# Eating gar



## jigman29

May seem like a silly question but I have eaten gar for years. They are tough to clean but good table fare. I have always caught them while catfishing or just used nylon. Here's my question. I have heard the guts are poisonous so I was wondering if it's safe to eat a bow shot gar? I may be paranoid but if I shoot several I want to make sure im not gonna make the family sick lol.


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## watermedic

The eggs are toxic.

I have a couple of bowfishing buddies that bring me gar now and then. They have never made anyone sick.


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## joey1919

Same here, only ones I've ever cleaned or seen eaten were bow shot. Only females have eggs anyway and I assume they only have eggs for a short time. That said I've shot and cleaned lots of spawning gar with eggs.


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## NCHillbilly

The eggs themselves are what you don't want to eat. I've eaten loads of bow-shot gar. Had some good blackened gar last weekend as a matter of fact.


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## mistrfish71

I want to try it smoked.  Seen done on TV and there was a bunch of skeptics standing around and they said it was great.


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## NCHillbilly

Gar is delicious. It doesn't taste like fish. It's like a mixture of lobster, frog legs, and alligator tail.


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## jigman29

It's very good. Little aggravating to clean but not terrible.


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## NCHillbilly

jigman29 said:


> It's very good. Little aggravating to clean but not terrible.



Yeah, I just chop the head and tail off with a machete or hatchet, then go down the back  with some hand pruners and fillet the backstraps out. After you do a few it doesn't take long.


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## Anvil Head

NCHillbilly said:


> Gar is delicious. It doesn't taste like fish. It's like a mixture of lobster, frog legs, and alligator tail.


A Cajun chef once told me that about 60% of all the gator tail served in New Orleans is actually gar. Have had both many times and never could find argument with that.

My favorite way is to cube, saute, skewer with little onions, shrimp, bacon, tomatoes, peppers then slather a bit of olive oil. Toss on the grill as you would any kabob and cook to preference with plenty of your favorite hot sauce. Serve up with cold units and watch the plates get licked. Most excellent while watching the moon come up after a long day on the water chasing bulls.

Have found that they are also easily caught on a flyrod and old worn out bass poppers. They'll do head shakes like a tarpon and porpoise alot (not quite break full free of the water, but it's a "jump" in gar world). Trick is to use their instinctive feeding slash to your advantage. Always strip across their heads from behind or at least angled far enough back they can't see it coming. Any fish with eyes that big for their size will get too good a look coming straight on and turn away. Usually get a decent hookup every third or forth strike. Play them light and have fun.

Always the larger skins would make great wrap on gator chaps (snake leggings).


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## critter85

No problems out of a bow shot gar for me. If the shot hits the gut cavity, I just cut about an inch of meat on all sides of the wound to be sure. Love me some coconut fried gar nuggets!


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## Ihunt

NCHillbilly said:


> Gar is delicious. It doesn't taste like fish. It's like a mixture of lobster, frog legs, and alligator tail.



Say it ain't so. If that's the case, it maybe game on for me and the toothy ones.


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## Flaustin1

Its true.  Does not taste like a fish at all.


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## Bucky T

Poor Man's Lobster.  Take the back straps off of them.  Delicious.


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## TJay

No mention of gar balls?  Maybe a regional thing I don't know but folks in Louisiana (usually po' folks) when they caught a gar they would make gar balls.  They would take the meat and run it thru a grinder with onion and peppers.  Add spices (it was usually pretty spicy) and cornmeal and an egg or two to bind and roll it all together into balls and deep fry.  The ingredients would vary sometimes for example if there was leftover rice that would wind up in the gar balls but it was always delicious!


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## NCHillbilly

TJay said:


> No mention of gar balls?  Maybe a regional thing I don't know but folks in Louisiana (usually po' folks) when they caught a gar they would make gar balls.  They would take the meat and run it thru a grinder with onion and peppers.  Add spices (it was usually pretty spicy) and cornmeal and an egg or two to bind and roll it all together into balls and deep fry.  The ingredients would vary sometimes for example if there was leftover rice that would wind up in the gar balls but it was always delicious!


I saw a couple of the guys on Swamp People do that once. Seems like a lot of work to process something that is already really good just blackened or fried or grilled.


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## Anvil Head

The Chinese do this with most of their fish, only they leave all the parts in except the skin (most the time). Have to fix it that way so you can get past the "Yangtese" industrial strength flavoring. Cook them so hard you can't tell the bones are there.


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## tsharp

Tjay right but the way we cook gar after cleaning we put the meat, chopped onions ,bell peppers and season in a pot of water. Just enough water to cover the mixture, simmer on low till all the meat is broken up after strain every thing an let cool. Put in enough flour to hold the mixture together. Roll in small balls then roll back in flour and place in hot oil till golden brown.


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## NCHillbilly

This wasn't hard to choke down at all:


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## BREAK'N WINGS

I know this thread is about Gar. I was wondering if Anyone has attempted or had Carp??


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## NCHillbilly

BREAK'N WINGS said:


> I know this thread is about Gar. I was wondering if Anyone has attempted or had Carp??



Yes. They taste very strong and fishy. I like gar, but carp are not good at all in my book. If you love canned mackerel and such, you will probably like carp.


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## Big7

Ihunt said:


> Say it ain't so. If that's the case, it maybe game on for me and the toothy ones.



Me too..

They tear my noodles up at Juliette. 

Ain't no tellin' how many I have found and had to break out the fish-bat.

If I could have been eating a cross between lobster, gator and frog legs, I would be bummin' out bad.

Have to give it a try next time!


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## KyDawg

Remember, don't eat the roe in those Gar.


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## NCHillbilly

Anvil Head said:


> The Chinese do this with most of their fish, only they leave all the parts in except the skin (most the time). Have to fix it that way so you can get past the "Yangtese" industrial strength flavoring. Cook them so hard you can't tell the bones are there.



Gar have no bones. None at all in the part you eat. They are the most boneless fish you will ever eat.


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## jigman29

NCHillbilly said:


> Gar have no bones. None at all in the part you eat. They are the most boneless fish you will ever eat.



Exactly! The two strips you cut out of the back are as pretty and boneless as you will find.


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## Fuzzy D Fellers

NCHillbilly said:


> Yes. They taste very strong and fishy. I like gar, but carp are not good at all in my book. If you love canned mackerel and such, you will probably like carp.



Carp is good fried hard.


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## humdandy

They taste great!


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