Gar Balls w/ Gar Gravy

Gar tastes fine and is lovely white meat. The problem is how much of a pain in the arse it is to get to those fillets.

Its not really a fillets. You have to use a spoon to scrape off the meat from the bone.

My cousin does an incredible garfish boulettes in gravy every Good Friday and it's hard to beat. Sorry, don't have the recipe.

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I cut it off the backbone and it comes off like two backstraps. Nice almost round tenderloins. Perfect white meat. I don't frick around with the rest of it.

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Back in high school I used to work in a grocery store. And every so often they'd make garballs. Well, an hour after they started the lady making them would be covered in brown shite from the garfish. She's use an ice cream scoop to scrape the meat from the ribs.

FEIW, I have no experience cooking Gar fish nor do I ever plan to.

I find them fairly easy to clean. You just have to be set up for it. 7' long 2x8. Two small block on each side on one end with a 1x2 stake nailed across them. Open his mouth and slide it over the stake. He's wedged then and won't move. Machete starting at the tail about 1/2 inch down. Pull up as you chop forward. When you get to the head, small hatchet and take the head off. Sharp boning knife and the skin comes off quick. Filet loins off and belly meat. Grind all up with onions, garlic, red pepper, salt, other seasonings you wish, green onions, potato flakes. Make ball and fry. Adjust seasoning until you get the taste you want. Then make all of the balls and flash fry them to hold together. Cook what you need. Freeze the rest for later.

I had gar balls with gar gravy a while back in a soul food restaurant in Port Allen. Since then I've been looking for a good written recipe, of the same. I believe they made a roux

Garfish Balls and Rusty Gravy

This recipe for Garfish Balls and Rusty Gravy, by Mawmaw Yet, is from The Marcotte Family Cookbook Project, one of the cookbooks created at FamilyCookbookProject.com. We help families or individuals create heirloom cookbook treasures.

2 1/2 lbs. garfish, ground
1 c. ground onion
1/2 c. ground bell pepper
2 tbsp. salt
2 c. water
2 eggs
1/2 c. oil
1 lb. can whole tomatoes
1 1/2 c. flour
1 tsp. black pepper


Mix in large bowl the fish, tomatoes and other ingredient. Mix well. Shape into balls, dust with flour and brown in 1/2 c. oil in a heavy skillet.

Rusty Gravy: Brown 3 tbsp. flour,add tomatoe juice from can, and 2 c. water. Crumble 2 fish balls into gravy, stirring well to make gravy heavy. Add remaining fish balls to gravy, carefully so they do not break. Cover skillet and simmer 30 minutes. Serve with gravy over lots of rice.

Number Of Servings: 6

Recipe

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They can live for days out of the water

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That's not your run-of-the-mill fish

Is this you, Baw?!

Rickey Verretthe Cajun Fabio demonstrates how to properly clean a garfish.

The cedar plank recipe works in place of the pizza as well.