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. If you have alligator or turtle bones, boil them with a quartered carrot, quartered onion, celery with tops and some peppercorns to make a stock. Skim off fat if any and reserve 2 cups. Otherwise, use Knorr Brand chicken, beef, or fish bouillon cubes.
2. Dice or cube the meat, then sauté in a little oil until browned and set aside.
3. Chop and sauté one of the onions and one of the bell peppers, and sauté until tender. liPuree these in a blender and set aside.
4. Sauté the remaining onion and bell pepper with the chiles, celery and garlic.
5. Make a medium, peanut-butter colored roux with the oil and flour. Add the sauteed vegetables to the roux. remove from heat to stop the cooking process, and stir well. Make sure the roux does not stick to the bottom of the pot.
6. Add the tomatoes, tomato paste, wine and Worcestershire to the sauteed vegetables and roux. Add the onion/bell pepper puree and stir. Season with Cajun seasoning and salt to taste. Cook on medium heat for 10 minutes, making sure it doesn't stick.
7. Add the meat, rosemary and thyme and cook for 30 minutes on low heat, stirring frequently to avoid sticking. If you're using shrimp or seafood, cook for 20 minutes, then add shrimp for the last 10 minutes and cook.
8. Serve over rice with French bread.

Chef's Notes

• If you do not have alligator meat, turtle meat, rabbit, frog legs, pork, shrimp, chicken, squirrel, or raccoon will substitute
• For a milder version, reduce the amount of cayenne pepper. For a hotter version, substitute 2 cans of Rotel tomatoes for 2 cans of the stewed tomatoes.