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Eating gar

2,056 Views | 17 Replies | Last: 3 mo ago by BlueSmoke
Gandalf the Maroon
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3:54p, 10/7/25
AG
I know a couple of locations near me to catch gar, and want to try to keep a few next time I go fishing. Curious if anyone here cooks them. Whats the best way to get to the meat, as I know the skin is very hard, and also how do yall like to prepare them? Thanks!
"I am going fishing" - John 21:3
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BrownDeerAggie
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4:11p, 10/7/25
AG
Used to catch large alligator gar in the Colorado at Matagorda. We would shoot in the head before putting in boat. Lay the gar on its belly. Using tin shears, starting at bullet hole, cut the scale armor down the middle of spine all the way to the tail cutting around both sides of the dorsal fin. Cut down each side behind the gills and a few inches in front of the tail fin. Using filet knife, skin back the armor aong both sides exposing the flesh (when done correctly, the armor will lay flat on the ground like a cleaning table. The backbone is "+" shaped. Just like taking a backstrap off a deer, run knife along the spine and slowly cut away the backstrap off the gar. In the end you will have two long fish loins. Slice thin crossways for your cutlets. Meat is mild and is tight-grained closer in texture to shrimp than most fish. There isn't much meat on the underside of the backbone, so not worth the effort. Hope that helps!
Psalm 42:1
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Deerdude
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4:23p, 10/7/25
There was a place in Zapata that advertised Chicharon de Catan, and I went by numerous times to try this delicacy but they were never open.
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CS78
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5:13p, 10/7/25
Ive caught and cooked spotted gar once and sub 100lb alligator gar a number of times. The spotted gar was very tough.

I use a hacksaw to cut across just behind the head and just in front of the tail. Then use tin snips to go down the center of the back. Then just a matter of removing the loins like the backstrap on a deer. Like Browndeer says. Overall pretty easy to do.

For cooking, I dice it down small. Approx 3/8" cubes. Do the same with potatoes. Boil the potatoes to about 2/3rds cooked. Get a package of the creole vegetable mix from HEB. Mix that in with egg for binder, the potatoes, and the gar. Season to taste and form into balls slightly bigger than a golf ball. Batter with favorite cornmeal batter and fry like you would anything else. My wife and kids love it. Much better and easier than trying to run it through a grinder. Same recipe is excellent with alligator too.
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Canawhoopazz
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5:29p, 10/7/25
Cut out the gar's back strap using a hatchet or sawzall. Season well with Tony's, then find a nice wide board plank and nail the gar down. Put on a hot grill until done. Then throw away the gar and eat the board.
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RGV AG
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In reply to Gandalf the Maroon • 6:03p, 10/7/25
AG
Below video is in Spanish, but the visual is easy to figure out. This is the way, basically, I have done the two I have caught and how I have seen the cleaning be done on others, some folks use a cleaver instead.

Gar is a good eating fish, I have only eaten in "chicharron" fashion and never had any bad ones. Back in the 80's and through the early 90's lots of restaurants in the Valley and deep STX would have gar on the menu, always in chicharrones, and they were usually damn good. I have had the meat breaded and deep fried and just fried outright like the guy in the video does, both are good.

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jagsdad
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6:06p, 10/7/25
Remember back when dad was around, he loved running his trotlines in lake Texoma for catfish. Would catch gar occasionally, normally just cut the hook or however it was easiest to get rid of them, till we ran across an old couple camping out by slickum slough. Begged us to bring them any we caught. Seems they would pickle them and can them in jars. Gave us some, it really wasn't bad.
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mwlkr
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6:15p, 10/7/25
AG
And you might be a redneck if you eat......
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Canawhoopazz
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In reply to CS78 • 6:46p, 10/7/25
CS78 said:
Ive caught and cooked spotted gar once and sub 100lb alligator gar a number of times. The spotted gar was very tough.

I use a hacksaw to cut across just behind the head and just in front of the tail. Then use tin snips to go down the center of the back. Then just a matter of removing the loins like the backstrap on a deer. Like Browndeer says. Overall pretty easy to do.

