Regional foods are the culinary map of the world, and there's nothing more telling about a place and its local culture than the food.
Take sushi, which everyone knows is representative of Japan and its people. Pasta (although a Chinese invention) puts Italy on the map. (Okay, maybe that makes it a bad example.) Fried chocolate bars are a Scottish regional specialty. If you've ever been to Trinidad and Tobago, there's no way you went home without eating "Roti" in Trinidad, and "Crab and Dumpling" in Tobago. Every Canadian knows where to get some good Poutine (fries and cheese curds smothered in gravy). And if you should find yourself in Holland, how about a schmoke and a pancake?
Finally we arrive in America, jet-lagged and hungry. Although we could say that there's nothing more American than apple pie, the truth is that each state and city can seem like its own little country. Some can even seem like Third World countries, but we'll leave Detroit alone today.
Erie, Pennsylvania is known for its pepperoni balls, New York its pizza; Memphis has finger-lickin' BBQ ribs, while Californians invented the (lame, but popular) California sushi roll. Finally we arrive in America's third leg: Florida. And what do we bring to the table? The grouper sandwich, which is fed primarily to tourists and only occasionally contains actual grouper? Give me a break! That's lamer than the roll from Cali.
As such, I've elected myself Florida's new unofficial PR chef. We need to add some culinary razzle-dazzle to this place and come up with a regional food that we can be proud of. After much deliberation I've come up with "Gator Balls." They're edgy and fun, and they taste pretty good, too.
It's easy to get good quality, fresh alligator meat in Florida, though you can find it frozen as well. If you've never tried it, you're in for a treat: Alligator tail is a lean, firm white meat with a light-grained texture and mild flavor. And as a healthy bonus, it's even lower in cholesterol than chicken. I like to put mine through a meat grinder for this recipe, but chopping it up into small pieces with a knife works just fine.
Gator Balls
Ingredients:
1 quart peanut oil for frying
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup corn meal
1 egg
1/2 cup milk
1 cup chopped or ground raw alligator meat
1/2 onion finely diced
2 cloves garlic finely diced
1 stalk of celery finely diced
Salt and pepper to taste
Pinch of yellow curry powder to taste
Pinch of cayenne pepper to taste (optional)
Dipping Sauce:
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup ketchup
1 to 2 tablespoons Tiger Sauce (tamarind sauce)
2 tablespoons Tequila (optional)
Directions:
1. Heat oil in a deep fryer or large pot. Make sure it's at least 365 degrees so that the gator balls don't soak up too much oil while cooking.
2. In a bowl, mix the flour, egg and milk. Season with salt, pepper, curry and cayenne. Mix in the alligator meat, onion, garlic and celery.
3. Drop small lumps of batter using a spoon into the hot oil and fry until golden brown. Drain on paper towels.
4. In another bowl you will mix the dipping sauce by combining the mayo, ketchup, tiger sauce and tequila. Serve dipping sauce on the side of the gator balls. Enjoy!
This article appears in Dec 1-7, 2011.