I did the gator pastrami same as the venison, about 160

Last summer was first time I had been gator hunting so I have not seen many. The small bayou we were in had a 11 footer taken opening night.

Actually we want to start the hunt just at dark. We use headlamps and spotlights to find gators. A red light works really well, it doesn’t spook them as much and their red eyes really show up. You ease up close with trolling motor then cast a large treble hook with a lead weight that is cast onto the shank over the gator. We zip tie a lighted nock like a Lumenock or Nocturnal on the hook shank. Slowly reel the hook close to the lizard then snatch on it. It misses most of the time, but when it hooks you know it! After wearing it down you get it close enought to get a snare on it to hold it and then another one around the snout. Duct tape the snout and then make sure it is one you want to keep or release. If it is a keeper shoot it in the back of the head with birdshot, larger shot not legal here. A bangstick is legal to dispatch them also. Gator must be restrained before shooting. Archery equipment is also legal here in MS, but with an arrow in it you won’t be able to release the gator if you want to. In AR only snares or harpoons are legal.
We got this one about 9:45, the 2:00 AM was when we were through cutting it up.

I did make some pastrami from a chunk of gator meat, it was almost as good as venison.

@Jonathon The tail is the bulk of the meat, and that is about all we saved. The jowl area has some good meat, I have heard. We didn’t save that, gator hunting is done at night and when it is about 2:00 am and you have been at several hours…

Randy from the Mississippi Delta. Primarily making smoked venison sausage, my maternal grandpa spent his winters after the farm work was done being the community hog butcher. Cut up 80 the year he was 80. See a few from KS here, SW KS is where my parents were raised, lot of meat eaters there!
I do have one of Grandpa’s old Biro bandsaw and a humongous #12 grinder that weighs over 100 lbs.

@jonathon Female we think. Hard to tell on a reptile, since it was 9’5" and only weighed 200 lbs we assumed female as males can be much heavier

@jonathon
Thanks for the ideas. Yes, it is lean and any fat that is in it needs to be trimmed as it does not taste good, I have been told. We have been adding 20% pork trimmings to the venison, looks like you recommend about 50%. The binders you mention are interesting, I have only been into making sausage the last 3 seasons.
My grandfather was big into butchering, he butchered 80 hogs the year he was 80. My mother and his family have an annual butchering day each February where 6-7 hogs are killed and cut up. I’m getting into it late, but enjoy it.

Boys and I filled our gator tags this year. We make venison smoked sausage every winter after deer season, would like to use some gator for sausage. Any ideas or tips?