For cooking, I dice it down small. Approx 3/8" cubes. Do the same with potatoes. Boil the potatoes to about 2/3rds cooked. Get a package of the creole vegetable mix from HEB. Mix that in with egg for binder, the potatoes, and the gar. Season to taste and form into balls slightly bigger than a golf ball. Batter with favorite cornmeal batter and fry like you would anything else. My wife and kids love it. Much better and easier than trying to run it through a grinder. Same recipe is excellent with alligator to

Being the retired riverrat that I am, I have heard of the gar balls recipe before, but I never tried. I always just smacked them in the head with a ball peen and let'em float or sink, but the recipe sounds good CS. I was always told they can break rivets in an old flat bottom if not totally dead. Prolly would have just towed behind if to save one.
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Max Power
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4:24a, 10/8/25
AG


This guy is a fishmonger in south Florida and has plenty of videos of cleaning different fish, including this one for gar when he was on a trip to TX.
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Queso1
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In reply to Canawhoopazz • 7:21a, 10/8/25
AG
Canawhoopazz said:
CS78 said:
Ive caught and cooked spotted gar once and sub 100lb alligator gar a number of times. The spotted gar was very tough.

I use a hacksaw to cut across just behind the head and just in front of the tail. Then use tin snips to go down the center of the back. Then just a matter of removing the loins like the backstrap on a deer. Like Browndeer says. Overall pretty easy to do.

For cooking, I dice it down small. Approx 3/8" cubes. Do the same with potatoes. Boil the potatoes to about 2/3rds cooked. Get a package of the creole vegetable mix from HEB. Mix that in with egg for binder, the potatoes, and the gar. Season to taste and form into balls slightly bigger than a golf ball. Batter with favorite cornmeal batter and fry like you would anything else. My wife and kids love it. Much better and easier than trying to run it through a grinder. Same recipe is excellent with alligator to

Being the retired riverrat that I am, I have heard of the gar balls recipe before, but I never tried. I always just smacked them in the head with a ball peen and let'em float or sink, but the recipe sounds good CS. I was always told they can break rivets in an old flat bottom if not totally dead. Prolly would have just towed behind if to save one.


I don't understand just killing something.
They paid for their wars with your tax dollars and also with your untaxed dollars. Inflation is theft.
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Gunny456
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In reply to BrownDeerAggie • 7:53a, 10/8/25
AG
This is the way. We were poor as hell growing up on the Guadalupe River. We basically lived off fish and game.
I have ate lots of gar. The smaller ones don't have as much meat but taste better to me. We called the meat gar balls. Kinda like kingfish balls.
We would catch them by taking a piece of fine braided white nylon rope and would flair the ends out to make about 2"-3"of it look like a fine brush or horses tail.
We would then tie a knot in the opposite end and attach a leader of monofilament. The rope would act like a top water lure and look like a minnow or shad. We would just jerk it along and the gar would hit it and their teeth would become caught in the rope and you could reel them in.
You could catch two or three before you changed to a new piece of rope. Poor man's gar lure.
It worked much better than trying to hook them with a bait or lure.
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Mega Lops
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9:19a, 10/8/25
AG
Relevant:

https://instagr.am/p/Cy8v7BDAntg

(Anyone else follow this guy?)
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ttha_aggie_09
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In reply to Queso1 • 9:24a, 10/8/25
AG
While I agree with your statement generally, have you ever had to deal with Aoudad and/or tried to eat one? I will continue to kill them indiscriminately
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Deerdude
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In reply to ttha_aggie_09 • 9:44a, 10/8/25
ttha_aggie_09 said:
While I agree with your statement generally, have you ever had to deal with Aoudad and/or tried to eat one? I will continue to kill them indiscriminately


"Buzzards gotta eat, same as the worms."
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DiskoTroop
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In reply to Max Power • 10:38a, 10/8/25
Max Power said:


This guy is a fishmonger in south Florida and has plenty of videos of cleaning different fish, including this one for gar when he was on a trip to TX.

That seems like a REALLY complex way to do that. I'm sure for a fishmonger that's worth the effort. I'm guessing there's a dude in Palacios or Port A that could tell you how to do it with an oil filter wrench that takes 1/4 the time.
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CorpsTerd04
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10:53a, 10/8/25
AG
Gar is excellent. Poor mans Chilean Sea Bass.
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BlueSmoke
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In reply to Canawhoopazz • 12:42p, 10/8/25
Canawhoopazz said:
Cut out the gar's back strap using a hatchet or sawzall. Season well with Tony's, then find a nice wide board plank and nail the gar down. Put on a hot grill until done. Then throw away the gar and eat the board.

That's my recipe for goose, but I use a truck tire, not a board.
Nobody cares. Work Harder
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