My husband is a fisherman. Specifically, he's a gar fisherman. He's written numerous garticles and has been on Animal Planet as a gar expert. Gar are long skinny primitive fish with big teeth, lots of bone and scaly armor.
As a result of his gartitude, I've eaten a lot of the creatures. And here's the truth about gar: They don't taste good.
Case in point: The other night we had fried gar. My husband makes a delicious beer batter. There was no problem with the breading. But the meat...I tried to cut into it with a fork; after all, catfish easily flakes with one. Nope. Then I got a steak knife. It still wouldn't cut through that gar. Finally I went to the kitchen and returned with a butcher knife. Sound extreme? It wasn't.
My husband insists this is not a negative culinary attribute. "The texture is like chicken," he said, chomping on the rubbery gar. "It's dense. Hearty, even."
Gar populations are dwindling. Here's how everyone can help out: Don't eat the gar.
3 Response to The Truth about Gar
My deal with my husband's testosterone activities is that I don't care what he kills as long as it does not come into my kitchen and I don't have to eat it. Whatever he catches/kills/dresses, he can cook on the grill. And I will have something that comes in butcher paper or plastic wrap. :)
Hmmm. Next time I'm invited to your house for dinner, I will be certain to ask what we're having. Don't be surprised if I suddenly become vegetarian if gar is being served.
This explains all those childhood memories I have of my grandmother who--after catching gar while fishing on the river--sunk them, nose first and tentstake-like, into the sand to die.
Apparently, not only did she not believe them fit to eat--she didn't think them appropriate food for anyone else, either.
Or maybe she was just harboring some kind of fish grudge. Too late to ask, now.
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