Alligator Loin Poached in Butter and White Wine with Three Remoulade Sauces and Vegetable Quinoa with Two Wine Pairings

If you are thinking I wrestled and alligator for this pairing, you may be right.  What is life without a little adventure?  When the opportunity to draw outside the lines presents itself, jump on it. 

About a month ago, while visiting my favorite butcher (Nick’s of Calvert), Chef Sue noticed a display case featuring a selection of meats that are a little off the beaten path – including alligator loin.  Of course, the alligator jumped into my basket tempting me to expand my culinary repertoire.  I wrestled with the idea of preparing alligator, and the alligator ended up on my plate.

My experience with eating alligator is limited.  The two times I have tasted alligator, they were battered and fried much like you would expect with batter fried shrimp.  Both experiences were pleasant, but I thought the batter and frying process disguised the flavor and muddled the texture of the alligator.  With this in mind, I set out to prepare the alligator in a way that let the flavor and texture of the alligator take center stage.

My approach was simple.  Wrestle and alligator – and win.  In a large skillet, I heated two tablespoons of butter, added the alligator which had been cut into bite size pieces, then added a cup of white wine after sautéing the alligator for about one minute.  I continued to poach the alligator for another 5 minutes, then lightly seasoned with salt and pepper before removing from the heat.

To accompany the alligator, I made three remoulade dipping sauces – mostly because I could not decide which approach I wanted to take.  The first was a spicy Cajun horseradish remoulade.  The second was a mustard influenced remoulade, and the third a white cheddar cheese remoulade served warm.

With the alligator cut into bite size pieces, and several tasty dipping sauces, this is a perfect football food.  The quinoa is not necessary if you are doing football food.  But it was a tasty addition to our meal.  In this case, I grabbed a few vegetables from the drawer, sautéed them with a little olive oil, seasoned with salt and pepper, and added to the quinoa when it was finished.

The pairing for the evening featured two wines.  I provided a 2010 Dry Creek Vineyards Sonoma County Fumé Blanc.  Joining me for the evening were good friends Richter and Meredith who brought a 2009 Breaux Vineyards Jolie Blond Virginia Seyval Blanc.

Tasting Notes from Dry Creek Vineyards:

“This new vintage harkens back to the early days of Fumé Blanc at Dry Creek Vineyard. At first swirl, pungent grassy aromas framed by kaffir limes leap from the glass. On the palate, the wine displays racy citrus characters along with granny smith apples, Meyer lemon and orange zest. The grassy elements repeat on the finish with acidity that is both refreshing and brisk. Dave Stare pioneered this style back in 1972 and this wine certainly carries forward all of those old school elements. Simply delicious!”

For our group of tasters, the citrus and acidity were the key characteristics that really made this pairing sing.  While the grassy components noted by the winemaker were not comments I heard at the dinner table, all agreed this was a great pairing.  The freshening acidity was key to making the pairing work with the three remoulade interpretations.  Of the three, the decidedly best combination was this Fumé Blanc in concert with the mustard based remoulade.

Tasting notes from Breaux Vineyards:

“Lemon zest, white grapefruit, and mineral undertones describe the flavor profile of our Seyval Blanc. Enjoy with seafood dishes.”

This wine is very pleasant and enjoyable.  Although not noted in the winemaker’s tasting notes, this wine also featured a notable oak flavor that stood out in comparison to the Dry Creek Fume Blanc.  The acidity was also subdued in comparison which made this a good, but less than ideal pairing with the remoulades.  The wine paired nicely with the alligator and white cheddar remoulade, or simply alligator sans remoulade, but the subdued acidity and the oak made the pairing with the other two remoulade sauces slightly less than impressive.

As a final note on the alligator, I would highly recommend taking this poaching method under consideration rather than the more common fried approaches.  The meat was tender, full of wonderful texture, and just a hint of fish flavor.  Tasting the alligator without the distractions of batter was a pleasant surprise.

Recipes

Cajun Mustard Remoulade

Ingredients

• 6 tablespoons mayonnaise
• 2 tablespoons rustic coarse ground mustard sauce
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
• 1 teaspoon salt-free Cajun-Creole seasoning
• Salt and pepper to taste

Preparation

• 1. Combine all ingredients in a small bowl and stir until well blended

Spicy Horseradish Remoulade

Ingredients

• 1 cup mayonnaise
• 1/3 cup ketchup
• 1/2 cup horseradish
• 2 cloves minced garlic
• 1 tablespoon pepper sauce. I used Trinidad Pepper Sauce, but anything similar like tobasco will work.
• 1 teaspoon paprika

Preparation

1. Combine all ingredients and mix well. Cover and chill at least one hour.

White Cheddar Cajun Remoulade

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup mayonnaise
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1/8 teaspoon paprika
• 1/8 teaspoon dried thyme
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 2 ounces grated white cheddar cheese
• 1 tablespoon butter

Preparation

1. Combine all ingredients except butter, heavy cream, and cheese and mix will.
2. In a sauce pan, melt butter and cheese with the heavy cream.
3. Add the mixture of other ingredients, stir well to combine, and heat to serving temperature.
4. Serve immediately.

In vino veritas, buen provecho.

