Blackened Alligator Tacos with Macque Choux and Remoulade

Blackened Alligator Tacos

Finally getting the opportunity to work with alligator, I wanted to do a Louisiana mash-up that only a kid from Ontario would dare. Blackened gator, maque choux, and remoulade sauce all seemed like good bedfellows, but I decided to go further and jam them all into corn tortillas for Bayou-style tacos. These totally untraditional tacos are a bit wacky, but they taste great and are a wonderful way to enjoy the very unique alligator meat!

Note: some blackening spice blends can be very salty, so taste it before you coat your gator in it.

  • Prep Time35 min
  • Cook Time25 min
  • Total Time1 hr
  • Yield12 small tacos
  • Serving Size3 tacos

Ingredients

For the Macque Choux

  • 2 ears sweet corn
  • 3 slices thick-cut bacon
  • 1 small onion, chopped
  • 1/2 bell pepper, chopped
  • 1 jalapeño, seeded and chopped
  • 2 teaspoons (4g) Cajun seasoning
  • 1/2 teaspoon (2g) black pepper
  • 1/4 cup (60ml) cream
  • 1-2 shots Louisiana style hot sauce (optional)

For the Gator

  • 1lb (454g) alligator meats, cut into bite-sized chunks
  • Blackening spice blend
  • 12 small corn tortillas
  • Louisiana style hot sauce to serve

For the Remoulade

  • 1/4 cup (60ml) mayonnaise
  • 1 teaspoon (5ml) Cajun-style or regular yellow mustard
  • 1 teaspoon (5ml) prepared horseradish
  • 1 teaspoon (5ml) worcestershire sauce
  • 1/4 teaspoon (0.5g) garlic powder
  • 1 tablespoon (5g) minced parsley
  • 1 green onion, minced

Preparation

1

Bring a pot of salted water to the boil. Add the corn cobs and cook for 5 minutes. Remove and let cool.

2

Fry the bacon in a skillet until mostly crispy. Pat the bacon dry with paper towels and save the bacon grease

3

Cut the kernels off of the corn with a sharp knife and chop the bacon.

4

Add 1 tablespoon (15ml) bacon grease to a pan over medium heat. Add the corn, onions, peppers, jalapeños, and bacon and fry for 5 minutes. Add the Cajun spice and cream (and hot sauce if using) and cook for 2 more minutes, or until cream dissolves. Set aside in a bowl.

5

Add 1 tablespoon (15ml) bacon grease to a cast iron or stainless-steel pan over high heat.

Add gator chunks to a bowl and season very liberally with the blackening spice, tossing the chunks so they get completely coated.

Add them to the hot pan. Cook for 2-3 minutes or until the meat is blackened and releases from the pan. Flip and cook for 2 more minutes.

Make sure you have your hood fan on and a window opened for this part. Let cool, and then chop the gator chunks into smaller pieces.

6

Mix the remoulade ingredients in a bowl.

7

To serve, warm up the tortillas, then stack them with blackened gator, the maque choux, and a big drizzle of remoulade sauce.

If you like it spicy, add more hot sauce as well. Enjoy!

Share this recipe:

You might also like:

Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,