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A Cajun’s Way of Cleaning Gar (Garfish)Other
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Submitted by MawMaw For Dale Begnaud
on Tuesday, August 31, 2004
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| Makes: | Depends servings |
| Prep Time: | 30 minutes |
| Cook Time: | 1 hour, 15 minutes |
| Ready In: | 1 hour, 45 minutes |
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www.thefreedictionary.com/ gives the definition of a garfish as follows:
Gar´fish`
Noun 1. garfish - primitive predaceous North American fish covered with hard scales and having long jaws with needle-like teeth
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| Ingredients |
| 1 garfish - any size or the one you caught |
1/4 cup onions and garlic or use shallots |
| 2- 3 tbsp low acidic vinegar |
salr, red pepper, and black pepper to the mixture (t o taste) |
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| | | Directions | In Cajun garfish has a couple of other popular names other than lunch and supper - le poisson armé (the armored fish), as the French explorers called it in the 1700s and “Cajun barracuda" as they're sometimes called in Acadiana, heart of Cajun land.
When trying to clean this fish you will understand the armored fish concept. It resembles a prehistoric alligator head, its razor-sharp canines, and its serpentine body date back to prehistoric days, making it one of the oldest fish on the planet.
Garfish have organs which breathe air and allow them to lie in dry bayous for days and wait for water levels to rise, or to be able to gulp air on the surface of low-oxygen ponds.
The fish are difficult to dress, but the meat cooks up white and flaky, and tastes as good as any fish you ever put in your mouth. Contrary to popular belief it is not a scavenger but a hunter feeding off other small fish, sea grasses, algae and small crustaceans. Garfish live in coastal waters and in sheltered bays and prefers clearer running water although they sometimes venture into brackish (the aggressive alligator gar) and freshwater (the needle nose gar).
Gar meat was and is a popular meal during Lent if the fishermen have been lucky. Catholics generally do not eat red meats on Fridays during the Lenten season following Mardi gras. Like any other flavorful white-meat fish, gar can be baked, stewed, fried, grilled or broiled. Rumor has it many are using the fish in stir fry dishes. Garfish have a low to medium fat content and the flavor is sweet to mild. They are usually sold whole or as fillets with the skin on although some local supermarkets sell them fully cleaned and even stuffed.
A very simple and popular stuffing for garfish roast is to mince finely ¼ cup of onion and garlic (or use shallots); to that mixture add salt, red pepper, black pepper and enough white low acidic vinegar to combine all ingredients. The combination of garlic and vinegar flavor really compliments the gar meat. Make a few slits in the gar roast and stuff the pockets with the spice stuffing. Then season the outside with more salt, black pepper and red pepper, and bake or pot roast. The gravy gar makes is dark very similar to beef roast gravy. Many Cajuns serve gar with rice and cold potato salad.
Garfish are generally surface feeders, swimming in schools and can be caught with floating bait, most common being mullet. The simplest way to catch a gar is with a frayed nylon cord or rope. The gar will bite it and the frayed ends will get caught in its’ teeth. White is the best color for the cord or rope. Gillnets were once used but are now illegal due to the dangers to other sea life.
So now you have caught a gar or, if you are lucky, have scored one from the locals. How do you clean a gar? The answer depends on whether the gar is small or large. The scales on a gar are hard; hence the nickname “armored fish” therefore a certain technique needs to be applied.
If you’ll get two strong hands, a pair of gloves and a knife, we will get started on the small gar. Split the gar on the top (back of fish) by cutting from the head to the tail with the sharp knife and gloved hands. Filet around the skin using one hand to pull the skin back. Cut and skin back around the entire fish angling the knife around the body of the fish and going all the way around. Think of it like peeling a banana work on one side and then the other. Cut the head off after “skinning” the fish as you use the head as a brace to hold the fish in place. Another approach is once it is skinned half way to the tail, cut off the head then reach in and pull the meat out similar to skinning a rabbit. It is also most important to remove the gut as tainting from sea grass can occur.
You will see a web looking bone of which some of the finer bones can be eaten. There is also a bone down the middle of the gar and although you could filet the meat off it, cooking with it still in the meat will give your dish more flavor, especially a garfish roast.
Now if it is a L A R G E gar, nail the head to a large board like a 2x12 (make sure it is a little bigger than the fish or nail the fish to the side of a shed). Depending on the size take a hatchet or an axe; chop the skin along the backbone all the way to the tail. Now start the process of cutting under the skin and filleting the fish. Because the skin is so hard an axe or a hatchet is a must as a knife will not cut it. To ensure your personal and others safety, make sure to keep all fingers and moving parts out of harms way.
A neat and simple but messy thing to do is to take a skill saw and cut small round steaks. Then take a knife and cut around leaving the meat to pop out.
We hope this information has been informative. A special thanks to Dale Begnaud, a beloved true Cajun friend for his valuable input to this article. Now that you know how to clean a gar, check our website for garfish recipes by doing a Search with the word "gar".
A Smile for the Day………….As the large male garfish swam by, one female garfish was heard to remark to her friend, “You know, he is almost too good looking!”
PS - For those who may not know, garfish is one of the not so pretty species of fish!
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