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.
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.