Alligator Chili Easy Recipe

Alligator Chili

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The Spanish introduced many wonderful flavors and cooking techniques to Louisiana. This vegetable chili with its green chiles and various beans is a great example of Spanish-influenced cooking.

In Louisiana, the alligator is often used as a substitute for other meats, giving us great dishes such as alligator sauce piquant, alligator spaghetti, fried alligator tail, and alligator sausage. Here is an old camp recipe for alligator chili that I love.

This recipe is from Chef John Folse’s After the Hunt: Louisiana’s Authoritative Collection of Wild Game & Game Fish Cookery.

INGREDIENTS

• ½ cup vegetable oil
• 3 pounds of alligator meat, diced
• 2 cups onions, diced
• 1 cup celery, diced
• 1 cup bell peppers, diced
• 2 tablespoons garlic, minced
• 2 tablespoons jalapeños, diced
• One 16-ounce can of pinto beans
• Three 8-ounce cans of tomato sauce
• 1 cup fish stock
• 1 tablespoon chili powder
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• Salt and cracked black pepper, to taste
• Granulated garlic, to taste
• Serve over pasta

Directions

In a large Dutch oven, heat the vegetable oil over medium-high heat. Add the alligator and sauté for 20 minutes to render the juices.

Add the onion, celery, bell peppers, minced garlic, and jalapeño. Sauté for 3–5 minutes or until the vegetables are wilted, stirring occasionally.

Add the pinto beans, tomato sauce, and fish stock, stirring to incorporate. Bring to a low boil, then reduce to a simmer.

Stir in the chili powder and cumin and cook for approximately 1 hour or until the alligator is tender, stirring occasionally.

Season to taste using salt, pepper, and granulated garlic.

Serve hot over pasta.