Craig

Rotisserie Grilled Prime Rib and Spinach Soufflé Paired with 2006 Merry Edwards Russian River Valley Pinot Noir and 2007 Benziger Family Winery Sonoma Valley Merlot

The brisk fall breezes were blowing leaves across the street, pumpkins with tortured faces stared from every doorstep, and grills were on sale at the Home Depot.  Fall clearance sales on grilling gear (and golf shorts) mark a special time for the golfing griller.  This was exactly the case a couple years ago when I purchased my Goliath size, stainless steel monster grill…and a striking pair of plaid golf shorts.  Along with a couple dozen burners, several ceramic searing burners, 500 watt work lights, and a dozen Titleist golf balls, the grill came equipped with a turbo charged 10 horsepower motorized rotisserie.

I love my grill even more than my stylish plaid golf shorts.  Unfortunately, the rotisserie sees about as much action as my 3 iron (I just can’t hit that club – it now serves duty as part of my sophisticated home security system).  The rotisserie was recently called off the bench to the starting lineup for prime rib.  The result was fantastic, and the rotisserie is now officially off the “injured reserve” list.



The grilling process was about as easy as it gets.  Chef Sue decided on the low and slow process which involved trussing up the prime rib so it would not disintegrate while cooking, skewering the beautiful piece of meat on the rotisserie, bringing the temp up to 300 degrees, and waiting.  Of course the prime rib was well seasoned with salt and pepper before heading to the hot house.  The prime rib spun happily on the grill until it reached an internal temperature of 120 degrees. 

I removed the prime rib and let rest while covered with aluminum foil for 15 to 20 minutes.  The internal temperature continued to rise and reached 125 to 130 degrees during the resting period.  Avoid the temptation to cut into the prime rib during this resting period.  The objective is to keep all the wonderful juices inside.



If you you don’t happen to have Tim the Tool Man’s manly man’s grill with 10 horsepower turbocharged rotisserie attachment, you can achieve the same results in the oven using a roasting pan.  But if you are using the oven, don’t wear the plaid golf shorts.  That is just not right.

To go along with our joyous Barney Rubble sized prime rib, Chef Sue and Formerly of Austin Dawn prepared spinach soufflé.  This choice was a key aspect of choosing our wine for the evening.  The prime rib demands at least a medium bodied wine, but we did not want to go too heavy and have the soufflé suffer from being terribly overpowered.  We reached a good compromise position and chose a medium bodied Pinot Noir and a delicious full bodied Merlot.



Our choices were a 2006 Merry Edwards Russian River Valley Pinot Noir and a 2007 Benziger Family Winery Sonoma Valley Rose Ranch Merlot.  Here are the tasting notes for the two wines:

2006 Merry Edwards Russian River Valley Pinot Noir:  Medium garnet in color, this wine has a nose of cranberry and a lightly spicy cherry liqueur quality. In the mouth it is smooth and silky with very nice balance and a core of cranberry and raspberry flavors, that give way to a cocoa, and light smoky quality on the finish.

2007 Benziger Family Winery Sonoma Valley Rose Ranch Merlot:  The 2007 Rose Ranch Merlot is supple and full-bodied with velvety texture and rich flavor. Its aromas evoke connotations of dark fruit and pepper. Robust flavors of currant, black raspberry, anise and ripe plum linger on the palate.



The group of Chef Sue, Golf Buddy Steve, Formerly of Austin Dawn and I all concluded both wines worked exceptionally well particularly with respect to the berry flavors in compliment to the prime rib.  While both wines were excellent, we conceded the 2007 Benziger Family Winery Sonoma Valley Rose Ranch Merlot as having an edge over the 2006 Merry Edwards Russian River Valley Pinot Noir.  The deeper, richer flavors of the Merlot resulted in a combination that was well beyond the sum of the parts – our holy grail of wine pairing.



But lets not forget the spinach soufflé. This is not yet in my repertoire and was glad that Chef Sue and Formerly of Austin Dawn decided to take on this task as I wistfully watched the prime rib slowly lull me into hypnosis.




Recipe


Spinach Soufflé





Ingredients

• 4 tablespoons butter, plus extra for the dish
  
• 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
  
• 1 bunch spinach, stems removed, or 12 to 16 ounces loose, young spinach leaves
  
• 2 cloves garlic minced
  
• 4 tablespoons all-purpose flour
  
• 1 1/3 cups milk
  
• sea salt and freshly ground pepper
  
• 4 egg yolks
  
• 6 egg whites

Preparation

1. Preheat the oven to 375°F. Butter a 4 6 ounce soufflé dishes .
   
2. Wash the spinach well, then wilt it in a skillet without drying the spinach.
   
3. Drain into a colander, press out the moisture, then finely chop.
   
4. Melt the 4 tablespoons butter in a saucepan, saute the garlic for approximately 2 minutes. stir in the flour, and cook for 1 minute while stirring.
   
5. Whisk in the milk and stir until it thickens.
   
6. Add 1 teaspoon salt, then stir in the Parmesan.
   
7. Turn off the heat and stir in salt and pepper to taste.
   
8. Whisk the egg whites with a pinch of salt until they form firm peaks that are just a bit on the soft side.
   
9. Fold the whites and base together.
   
10. Scrape the batter into the prepared dishes and bake until golden brown and set, about 25 minutes.

In vino veritas, buen provecho.

Craig