Grilled Alligator Garfish Recipe

By greatoutdoordinary on July 22, 2017 • ( 5 )

For such an ugly animal, Grilled Alligator Garfish sure is tasty!

I know..I know… Garfish tastes terrible, fishy, nasty…I’ve heard all that too. Don’t let the Alligator Garfish’s not-so-sexy outer appearance abate the wonderful inward flavor hidden beneath its primal armor. I’ve taken the time to clean it properly, and prepare it in a variety of ways. Alligator Garfish can be some of the best tasting fresh water fish out there when coupled with the right recipe.

If you’re wondering how to get the beauty out of the beast when it comes to the meat, check out How to Clean an Alligator Gar Fish. This article will show you step by step how to remove the two delectable tube shaped boneless fillets out of this tasty river monster.

Before we get started, I’d like to reiterate several things from the “How to Clean” article, as well as add a few insights so that you end up with the most flavorful garfish fillets possible:

Get…In…My…Belly!

The first thing is to clean the fish soon after it has been killed, and keep it cool, and out of the sun until it is cleaned.
Only collect fish from waterways that are lacking in contaminants. Don’t collect the fish from a trailer park oxidation pond, and expect it to be of good quality.
The most important thing when it comes to flavor, is that you MUST remove any discolored meat, and fat from the fillet. You should be left with a beautiful, white meat lacking any blood, or red/pink color. When in doubt cut it out. You are always better off with a bite of food that tastes delicious than a plateful that tastes like the dumpster behind a Chinese restaurant in August.
As with all fish, the fresher the better. Eating any fish after it has been frozen will reduce the quality of the texture and flavor. If you will be freezing this fish, then you need to follow steps 1 thru 3, then freeze in a manner that removes all air from touching the fish. Think vacuum sealer, or the like.
Finally, it is easier to handle the fish when the meat is just shy of freezing, and firm. This prevents you from mushing the meat when slicing, marinating, etc.

As with any fish, you clean up the fillet’s until you are left with nothing but clean, white meat.

Ingredients:

2.5 lbs of Alligator Garfish fillets cut into equal sized pieces for the grill.
4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil.
2 tablespoons Dale’s Steak Seasoning

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce.
2 tablespoons cracked red pepper (1/2 tbs if you are spice sensitive).
1 tablespoon Cajun seasoning.
1 teaspoon course ground black pepper.
1 tablespoon minced garlic.
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin.

All cleaned up & ready for the marinade.

Preparation Method:

Combine all of the ingredients in a Ziploc bag, and mix thoroughly.
Place the bag in ice, or the coldest part of the fridge or the freezer (but don’t let the contents freeze) while prepping the coals.
Prep the coals. This gives you time to wash some veggies, coat in olive oil, salt & black pepper to throw on the grill with the garfish.
After the coals are white hot, place the marinaded garfish on the oiled grill.

The alligator gar after the marinade.

Grill the marinated garfish as you would chicken making sure to cook it all the way through but don’t allow to dry out.
I cut my fillets about 1 1/2 inches thick, and grilled them covered about 5-8 minutes on each side.