POPCORN GAR?

papa-pepper (80)in Foodies Unite • last year

This worked really well!

On our homestead, we have a good relationship with the lake. It's only about ten or fifteen minutes away, which makes it easy. Some time ago, we changed up our diet to pull it in line with what we read in the Bible, so now we only eat creatures from the water if they have fins and scales. This rules out popular dishes including catfish, lobster, shrimp, and others, and it puts things like carp and gar on the edible list. In some of these photos, I'm holding two Common Carp and two Longnose Gar. It was amazing how delicious these fish could be, especially since many people call them "trash fish."

If gar is harvested fresh, it remains rather firm and chewy. This lends itself to many uses in the kitchen, and we've enjoyed it several ways. We've made gar bites (which are comparable to chicken tenders), gar po'boys, gar Alfredo pasta, and gar boil with a spicy flavoring mix. This time, I cut the gar bites small and tried them with a cocktail sauce, hence creating "popcorn gar." Not only did it work, it was very tasty. I really appreciate our adventures and experiments in the kitchen. Enjoy the photos!