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Frogs Legs


David Ross

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One of my favorite "delicacies," are fried frogs legs. They aren't overly popular in restaurants where I live in the Pacific Northwest-rarely appearing on but a few Asian or French Bistro menus.

Though apparently not popular in restaurants, somebody is eating a lot of frogs legs in Spokane, Washington, as I can find them in three different Asian markets, one seafood store and occasionally at two grocery stores. The ones I buy are farm raised in Southeast Asia and sold frozen.

Over the course of about three years, I've perfected what I tend to believe is the most delicious method of preparing Frogs Legs--deep-fried with a crispy panko coating and served with a tangy parsley sauce.

I start by soaking the jumpers in milk. Then they get dusted with Wondra flour, (the fine mill of Wondra flour doesn't get gummy on the meat), then in an egg bath, and finally a roll in panko. I deep-fry them in canola oil until golden and crispy.

Sometimes I'll "French" the bones like you would for lamb chops. It's a delicate, time-consuming task but one that will result in trendy little "Frogs Legs Lollipops." (I didn't take the time to "French" the frogs legs this weekend).

The sauce is basically a combination of a French parsley sauce, an Argentinian chimichurri sauce and few of my own additions. It's made of curly leaf parsley, (I think it has more flavor than flat leaf parsley), cilantro, garlic, green onions, salt, pepper, apple cider vinegar, lemon juice, lemon zest and olive oil--all processed in the food processor to a thick, chunky sauce.

The tangy sauce is a nice contrast to the richness of the deep-fried frogs legs.

And no, frogs legs don't taste like chicken. Frogs Legs taste like seafood with a very indirect texture somewhat akin to the texture of white chicken meat. Some purists, I suppose I am one of them, consider them to be a delicacy.

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How do you prepare Frogs Legs?

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And no, frogs legs don't taste like chicken.  Frogs Legs taste like seafood with a very indirect texture somewhat akin to the texture of white chicken meat.  Some purists, I suppose I am one of them, consider them to be a delicacy.

Frogs and frog legs are hugely under-appreciated, in my experience. Canadians don't eat amphibians, unless they've been metabolized by predatory fish like pike and bass. As a Class of Chordates, they are extremely sensitive to changes in habitat and for that reason they're slightly sacred, and slightly scared, at least the wild ones are.

David, they are a delicacy. The legs can be exquisite -- I've made some at home a few times, mostly to scare/impress guests. Simple thin batter, shallow fry.

Edited by Peter the eater (log)
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Peter Gamble aka "Peter the eater"

I just made a cornish game hen with chestnut stuffing. . .

Would you believe a pigeon stuffed with spam? . . .

Would you believe a rat filled with cough drops?

Moe Sizlack

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I like them best just like you did them. Sometimes with a cajun kick for a change of pace. I've done the Paul Haeberlin Mousseline de Grenouilles recipe a few times just for fun and it's tasty but fried is my favorite. Unfortunately, I've been completely unable to source them where I live now.

It's kinda like wrestling a gorilla... you don't stop when you're tired, you stop when the gorilla is tired.

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Canadians don't eat amphibians, unless they've been metabolized by predatory fish like pike and bass.

I'd like to disagree with that statement. As a kid, I went hunting for frogs a couple of times with my cousins. There were then prepared by some of the adults around: I believe they were quickly sauteed with garlic and butter. I know a few other people who did exactly that too, all Canadians. (Most provincial fishing licenses allow people to hunt certain types of frogs).

That being said, I'll admit frog legs are still not common... more like a once-in-the-summer cottage treat or the rare appetizer in a bistro.

When in China, I was served a soup with gutted but whole frogs in it. So I guess soup is another way to serve frogs but still I prefer the crispy or the traditional garlic butter treatment.

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I prepare them like you do, except that I marinate in buttermilk instead of milk. Also, I've never even thought about Frenching the legs. Nice touch!

They used to appear regularly on menus in South Louisiana and were typically included on seafood platters, but we hardly ever see them now. Rayne still has its Frog Festival every year, and they can be found in abundance there.

On a side note,

Bangladesh at one time supplied most of the frogs-legs consumed in the U.S. The Bangladesh government soon discovered that the fly population increased drastically. It was more expensive to control the flies with insecticides, so they banned the export of frogs, and the frogs could return to what they do best - eating flies and mosquitoes! (from FoodReference.com)

Rhonda

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  • 11 years later...

I came across this discussion thread this morning, and thought, with most Holiday parties probably cancelled this year, maybe I can do my own Holiday party at home, safely, and without the packaged chips and dips.  Maybe Frogs Legs?

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Sure, why not? (See below for more info.)

 

1292416350_froglegs.jpg.f4df32ea10242eb0a78cfeb711d1ae43.jpg

 

This is Sam Gross's famous 1970 cartoon from National Lampoon. Here's a great interview with him, in The Comics Journal.

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2 hours ago, Alex said:

Sure, why not? (See below for more info.)

 

1292416350_froglegs.jpg.f4df32ea10242eb0a78cfeb711d1ae43.jpg

 

This is Sam Gross's famous 1970 cartoon from National Lampoon. Here's a great interview with him, in The Comics Journal.

 

Don't worry little buddy, after they perfect the pink pineapple they'll figure out how to grow them back. 

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That wasn't chicken

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2 hours ago, dcarch said:

 

 

 

dcarch

Frog legs.JPG

 

Back in the 80s, one BC-based restaurant chain used to have a series of ads in which an animated chicken, pig and steer each respectively extolled the virtues of the other two protein choices. I remember the pig sounding amusingly Hitchcockian...

