Gulf Coast Alligator Chili Food

BACKWOODS SURF-N-TURF ANDOUILLE AND ALLIGATOR CHILI

Steps:

• 1. Take the sausage and alligator and season with the Creole seasoning thoroughly.
• 2. Heat a heavy duty pot on high. Add the butter and let melt.
• 3. Once melted, cook the sausage and the alligator together until cooked all the way through. It will take about 10 min until golden brown or so.
• 4. Once cooked, drain on a paper towel-lined plate and set aside.
• 5. Take the onions, peppers, and garlic and sweat them in a pan on med-high heat, about 5 min or so.
• 6. Add the canned chili, tomatoes, and the seasoning.
• 7. Mix all together and let simmer for 20 to 30 minutes.
• 8. After simmering for ten minutes, add the meat and continue to let it simmer.
• 9. Once it's finished simmering, take and cut the top of the bread bowl off, so it looks like a lid.
• 10. Take the inside of the bread out and fill with the chili and enjoy.

ALLIGATOR RIBS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 300 degrees F.
• Brush alligator ribs with enough barbecue sauce to coat. Place ribs on a rack set in a baking pan. Cover with plastic wrap and then aluminum foil. Bake for 3 hours.
• Remove alligator ribs from the oven. When cool enough to handle, remove the plastic wrap and cover loosely with the aluminum foil; allow the ribs to rest 20 to 30 minutes.
• Meanwhile, prepare a smoker with your favorite type of wood chips. Transfer the ribs to the smoker and smoke for 30 to 45 minutes, depending on the size of the ribs; alligator ribs are very lean and dry out easily, so you may want to remove smaller ribs from the smoker first. After smoking, coat the ribs with more barbecue sauce.
• While ribs are smoking, preheat a grill to medium-high. Place ribs on the grill and grill just until sauce begins to caramelize. Serve immediately.

GULF COAST ALLIGATOR CHILI

Steps:

• Soak alligator in buttermilk in a container, refrigerated, overnight.
• Transfer alligator to a colander and rinse all the buttermilk off the meat. Let it completely drain or pat dry with a paper towel.
• Saute the alligator and ground pork together with the vegetable oil in a large stockpot on medium heat until the meats start to brown and release liquid, 6 to 8 minutes. Remove the cooked meat to a bowl to separate it from the liquid fat. Keeping the fat on medium heat, add the onions, celery, bell pepper and garlic, followed by the chipotles, jalapenos and serranos. Sweat this mixture down until onions turn clear.
• Add diced tomatoes. At this point, you will have a bit of liquid from all the fats and vegetables. Stir in 1/2 cup flour (or more, if desired) to thicken up the liquid and absorb the fats. Stir in the chicken stock, followed by the tomato sauce. Add the drained ranch beans, although this step is optional, depending on whether you want beans in
• your chili (hint: we always do). Cook, stirring regularly, until the pot hits a low boil. Add the alligator and pork mixture, along with half the beer. Stir in the cayenne, chili powder, cumin, turmeric, paprika, black pepper and salt. Reduce the heat to very low, then cover pot and simmer, stirring every 10 minutes or so to keep the chili from sticking to the bottom, 1 to 1 1/2 hours.
• Though you could actually serve this dish now, as it will taste great, we truly feel that refrigerating and reheating it again adds to "the leftover effect" which allows the flavors to really marinate and come out to a noticeable degree. Remove pot from heat and set to the side until chili hits room temperature. Refrigerate overnight. When ready to serve, just reheat slowly (up to a low boil), stirring in the remaining beer to loosen up the dish. Garnish with green onions, Cheddar, sour cream and hot sauce. We always garnish the chili with our signature Dixie Fried Blue Crab and Corn Hush Puppies.

ALLIGATOR CHILI

Steps:

• In a large Dutch oven or heavy pot, heat oil over medium-high. Season the meat with 1 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon pepper and the granulated garlic. Once the oil shimmers, add the meat and cook, stirring occasionally, until the juices have rendered and the meat has browned, 15 to 20 minutes.
• Add the onion, celery, bell pepper, minced garlic and jalapeño. Cook, stirring often, for 3 to 5 minutes or until the onion is translucent.
• Add the pinto beans, tomato sauce, chicken stock, chili powder and cumin. Stir to combine. Bring the chili to a low boil, then cover, reduce the heat to low and simmer for an hour, stirring occasionally.
• When the meat is tender, season to taste with more salt, pepper and granulated garlic, if desired. Serve hot in bowls, with spaghetti or cornbread if you'd like.