Thread: cooking gar

as any one ever cleaned a gar. i was looking around and saw people cleaning gar and getting the back strap out like a you do deer and they say it taste like shrimp, so i wanted to know if anybody else do it

Cruise, I don't know if this will help but here goes. I've never cleaned or eaten gar but my Dad who came up when times were hard and people lived off of the land passed this off to me years ago. Supposedly gar has either stringy meat or strands of stringy whatever in it, making it not the best to fillet and cook. What they did way back then was to fillet and leave the skin on. With the flesh side facing up, they used a spoon to scrape the softer flesh off of the skin leaving the stringy stuff behind. Then the flesh that was scrape off was combined with seasoning, onions, garlic, green onions and what ever else, and then formed into balls or patties. It was then fried in pork lard and the feast began. Just never eat the eggs, they are poison.

"gene"

Had a friend that would cut the top of the back open and then pull out the "backstraps." Slice these in small pieces and flour and season as you would a porkchop or chicken. Fry in a skillet also as you would chicken. Eat them while still hot. Seemed like we tried it once and it wasn't too bad.

Originally Posted by cruise

as any one ever cleaned a gar. i was looking around and saw people cleaning gar and getting the back strap out like a you do deer and they say it taste like shrimp, so i wanted to know if anybody else do it

Sling them toothy things on the bank and go get yourself some shrimp.....:D

My grandpa used to cut their snouts off with a pair of sidecutters and then stuck them in the mud when we were bankpole fishing for river flatheads. Never ate one. Cant be any worse than carp though!!!!

Actually, I have eaten a gar before and it was pretty good, when hot. Once it got cold it got a little rubbery. Guy that cooked it said there was a specific way you had to clean em so they would taste ok. Haven't eaten any since. No need when you are on the crappie.

Originally Posted by slabbandit

Had a friend that would cut the top of the back open and then pull out the "backstraps." Slice these in small pieces and flour and season as you would a porkchop or chicken. Fry in a skillet also as you would chicken. Eat them while still hot. Seemed like we tried it once and it wasn't too bad.

I rodeoed with a seminole indian back in the 60's. His Mom and sister fixed Gar like that and it was good eats. They had a fence board with a nail point stickin out and she would slap the Gar's head on that nail and slice down the back with a hookbilled knife and pull the backstraps out.

I was going to post about the Seminole Indians too... gar is a favorite with them.

Tom

Supposedly one of the main staples for the 'noles years ago. I tried my first one from Crescent actually after being told of their table worthiness about three years ago. He said that substituted for lobster in a bisque-type recipe, it would qualify as a close second! Well that was all the encouragement I needed. A 37 incher went on the chopping block that day. It was the hardest creature to get a knife into after literally trying the whole outside perimeter. The spot I was able to penetrate was underneath the fish at the anal fin. After unsuccessfully trying to then cut through the fish to filet because of the "armor-like scales", I ended up using aviation tin snips to then snip around the perimeter. I prepared the fish by cutting into chunks and did the breading/fry in hot oil. It was good enough to do with several more over the next few years, and will still try in a creamy bisque-style creation one day. Guess my username could have easily been Speculator instead!!Sometimes experimentation or failure can lead to success...like TNT told me- If ya ain't losin' jigs in the stumps, ya ain't catchin' fish!!:Die.-Risk your gear and Bisque your gar!!

A group of folks living on Lake Jordan, AL have a unique way of cooking gar. They have not confided their secrets to me (yet). But, they call it Lake Jordan lobster. I'll be darned if it doesn't taste just like it.