Gator Stew Recipe

Ingredients:

2 quarts water or stock
3 pounds alligator meat, cubed
1 bay leaf
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce or hot pepper sauce
1 tablespoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
3 cups skinned, quartered ripe tomatoes or
1 large can tomatoes
1 cup rice or diced potatoes
1 or 2 green bell peppers, diced
1 large diced onion
1 cup diced carrots
1 cup diced okra
1/2 cup diced celery

Directions:

Put water or stock, meat, bay leaf, Worcestershire or hot pepper sauce, salt and pepper into a large pot. 

Bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer for 1 1/2 hours. Add remaining ingredients, and simmer for about 1 hour.

Lamb Curry Recipe

Ingredients

2 lamb shanks AND 2 lamb shoulder steaks (yielding about 2 lbs of meat without the bone)
1 large onions, chopped, about 3 1/2 cups
3-5 cloves of garlic, crushed
2-3 Tbsp ghee (clarified butter) or 1 Tbsp olive oil with butter
2-3 Tbsp curry powder
2 tsp salt
1 Tbsp black pepper
1 Tbsp ground coriander
1 Tbsp cumin
1 tsp fresh rosemary, chopped
1 tsp thyme, dried
1/2 Meyer lemon sliced (with rind)
2 peeled and chopped apples (tart green granny smith if possible), about 2 cups
1/4 cup of raisins (my addition to Maria's recipe)
1 1/2 cups chicken broth*
8-12 small potatoes, quartered, about 1 1/2 pounds
Chutney, yogurt, rice
*If cooking gluten-free, use homemade chicken stock or gluten-free packaged broth.
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Method

1 Brown the lamb shanks on all sides: Preheat oven to 300° F. On stovetop, add the ghee or the butter-and-oil mixture to a large covered pot or Dutch oven and turn the burner to medium-high. Brown the meat well and remove it from pan.

2 Add curry powder: Add curry powder to the ghee or oil, turn the heat down to medium and cook gently for a minute or two.

3 Add onions and garlic and cook 5 minutes. Return lamb to pan.

4 Add coriander, black pepper, cumin, rosemary, thyme, sliced lemon, apples, raisins, chicken broth, salt and pepper. Cover the pot and put it in the oven. Cook for 2 hours. Check at 2 hours to see if the meat is falling off the bone. It should be starting to do so.

5 Add the potatoes and cook for another 45 minutes.

6 Serve: To serve, you can pull the meat off the bones or leave it on. Taste for salt and add some more curry powder or cayenne if you want things spicier. Serve over rice with chutney and yogurt.

Lamb Stew with Bacon

Ingredients

2 1/2 pounds lamb shoulder or shoulder blade chops, bone-in, trimmed of excess fat
6 slices bacon, thickly cut
2 pounds potatoes (Yukon gold preferred), peeled, quartered
2 large onions, quartered
2 large carrots, peeled and cut into 2-inch segments
1 turnip, peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces
2 heaping tablespoons pearl barley (omit for gluten-free version)
1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme or 1 teaspoon dried thyme
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 quart of water or lamb stock, warmed


Method

1 Heat a large (6-quart), thick-bottomed Dutch oven on medium heat. Layer the bacon on the bottom of the pan and cook the slices gently, a few minutes on each side, until much of the fat has been rendered out, and the slices have browned lightly. Place the cooked bacon strips on a paper-towel-lined plate to absorb the excess fat. Chop the bacon and set aside.

2 Remove all but 2 tablespoons of bacon fat from the pan (do not pour the removed fat down the drain or it will clog the drain pipes). Increase the heat to medium high. Working in batches as to not crowd the pan, brown the lamb pieces on all sides, taking care not to stir the lamb pieces so they can get sufficiently browned.

3 Arrange the meat and vegetables in the pan in layers. Start first with a layer of lamb, then add a layer of potatoes, onions, turnips, carrots, and chopped bacon. Add another layer of lamb and then another of vegetables. Add the barley, thyme, black pepper and a teaspoon of salt.

3 Add water or stock to the pot, and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to a bare simmer. Let simmer, covered, but with the lid slightly ajar, for 1 1/2 to 2 hours, until the meat is fork tender and falling off the bones.

4 Skim any excess fat from the stew. Use tongs to pick out and remove bones. Adjust seasonings, adding salt and pepper to taste.