(Non-fried) Gator: Ain't Nothin' Wrong with a Little Bit of Bump and Brine

If you've eaten gator before, chances are it was probably fried.  While frying pretty much anything results in deliciousness, I was curious to try alligator in a simpler preparation where the flavor of the meat could shine through, rather than be obscured by heavy breading and a ton of seasoning.

The thing is though, alligator can be even leaner than chicken, and if you think that overcooks quickly, you've never worked with alligator!  Not surprisingly, gator meat does not appeal to everyone, and it'll appeal to even less people if it's dry and chewy.

So, with moistness on the mind, how did I decide to hedge my bets and prepare the gator?  I brined that sucker, and I'm pleased to say it worked!

Before this, I had only cooked gator once-- and I fried it.  This time, I wanted to try something completely different.  Having brined chicken and pork in the past, I figured a quick soak in a salty solution would do wonders to keep the meat tender and juicy for a quick sear and straight-forward presentation.  

Even without breading to protect it, this meat stayed nice and moist

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Generally, a brine is a solution of water with a concentration of salt between 3-5%.  I was shooting for 3% here, so I needed 2 tablespoons of salt for every quart (4 cups) of water.  Because I wanted to keep the alligator together in one piece for the brine (so it would be easier to portion out later), I chose a casserole dish for the job.  Consequently, I needed 6 cups of water to ensure the meat would be completely submerged.  Therefore, I used 3 tablespoons of salt to keep the proper concentration.  I also added a bit of honey, lemon juice, and guajillo chiles to the brine, in order to curb a bit of the saltiness and augment the natural flavor of the alligator.  

After an hour dip in the brine, the gator was ready to be cooked in any method you could imagine, really.  Even if you plan on frying the meat, brining still works as a good insurance plan against overcooking this extremely lean and nutritious protein.

Serve simply with some lemon wedges and enjoy!

Ingredients:

The Brine

6 C of water

3 T of salt

3 T of honey

1 T of lemon juice

2-4 dried guajillo chiles, stems discarded

1 lb of alligator tail meat
Pepper to taste
Tiny bit of oil for cooking (if not using griddle)
Lemon wedges, for serving

Need metric?