Smart daughter, she has a hand on both those boys. If they move an inch she’s already out of there.  Sorry, can’t help you with cooking the gator. Hell of a catch though.

@SGH seems like he would know.  @SGH are you around? Can you take a break from shaving to answer gator questions?  

Instapot 

I was at a party several years ago where alligator was served, after being cooked whole. It was cleaned and skinned from the neck down. The only thing left un skinned was the head and claws. In a way, it seemed kind of like the way you would cook a holiday turkey.

The alligator head was like a big deal. It came right off after cooking, and several people wanted to take it home.

It was injected, and rubbed, and had to be basted often. They did it in a chinese microwave, which seemed like a PITA because the lid had to be removed frequently for basting.  They cooked it low and slow, around 250⁰F, to an internal temp of 155⁰F, then added smoke until it hit 165⁰F.

They used several bags of charcoal, If I remember correctly, it was like at least 10 -15 large bags, and they had to stay watching over it with a shovel, adding or removing coals as needed to keep the temperature stable throughout the cook.

I have no idea as to the injection but the rub was mondo spicy. Lots of cayenne and paprika, garlic, onion etc., the basting liquid was some sort of sugar base, but that is all I know.

They've were cautious in trying to get it all to cook evenly, because they did not want the tail and legs to finish before the rest. They wrapped them in foil as I recall.

When served, it had a texture like pork cooked well done, and the flavor was heavily influenced by the injection rub and baste.

I get the interest in doing this, but, for all that effort, I much rather have something else for a BBQ. To say the least, I have zero interest in going to a party where alligator meat will be served. BTDT, just was not my thing.

I have no idea if this was the best way to do this or not, nor whether this yields the proper result. It was just my only time to see this getting done, and asking questions more along the why, than how.

Hopefully an expert will give you better details, and step by step instructions that will get you there.

Good luck with your adventure and have fun.

Looks like a great belt and some shoes!!!

I’ve had gator jerky before so there’s always that option as well for some of the meat.  It wasn’t really for me, it had a freshwater pond taste to it of some sort.  But that’s not to say that others wouldn’t like it or maybe what I had could have been seasoned better. 

Dear lord!  You win the internet for the day.  

If I had a beast like that I'd break it down, vacuum pack it into different portions, and figure out what to do over time.  pressure cooker, sous vide, low and slow, stews.... heck of a score... 

you could just treat it the exact same as a pig at a pig roast. I don't see why that would not work.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FLaXcxE5spI