Smoked Whole Gator on a Ranch Kettle ..... lots of bacon too

[AZ2FL]

I apologize in advance to all you Cajuns if I screwed this up!

Super Bowl party with a 22lb whole smoked alligator on a Weber Ranch Kettle. Boston butt on the 18" WSM, three bacon wrapped fatties with homemade sausage on GB 26", 80 jalapeno poppers, smoked queso with sausage, two bushels of oysters and sides. 

Farm raised Louisiana Gator was sourced from https://bigpopslagator.com/  Larry Burt the owner was a pleasure to work with, excellent email and text commutations thru out the buying process.

Gator was shipped two-day ground, it arrived frozen and packed with dry ice. Frozen gator was stored in the freezer for two weeks. Thawed in the refrigerator for six days.

Gator was brined with 16 parts water and one-part kosher salt, sugar, and spices for 22 hours.

I did not have a large cutting board or baking tray large enough for a five- and half-foot gator. I found a ¾" thick piece of oak plywood in the garage, that measured about 24" x 30". Wood was triple covered with heavy duty aluminum foil. An old dish towel was placed under my makeshift prep board to prevent spillage and soak up juices.

My wife used two 14 ounces boxes of seasoned cornbread stuffing, Cajun Holy trinity, and homemade andouille sausage.  I made andouille and southern hot link sausages on Friday and smoked them on Saturday. Gator was injected with apple juice, sugar, salt, and spices before being stuffed with a cornbread mixture. Belly cavity was trussed with butchers' twine.

Outside of the gator was given a liberal coating of rub. Now the time-consuming task of weaving five pounds of bacon or about 100 pieces. I used thin cut bacon. Several large baking trays were lined with parchment paper and used to assemble the bacon weaves. After bacon weaves were completed, they were placed in the freezer for five minutes to firm up.  Parchment paper was used to roll the bacon onto the gator. Legs and end of the tail was just wrapped, with no weave. Bacon weave process took about 45 minutes.

I did not want to cook the meat on the Ranch at stock cooking grate height.  I have an 11" riser that's used for a roti, so I drilled eight holes and installed SS ¼-20 x1" screws/nuts around the perimeter.  Cooking grate now sits 8" high than the stock WRK.

A piece of expanded metal about 24" x 28" was placed on the WRK cooking grate and sprayed with oil. Gator was transferred from the prep board to the grill.

Pit temp was 250-275F most of the cook.

Original plan was to smoke IT to 185-190. When IT was 175F in the tail and cornbread stuffing. I sampled the tail and it was juicy and moist. Gator was removed and rested 30 minutes before pulling and serving.

Total cook time was seven hours for a 22-pound gator.

Gator is a very lean meat; bacon did an excellent job of protecting the meat during the cook. I'm sure the brine and injecting also helped keep the meat moist and tender.

Ribs, back strap were very good, almost as good as the tail meat. Flavor profile is more smoked turkey meets saltwater. The legs were dark meat, with more texture than the other parts, like a turkey leg.  With a hint of fresh clean frog legs.

All meat was moist, juicy, and not dry. It was a successful cook and I will smoke a gator again soon! It was more fun than the whole pig roast

I want to give a shout out to Colin @CatskillSmoker  ... He texted me several times Sunday morning/afternoon wanting to know how the cook was progressing. If it were not for him. I probably would have forgotten to take pictures. Thanks brother!! 

CHEERS !

[bbqking01]

Good grief! My worth is watering, even without pictures!
Wait...the pics just popped up! Incredible!!! Wow! Well done!


Sent from my iPhone using Weber Kettle Club

[JEBIV]

Very impressive to say the least

[bamakettles]

Good golly you're ambitious with that cook.... Just shucking all those oysters is more than I would have bitten off.  It's awesome to see the fun you're having with that Ranch Kettle.  Now I know why you were so excited to find it!  Can't wait to see what comes next....

[HoosierKettle]

That's another level for sure!  Did you try those large jaw muscles?


Sent from my iPhone using Weber Kettle Club

[Shoestringshop]

One hell of a cook. Really impressive looking I hope everyone appreciated it. That alligator looks like it's wearing a bacon suit. 😂

[cigarman20]

Amazing !



Sent from my iPhone using Weber Kettle Club

[FatBottomGrills]

Duuude, that bacon blanket on the gator is amazing. What a cool pic. Ambitious cook to say the least

Sent from my SM-G973U using Weber Kettle Club mobile app

[Darko]

I want that!!!!

[SMOKE FREAK]

Outstanding cook!

[Old CWO]

Bacon woven whole gator.  That has to be the most over the top meal I have ever seen; bravo.

[Kain]

Wow! That's a cook to remember.


Sent from my iPhone using Weber Kettle Club

[jcnaz]

That looks really good!

[Larry]

Super impressive! I would love to try that. Unbelievable cook


Sent from my iPhone using Weber Kettle Club mobile app
It's always better when you're cooking on a Weber!

[MadGasser]

That is insane!

Sent from my Pixel 4 using Weber Kettle Club mobile app