of 2 tenderloins. The legs are called the red meat of the gator and taste like chicken thighs. They are also tender and moist.

Keyword Smoked Alligator, Smoked Whole Alligator, Whole Alligator, Whole Smoked Alligator