**Record-Crushing 327-Pound 'Dinosaur Fish' Caught

reply to post by TrueBrit


Actually you're not far off. There is an old book, called Louisiana Fishes I think from the 1920's, that says that garfish is the best tasting fresh water fish there is, when prepared correctly. It goes on to describe how to filet the fish and place it "scale side down" on the grill. It also says not no bread the meat, ball it, and fry it like it is commonly done here in the southern US. This fish is somewhat related to the bowfin and snakehead.

Completely unrelated, but I learned where the term 'Gar' originated from a few weeks ago.
My little kid was making up words and asking me if they were real words, and we'd google em.
He said Gar? and sure enough, it was old English or Scottish for spear or lance.

Makes sense applying it to those fish. Also, when I hear the name 'Garfield' I no longer think of a fat orange cat.

Texas recipe for gar over 20 lbs.:

1 gar filleted and removed of bones (good luck)
1 large jackrabbit
1 5 ft + rattlesnake
1 leather garden glove
Add seasonings to taste
Place in large pot and boil until glove is tender
Eat the jackrabbit and the snake

Quoting from the words of Larry Dahlberg, "I'd like to pop his mother"

amusing thread. just wondering how one would feel if one found a human finger or hand or foot in the gar's gullet as one was cleaning the fish. would that give you pause to eat it? to never eat gar again? or just remove the undesirable object and eat the fish flesh accordingly. just asking.

The wiki article on Alligator Gar needs updating

en.wikipedia.org...

Recipe for small Gar or Northern Pike:

Dig a 18" deep pit wide enough for the fish.
Collect small firewood and a pile of small stones.
Start the fire in the pit and throw the rocks on top.
While the fire is burning nicely, gut the Gar, clean it in the lake you caught it in.
Cut up some onions and line the inside of the fish. Add butter and lemon if you've got it.
Wrap the fish in tinfoil.

By now that fire should have gotten the stones nice and hot. Let it burn down or remove unburnt wood.
Put the fish in the pit on top of the hot stones.
Cover with sand or soil. (sand is better because it's dryer)
Wait one hour and dig it up carefully.
Unwrap the tinfoil and, without burning your fingers because it's hot, place it on a nice big rock.
Peel the skin and scales away and pull the meat off the bones with your fingers.
Goes good with beer or pop, whichever is your preference.
Toss the remains in the water near shore for the raccoons to finish up.

reply to post by Lawgiver


Pretty sure gars don't eat people. They won't mess with you unless you mess with them first. They just look scary. People go swimming in the swamps and bayous of Louisiana all the time with these things swimming around. Never heard of a single incident of one ever attacking anyone.
Also, like everything from raccoon, possum, armadillo, saltwater catfish, and other things that people generally don't eat nor would ever want to, someone somewhere has a recipe for it. From what I understand these guys are really bony and hard to clean ("filet and get the guts out" for the non fishermen out there)

www.landbigfish.com...

I have heard of a couple of catfish Noodlers getting bit by small gar but there was no real damage to the Noodlers.
en.wikipedia.org...

I found a great Cajun recipe for you. I'm Cajun and Catholic and live in the Acadiana area so this applies to me. Very interesting read although I am a bit biased. www.realcajunrecipes.com...

Instead of "largest one on record," perhaps this is the "one that survived human interference the best."
Maybe a portion of the population is supposed to grow to that size, but never does because of what we [humans] have done to their habitat through toxins, chemicals, and disruptions of all levels of the ecological chain, etc.....

No good reason to have killed him [gar], I didn't see anyone in the article starving. If the gar was a normality, by all means... but a sole survivor?

Well, I have to admit I didn't think the thread would become a cooking lesson but hey....

All sounds good. Don't know if I would actually pay to eat some of it though.

Believe it or not the most popular dish for these fish is called "Garfish balls" I've never actually made it, but have had it in the past. The fish is really hard to clean. The meat will not come away in neat filets so people take the meat that is recovered and turn it into mince meat then combine it with various herbs and stuffing. Kinda like making hambuger. They then form them into balls and deep fry them. The meat has a very unique taste that I really enjoy, but not enough to want to actually catch and cook myself

reply to post by Khaaaaaan!!


Something tells me the face from your mimi pic/avatar would be similar to the one most would make when they think about eating these balls.