Grabbing Dinner | Hacker News Reader

Grabbing Dinner

gardenandgun.com

81 pointsbreathenew28 comments

Pulled into a rural Louisiana driveway visiting a friend. And out in the back yard, they were cutting off the tail of an alligator with a small chain saw. Apparently the tail is where the good steaks are, but I didn't stay for dinner.

The story reminded me of an old joke about Louisiana:

In Louisiana, the zoos have signs for each caged animal. 1. Name of animal. 2. Name in Latin. 3. Geographic distribution. 4. Recipe.

Sounds like you missed the steak of a lifetime :D

I have some friends in north NOLA and Baton Rogue. I've had gator a handful of times. It's an interesting experience for an outsider. You should stick around next time!

I'm from Florida and fried gator tail is reasonably common around where I lived, somewhat similar to calamari. Unless they call it "gator" tail and it's actually not real alligator, in which case 6 year old me will be crushed.

The license plates say "Sportsman's Paradise" The subtext to that phrase is that whether it crawls, flies, swims, runs or otherwise, there is some strata of Louisiana society that eats it with relish (or hot sauce).

Two Cajuns are sitting on the porch just about sunset, when a UFO gently settles down on the levee. Wilton says, "What that thing?" Boudreaux grabs his shotgun, and says, "I'll go see. You start a roux."

Although I don't hunt or fish anymore, this was great. It captures how bizarrely engaging and gratifying activities like these can be, haha.

> We cruise on, the slough opening into a lake. By now, I’ve got the proper predatory mind-set and am catching nearly every frog I try for. “You’re doing real good, Bill,” Jody tells me. “You’ve got an interesting motion. I sort of smash-grab, you know. I’ll push that frog down another six inches when I grab him, but you sorta pluck him out like an eagle.” It’s shameful how gratified I am at these words of praise. I am a grown, widely traveled man. I have caught a 150-pound tarpon, killed a bull elk with a bow and arrow, and survived an audit by the IRS. But at this particular moment, I would rather be counted a good frog grabber than anything I can think of.

When you're into it, you're into it. As a kid I could hunt frogs for hours and hours. You get wired right into it. People will look at you like you're crazy, and maybe you are, but it becomes the singular thing that matters. Anyone who loves fishing will say the same.

These days I've replaced the hunting and fishing with shooting on cameras. It's fun in the water because a lot of fish are pretty clever, and they seem to pick up on when they're being hunted. When you just have a camera and you hang around a while, they warm up a bit and present a bit more. When you're blasting spears around and diving they tend to stay pretty cool and stay out of view extremely effectively. Pros and cons. I don't have crispy ling cod dinners on the beach anymore, but I get to dial into the state of the water, the animals, and the moment a little more too. It's all good.

One of the funniest pieces of literature I've ever read is the part in Cannery Row where they go frog hunting. I won't spoil it by pasting it here--the book is excellent, as is its sequel. Frog legs are delicious, too!

Fun little story.

Really makes me wonder whether I should give frog legs another try. I’ve had them at fancy French places and at southern joints, and they’ve always been kinda meh - taste like chicken, basically, or else taste like what’s get fantastically butter-based sauce they’re swimming in.

Maybe I need to try cooking them for myself to really get a feel for the unique flavor. I wonder if there’s a place to get them fresh here in town?

I wonder if there’s a place to get them fresh here in town?

"You got them frog legs?"

"No, that's just the way I walk."

Depends on where you live, of course. TFA says fancy French restaurants, and I'll just have to take their word on it. A lot of places south, and some Midwest, and you'll still have to look around. But experience says, yeah, quality varies from "smother it in garlic butter" to "just a light seasoning is all it needs". No recommendations, as I'm on the West Coast now, went vegetarian and haven't seen any on the menu out here regardless.

I occasionally see live frogs for sale in Asian groceries. I don't know if they're farmed, and it may be seasonal. This is in the Bay Area.

When I lived in the rural midwest there were prodigious quantities of large frogs that the locals would sometimes catch for food. They taste fine just seasoned and lightly fried, no need to sauce them. I find the flavor to be good but not very distinctive. Learning how to fish for frogs was pretty interesting though, never would have guessed.

Only been frogging once, in Kansas, and we used tobacco stakes as spears. Legs cooked skewered on green sticks over an open fire. Very memorable experience. The legs will keep firing even after severed from the body.

My disappointment with that URL name is immeasurable. It’s the most uptight and stuffy form of shotguns in a couple of articles.

It’s a print magazine.

Is it not also published at a URL?

My disappointment with that URL name is immeasurable. It’s the most uptight and stuffy form of shotguns.

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