Alligator Sauce Piquante

Ingredients

• 2-3 lbs. alligator meat
• 3 onions
• 3 bell peppers
• 5 ribs celery
• 3-5 cloves garlic
• 2 mild green chiles
• 3 tablespoons oil
• 3 tablespoons flour
• 3 can crushed tomatoes
• 1 small can tomato paste
• ½ C red wine
• 1½ C stock or broth
• 2 tbs Worcestershire sauce
• 2 tsp cayenne pepper
• 2 tsp black pepper
• 1 tsp white pepper
• 1½ tsp dried rosemary leaves
• ½ tsp dried thyme leaves
• 2 tsp Cajun seasoning
• Salt to taste
• Oil for sauteing

Directions

1. Make Stock: If using alligator or turtle bones, simmer with carrot, onion, celery tops, and peppercorns to make stock. Skim fat and reserve 2 cups. Otherwise, use Knorr chicken, beef, or fish bouillon.
2. Brown Meat: Dice meat and sauté in a little oil until browned; set aside.
3. Prep Vegetables: Sauté one onion and one bell pepper until tender, then purée and set aside. Sauté remaining onion, bell pepper, chiles, celery, and garlic.
4. Make Roux: Cook oil and flour to a medium peanut-butter‑colored roux. Stir in sautéed vegetables, remove from heat, and mix well to prevent sticking.
5. Build Sauce: Add tomatoes, tomato paste, wine, Worcestershire, and the onion-pepper purée. Season with Cajun seasoning and salt. Cook over medium 10 minutes, stirring.
6. Simmer: Add meat, rosemary, and thyme. Simmer on low 30 minutes, stirring often. If using shrimp/seafood, cook base 20 minutes, then add shrimp for final 10 minutes.
7. Serve: Serve over rice with French bread.

Chef's Notes

• If alligator isn't available, you can substitute turtle, rabbit, frog legs, pork, shrimp, chicken, squirrel, or raccoon.
• For a milder dish, reduce the cayenne. For a hotter version, replace 2 cans of stewed tomatoes with 2 cans of Rotel tomatoes.

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