Cooking Garfish

[Montauk17]

I caught a 4' alligator gar yesterday and I was looking for a good way to cook it,any ideas?

[Ray]

Grind it up, grind some raw taters, chop up some onions and green onions.
Mix up good with some Tony's and make some thin patties. Dredge in flour
and fry dem baby's up in a black skillet with a 1/4" hot oil in it.

[Reel Bender]

I hear GarBalls are good.

Since I've never had any I would have to speculate that just having 1 gar your going to walk away Hungry.

[longsidelandry]

Originally Posted by Ray

Grind it up, grind some raw taters, chop up some onions and green onions.
Mix up good with some Tony's and make some thin patties. Dredge in flour
and fry dem baby's up in a black skillet with a 1/4" hot oil in it.

mmmmmm, man that would be awesome right now!

[Bluechip]

Originally Posted by Ray

Grind it up, grind some raw taters, chop up some onions and green onions.
Mix up good with some Tony's and make some thin patties. Dredge in flour
and fry dem baby's up in a black skillet with a 1/4" hot oil in it.

That is how I would do it....

[simplepeddler]

That's the only way.
Other than the towel method commonly used with Jackravelle

[FF_T_Warren]

Heres the recipe for a good gar balls and gravy.
The best recipe Ive found for garballs and gravy is to first ground the meat up then season the meat up really well with salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, and any other special seasoning that you really like. then add bread crumbs and form into meatball sized balls. put them to the side then start your gravy. brown your roux real dark and season the gravy up to your liking. then take the garballs you formed up earlier and throw them in the garbage. then find some good tasty meat to put in that gravy and quit wasting time with those trashy fish. Then enjoy.

[Reel Bender]

Originally Posted by FF_T_Warren

Heres the recipe for a good gar balls and gravy.
The best recipe Ive found for garballs and gravy is to first ground the meat up then season the meat up really well with salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, and any other special seasoning that you really like. then add bread crumbs and form into meatball sized balls. put them to the side then start your gravy. brown your roux real dark and season the gravy up to your liking. then take the garballs you formed up earlier and throw them in the garbage. then find some good tasty meat to put in that gravy and quit wasting time with those trashy fish. Then enjoy.

That sounds similar to the Cedar Plank Goose recipe I know.

[huntin fool]

Originally Posted by FF_T_Warren

Heres the recipe for a good gar balls and gravy.
The best recipe Ive found for garballs and gravy is to first ground the meat up then season the meat up really well with salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, and any other special seasoning that you really like. then add bread crumbs and form into meatball sized balls. put them to the side then start your gravy. brown your roux real dark and season the gravy up to your liking. then take the garballs you formed up earlier and throw them in the garbage. then find some good tasty meat to put in that gravy and quit wasting time with those trashy fish. Then enjoy.

i like dat recipe

[Ray]

Garfish is good meat.
I have sliced it off the fillet, seasoned and marinated, then chunked it on the pit.
When done, make a sammich with dat.

[Montauk17]

I was shocked when I saw how white the meat was,looks like good stuff

[Ray]

It is firm clean meat. That's why it tastes so good.
It can be tough if you don't grind it up or maninate it.

[longsidelandry]

Gar is very good, but like Ray said, if you're not going to grind it up you need to marinate it good so it's not so tough.

[Gerald]

I was told years ago.....that most fast food places that serve a fish sandwich usually use gar meat.

[Ray]

Before the gill net ban, I put a few nets out in the marshes just South of Lamberts Bayou, after big rains in the Spring, and sell Gar fillets for $4.50/lb. That was in the 70's and 80's.
I could sell as much as I could catch. They are easy to clean and you get a lot of meat out of one.

[Reel Bender]

And I thought the gill net was just banned recently.

[longsidelandry]

Originally Posted by Reel Bender

And I thought the gill net was just banned recently.

[Montauk17]

Another question,what's the best way to fillet the meat off the bones?

[Yer_Corks_Under]

Cook on the grill with garlic butter, taste like shrimp.

[QUACKHEAD]

Originally Posted by Ray

Before the gill net ban, I put a few nets out in the marshes just South of Lamberts Bayou, after big rains in the Spring, and sell Gar fillets for $4.50/lb. That was in the 70's and 80's.
I could sell as much as I could catch. They are easy to clean and you get a lot of meat out of one.

Whats your technique in cleaning a gar. For me if it's kind of small I cut them in about 8" sections and then run a fillet knife to the skin and roll it till it cuts free and then I can push the meat out the tube. If they are good size, I use a hatchet down the back from head to tail then cut the tail off and use a sharp knife to cut the tendons all the way around and seperate from the collar. Always willing to learn some thing new if you have a different way.