# How do I smoke Alligator Tail?



## rriddle84 (May 21, 2010)

I got some Alligator Tail and I am wondering about a few things?
I have smoked Pork spare ribs and brisket. I love alligator but never had it smoked. Some questions I have are:
1. How long should I smoke it?
2. What should the temperature be?
3. What kind of wood should I use?
4. What should the internal temperature be?
5. Should I flip it?


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## dick foster (May 21, 2010)

Is it even legal again? LOL


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## flbobecu (May 21, 2010)

Sure is. Just depends where your located - you can even pick it up in the grocery store! At least I have seen it a couple of times locally.. usually just a handful of packages a few times a year. 


I have eaten it about 25 times now.. but never on the grill. Always lightly breaded and seasoned and tossed in a deep fryer for a couple minutes - top with some high quality mustard (honey, Dijon, etc.). And wash down with a couple of beers. 


If you do end up smoking it, please do a QView! :)


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## caveman (May 21, 2010)

Now, I have never had Alligator & I am pretty positive, with this crowd, that someone will come along soon enough to give you the answers to the questions you are asking.  But for now, I want to Welcome you to the SMF forum & ask that you head on over to "Roll Call" & introduce yourself so that we all know who you are, what kind of rig you are using & maybe some of your experiences with smoking & such.  It sounds like you are on your way to having a great time here & we just want to give you the wonderful welcome you deserve for becoming a member of the forum.  Enjoy your stay & please, post some qview of that tail once you get it smoked up.


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## cajunsmoke13 (May 21, 2010)

Save it and make it into sausage...I also like it deep fried.  Don't know how the smoking would go.  Maybe wrap it in bacon..

Alligator Sausage Recipe
MAKES: 25-6 inch links

2 pounds ground alligator
2 pounds ground pork 
1/2 pound ground pork fat
1/4 cup chopped onions 
1/4 cup chopped celery 
1/4 cup diced garlic 
1/4 cup chopped red bell pepper
1/4 cup chopped parsley
1/4 cup sliced green onions
1/4 cup chopped sage
1/4 cup chopped basil
salt and black pepper to taste
Louisiana Gold Pepper Sauce to taste
15 feet casing for stuffing

In large mixing bowl, combine all of the above ingredients with
the exception of the casing. Add one cup of ice water to the mixture
and using both hands, blend the ingredients well. Continue to mix
in a rolling motion until the fat content of the pork coats the
surface of the mixture. This is imperative if the sausage is to be
moist and juicy since alligator by nature is quite dry. Once the
ingredients are well blended, you may wish to check the seasonings
by sautéing a small patty in a frying pan. Correct seasonings if
necessary. Stuff the sausage mixture in the hog casing and tie off
in six inch links. To cook, poach the sausage in lightly salted
water for three to five minutes. Grill over pecan wood or bake in
a 375 degree F oven until golden brown, approximately ten to twelve
minutes. 

This recipe is from our Cajun recipes collection


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## Bearcarver (May 21, 2010)

This is gonna be interesting!
	

	
	
		
		



		
			






Please !!!!!!----Don't forget the Qview!!!!


Bearcarver


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## herkysprings (May 21, 2010)

Brine it?

I dunno how you would make this but I wanna see a big tail on the BBQ! Sounds awesome!


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## mballi3011 (May 21, 2010)

Now I have eaten aligator several times but it has always been fried. I have also caught some aligators (just between us) but I have fried it in a frying pan a couple of time in small chunks and it's pretty tastey too. Now for smoking it I'm also in the dark. I would like to know cause you never know around my part of the woods when a gator will walk up and say hi at the door step.


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## meateater (May 21, 2010)

Please post some qview of this one. You got my attention on this one.


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## lennyluminum (May 21, 2010)

we used to put it in Italian dressing over night and then throw it on the grill. Other than that I have always had it fried. 

I would wrap it in bacon and smoke it at around 300 for a few hours till it hit 160.


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## miamirick (May 21, 2010)

i gotta say   i've lived here a long time hunted alligator and had a lot of tail but never seen it smoked only fried   very tough meat so i would guess you need to marinade it for a few days and smoke it slow and long  to make it edible

good luck


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## dick foster (May 21, 2010)

Back when I lived in that neck of the woods they were all endanged and protected. Still had pleanty of poachers around though. I knew one of em and he had quite a boat. We raced cars down the highway with it. LOL
I'm guessing you're in FL.


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## cajunsmoke13 (May 21, 2010)

I know when I lived in Louisiana you could pick up Alligator in most of the super markets...


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## cuclimber (May 22, 2010)

Apparently it can be done, though the one in this pic is whole.  Pretty cool looking though:

http://thisevilempire.com/blog/?p=160


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## flbobecu (May 22, 2010)

I am assuming it isn't wild 'gator - likely farm raised. 

This was my last encounter with them.. 








I'd guess about 8-9 feet long, about 8 feet away.


And the sun rise that morning:


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## eman (May 22, 2010)

They usually bbq a whole one when fla gators come to town. 
 More for show than flavor though.
 Gator is really tough and lends itself well to cubing ,marinating and deep frying . I have grilled some small cuts over a hot fire and it was good . I don't think that it would be really good for smoking. But that is only an opinion.
 Just remember that like shark, Gator  is good as soon as it is cooked but once it gets cold it gets REAL TOUGH!


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## mythmaster (May 22, 2010)

I found this:

Source


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## shooterrick (May 22, 2010)

I smoked some a short time back and it was a bit rubbery.  Or to smoke the gator tail just find papers big enoegh and roll real tight.  Hard to keep lit with those new papers.


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## nitrousinfected (May 22, 2010)

Carefully!!!!! and watch out for the other end of that sucker.  haha

Definitely interested in seeing some qview on this one


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## eman (May 22, 2010)

Hmmmm,
 going to see cheech an chong at paragon. maybe just maybe they'll have some of them old time up in smoke papers we can use for gator?


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## dick foster (May 22, 2010)

Nice! When I was stationed at a bombing range in central FL. We used to keep them as pets. Little ones at HQ and some big ones out on the ranges. 
We had one named Charlie after the range he lived on, he was one big ole whoppin gator too. I don't know how old that gator was but he was there when I got there and still there when I left. I think he'd get himself a cow every now and then. The AF let the rangers run cattle out there free range for breeding purposes and they'd have a spring round up every year. I think it helped keep the gators fat, dumb and happy too.


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## dick foster (May 22, 2010)

One would think that if it's really tough, it would be a good candidate for a nice long, low and slow smoke like a brisket or something. 

I've never had gator but I did have some grilled Armadillo once while in FL. It did not taste like chicken.


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