Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion The Water Cooler I need recipes for gator, ostrich and foie gras

I'm hosting a wine pairing day tomorrow. I picked up some game meats and am looking for some ideas / recipes. I know a bunch of you dabble in the gourmet cooking world and probably has some great recipes for these meats.

I'm looking to pair the foie gras with a muscat as an appetizer. I'd like this one to be warm with a fruit topping to go with the muscat. I love the stuff, but have never cooked it. Any help / tips would be appreciated.

The gator, I'm not sure what to do with it. I've only had it deep fried a few times when in Louisiana, but I would much prefer to not have to deep fry it. I have one pound steaks, if that matters.

The ostrich is just a bag of mixed steaks. Not real sure what cut they are. The only way I've every cook this stuff was to lather spices on it and throw it on the grill. Again, any suggestions / tips would be appreciated.

I'll take "What is a Muscat for $800" Alex.

I've tried Ostrich before and it was actually very good, kind of like beef surprisingly. I have no idea how the guy cooked it though.

I hear that grasshoppers are edible.

Mike - there are some very smart people on this board but these questions just may stump us all. The only way that I have eaten gator was fried in small nuggets. Hope you get your answers.

Muscat is a sweat white wine with a hint of orange to it.

My girlfriend is a cordon blue chef and usually takes care of these little details, but this time I want to fly solo. I want to feel like a grown up and do it all-by-myself.... Well, with a little cheatful assistance from forum anyway.

If you haven't Googled it already, check out these Ostrich Recipes.

I was thinking Muscat was related to the Muskrat...pheww!!

Mike fried gator along with the prerequisite can beers is the number one choice down here in our neck of the woods and I really don't remember ever having it prepared any other way but here's a couple of interesting recipe ideas...alligator recipes. The grilled recipe on the bottom may be close to what you are looking for.

I do know one thing for sure, during my low level flight activities just north of the everglades the numbers of gators I have seen from the air during the past couple of years has increased dramatically so there should plenty of gator meat available to practice with all sorts of recipes.

Question, where do get gator meat from around your neck of the woods Mike ... specialty stores?

Stuff the ostrich inside the gator and roast slowly. Much better than turducken. If you leave the gator's head on and open its mouth your guests will talk about this meal for the rest of their lives.

And if the Gator is not quite dead, they won't be talking for long...

fredk wins the post of the week award! I got a BIG laugh out of that one!

girlfriend is a cordon-bleu chef and he's asking US for help.

Dude. This is not one of those times.

I've had Ostrich burgers and fried gator, can't say either are my favorites, but knowing your taste in wine and the amounts that will probably be consumed I would love to be there.

Do you want the ostrich as a main dish or you just want to make some finger food with the gator and the ostrich for the wine pairing?

"Just pass the wine please..." :face turning green:

Well you guys are a lot of help..... I thought at least Peter would have some ideas.

Rick - yes, a specialty meat shop. Per capita, I suspect Anchorage has more gourmet restaurants than most places and they all tend to have a couple exotic meat dishes on the menu.

Tom - she ain't helping today. I'm flying solo.

Michael - I have a couple spare rooms.

Ichigo - Probably do the bird as the main course.

The rest of you smart asses - get in your rooms!

Ever since he switched to the "Energy Saver" bulb, the ideas are taking a little longer.

Sorry. I was on vacation for the past month and just got back to my precious -- preciousssssss -- home internet connection.

I've only had gator once, and it was fried. It was kinda chewy and greasy.

As for ostrich, just remember that the meat has very little fat so you DO NOT want to overcook it. Grill it, roast it, or braise it. This recipe looks great: http://wscdn.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/ostrichwithbeetroota_83263

Well I ended up winging it. I usually do pretty well when I just start throwing things together, or so my friends tell me this. I'll never be able to duplicate anything though.

Gator: I mixed up a slew of different Cajun spices, ground up fennel seeds and some wheat flower. Cut the gator into small cubes, mixed the cubes with a couple eggs, dredged them in the flower/spice mix and cooked in an oiled pan. Whipped up a mayonnaise dipping sauce with minced garlic, cayenne, chipotle, sugar, and chili powder. Gotta say, it was well recieved by all.

Ostrich: whipped up a marinade with BBQ sauce, worcester sauce, red wine, mixed spices. Grilled it whole and cut steaks against the grain of the meat. Whipped up my typical red wine reduction sauce with the shallots, garlic, mushrooms and fennel seeds.

Foie gras: Cut 1/2" thick pieces with a sharp knife chilled with cold water between cuts. Pan seared in clarified butter for 30 seconds each side. I made a tawny port reduction sauce that is drizzled over the foie gras.

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Now I'm looking for a recipee to cook a wild boar sholder roast. Anyone have a good one for this hunk of meat??

Sounds like quite the shindig, Michael. You sure you can't duplicate it at the Axiomfest?

For the boar, I like my barbecue vinegar-based = North Carolina style. For details, and to explore the other options available, I refer you to this excellent video.

Ya, we tend to go over the top for these events. In addition to the chow, we (7 of us) drank 18 bottles of wine between 2 PM and 11 PM. I could come up with something at the Axiomfest, but I ain't buying the wine. You bring a pig, ten pounds of banana leaves, some lava rock, dig the hole and I'll take it from there.

I decided to wing it again with the wild boar. I threw some plums, dates, cranberries, fennel and rosemary in the food processor and used the paste as a marinade. I unwrapped the roast, lathered the stuff all over it, stuffed it all back in the netting and am letting it marinade overnight. Haven't decided what to do, next......

Boy, I missed this, too.

Two of the choices are fairly easy, but the gator presents a challenge. Although no recipe and apparently too late, THIS is the best gator I've had. Y'all need to have the shrimp and gator sausage cheesecake. tomtuttle has been to this restaurant and I was remiss in my duties for not having him try it. Truly a delight!

Scott

I think I just saw an episode on one of the Food Channel's shows featuring that restaurants cheese cake. I don't recall the show, as there's so many of them any more. It's a show where the big name chefs show their favorite dish. This episode was a favorite cheese dish thing. Anyway, it looked sinfully good. I do enjoy food in New Orleans. I'd weigh 300 pounds easy if I lived there.