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"Not knowing the scope of your own ignorance is part of the human condition...The first rule of the Dunning-Kruger club is you don’t know you’re a member of the Dunning-Kruger club.” - psychologist David Dunning

 

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I think @Shelby not only cooks them but is the huntress as well.  I recall seeing them fried as she is a superb fry cook. Hope she jumps in. I've only had them sauteed in a buttery wine sauce at a restaurant though once I get to the big Chinese market I may try myself. They always have them in the freezer case and they look plump.

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Oddly enough, being from the South, I've only ever tasted them once.  Odder still, it was at a restaurant in Indianapolis IN called The New Orleans House.  @racheld's husband called Indiana "The Northernmost Southern state" and considering the fabulous "southern" food we enjoyed there, I think he was right.  I don't know if y'all ever made it there, @caroled?  We lived in Batesville IN during the late 1980's - pretty much equidistant between Cincinnati and Indianapolis.  The New Orleans House was where "nice people" ate special occasion meals.  It was IN NO WAY fashionable or cutting edge.  In fact, it was a little dowdy.  We are enthusiastic fans of dowdy and this semi-buffet was a favorite - especially to take visiting parents to.  It is closed now, but The New Orleans House was a buffet that did it right - the things on the buffet were things that did well over refrigerated pans or steam tables - salads, deli meats, steamed seafood, etc.  Things that did not hold well were passed by the waitresses and that included fried frogs legs.  I believe that I was the only one at the table that was ever brave enough to try them.  I think I was simply too old to learn that particular new trick.  I don't remember a taste, just a feeling of slight revulsion.  I wanted SO badly to claim my southern-girl roots, but I just couldn't.  I've felt the same trying to down bourbon and shad roe.  I don't like sushi, but that doesn't bother me nearly as much as my lack of being able to appreciate bourbon and frogs legs!  

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Okay, just curious. Frogs are an indicator species. Don't you have to be careful which ones you eat? I've never had frog's legs and don't believe I will start now.

 

And, @Kim Shook my southern roots are exclusively southern Lithuanian. I'm not a fan of bourbon, I much prefer rye in a cocktail or straight up. Bourbon tastes like bananas to me. Too sweet. 

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7 minutes ago, Katie Meadow said:

And, @Kim Shook my southern roots are exclusively southern Lithuanian. I'm not a fan of bourbon, I much prefer rye in a cocktail or straight up. Bourbon tastes like bananas to me. Too sweet. 

And I only like girly drinks.  No bourbon, whisky, rye, dark rum, scotch, gin, etc.  I'm a vodka and light rum drinker.  The closest thing to a "real" drink for me is a dirty vodka martini and a vodka and tonic with extra lime. 😁

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1 hour ago, Katie Meadow said:

Okay, just curious. Frogs are an indicator species. Don't you have to be careful which ones you eat? I've never had frog's legs and don't believe I will start now.

..

 

Yes polluted water affects many species. Frogs absorb through their skin so they can be affected without ingesting crud. My poor local lake with its refinery run-off had some pretty bizarre frogs as I walked the dog -Stephen Kingish.... All good now thanks to efforts like my buddy Martin in the article. All the non native frogs were removed. We have no local natives other than the tiny tree guys.  I imagine many or most frog legs we get are farmed, and that @Shelby has a clean source. http://www.laobserved.com/intell/2014/03/a_peek_behind_the_machado_lake.php. I would not eat them daily but occasionally I am ok with farmed. 

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1 hour ago, Kim Shook said:

And I only like girly drinks.  No bourbon, whisky, rye, dark rum, scotch, gin, etc.  I'm a vodka and light rum drinker.  The closest thing to a "real" drink for me is a dirty vodka martini and a vodka and tonic with extra lime. 😁

 

Frog legs might go wonderfully with a mai tai.  I've had frogs legs only once and that was at a company bash in Tennessee.  Horrible headache but probably a stretch to blame the frogs.

 

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All the frogs I can buy round here are sold live. Every market and supermarket has them. They are wild and mostly live in the local rice paddies.

 

195244395_YellowFrogs.thumb.jpg.ffcbd852e6e9f04d72096c50254e61a1.jpg

They are also extensively farmed in China (usually in rather appalling conditions) and most are exported - tonnes to France who have already eaten all their own frogs. That said, the largest exporter of frogs is Indonesia. I have never seen farmed frogs in any supermarket in China.

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19 hours ago, heidih said:

I think @Shelby not only cooks them but is the huntress as well.  I recall seeing them fried as she is a superb fry cook. Hope she jumps in. I've only had them sauteed in a buttery wine sauce at a restaurant though once I get to the big Chinese market I may try myself. They always have them in the freezer case and they look plump.

The hunting did happen, but that was a long time ago......It was always very late at night 10 p.m. until ????  Beer was involved lol and a long frog gig.  That looks like a pitchfork only the fork part is a lot smaller.  Back then, it was fun...but oh man you came home wet and dirty.  We'd go to different ponds that we knew were full of them (bullfrogs).  In the early years of living here, we'd go down to the river and gig a few.  I will admit, though, that cleaning frogs are the one thing that I don't like to clean.  It puts me off eating them, in fact.  If I don't have to clean them, I'm fine.  I think our gigging days are over.....I like being clean and sleeping more than being out and doing that lol.  These days I buy them online.  They are always farmed and say they are from China.

 

My favorite way is to cook is to fry them.  Sometimes a tempura like batter, other times a buttermilk, egg and then dip in flour batter.  Somewhere around here (maybe the sous vide thread?) I SV'd them first and then fried them.  Really tender that way.

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Between the bananas, bubble gum and slime I'm outta here. The closest I've ever gotten to a frog is having to put in ear plugs to tone down the racket at night. I've never had a mint julep either. I can't decide if the end of days means no frogs or nothing but frog farms.

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