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Frog Legs?

My husband is thinking of having me committed after I served grilled frog legs for dinner last night (with cornbread and peas). Where I'm from, this is perfectly normal and delicious food. He, however, feels quite the opposite.

After quizzing my equally repulsed coworkers this morning, they all are in agreement with the hubby. To each their own culinary heritage, I guess... How do you Serious Eaters feel about frog legs?

34 Comments:

I love them. They have a texture like chicken wings, and if people weren't so squeamish, I think they'd be really popular. oh well, more for us.

I've never had them, but would certainly not be opposed to trying them. Especially accompanied by corn bread.

I haven't had them since I was a kid out for dinner with my Grandpa somewhere "fancy"...but I would order them again if I had the chance....it's been a long time but it reminded me of game bird...dark and peppery.

They do NOT taste like chicken, IMHO. I thought they had a distinctly fishy taste and once was enough for me. I wish I hadn't heard the former because I think it prejudiced my taste buds.

The Frog Leg Inn in Erie, Michigan (I run the web site) serves Indonesian frog legs in a light breading, after which they're lightly deep-fried. Check the restaurant's Menu page for a photo I took of some my 11-year-old ate. All my kids love the things, and will eat them by the pound. And my daughter and I fight over the deep-fried alligator.

Sounds to me as if you need to educate some people, including your husband!

I only like them fried esp. from Nathan's in Coney Island, Brooklyn, NY. My dad likes them in a steamed dish.

Deuteronomy Leviticus

My dad and a bunch of his friends went through a frog-gigging obsession when I was a teen, so yep, I've eaten them, and never thought it was all that odd. I do agree that they have a chicken-like quality in terms of texture, but I'm with Perky about the flavor. It is most assuredly not like chicken. The only way I've ever been able to describe them is "swampy" tasting. I feel the same way about catfish.

Anyway, I don't think eating them is at all strange or gross, and I'd certainly eat them again if they were served to me, but... definitely not one of my preferred foods.

Snake meat is very similar, but without that eau de swamp, and therefore much tastier IMHO.

BTW, I've noticed when I've eaten alligator that it doesn't have any of the swampy quality... a bit odd in my mind, given the similar lifestyle... anybody know why?

Frog legs are delicious, and not only the frog's legs but the rest of them as well.

To me they have a fine texture that's a cross between a meaty fish like striped bass or monkfish and chicken and a similar taste to both meats (perhaps not coincidental as frogs are amphibians?).

Absolutely delicious, I will eat frog any day, unfortunately when I do get to have frog, its usually a special treat.
Frog cooked in a claypot with ginger and garlic and scallions...mmm.

Haven't tried the frog legs yet.

Texture of chicken, taste of fish, and both Mr. Meatloaf and I like them a great deal. Seldom found in our local restaurants, but once upon a time, they, as well as turtle soup, were frequently found on St. LOuis menus.

I adore frog's legs either grilled or fried and have gigged for frogs myself.

I had some fried frog's legs on my last trip home to Louisiana as part of my Semi-Annual Fried Food Binge. :P

I must admit I've only eaten them once and that was decades ago so no expert here but I am wondering, does variety/species make a difference? You frog lovers, are there desirable and undesirable types? Does size or age make a difference? Skin on or skin off? are they as versatile as the poultry they are compared to? Better fried, grilled, stewed, steamed or baked...? Teach us something, please.

Is the texture of the skin similar to that of a chicken wing? I think I'd like to try them if the skin was crispy, but not if it was soft.

Living on an island on the edge of the Everglades, I have enjoyed frog legs for many years. An Everglades old-timer friend of mine told me the secret to really good frog legs: Freeze them for a few days, thaw them, then cook them. Great taste and texture. I prefer fried or sauteed.

I've never tried them as they certainly aren't prevalent in my suburban Chicago culture. But, I was exposed to the idea as a child when my babysitter was obsessed with frog legs. She talked about them a lot so I sort of got used to the idea. I would try them one day but would probably be shocked to find them in my own home at dinner.

Hillary
Chew on That

They used to be on the menu of a seafood place my family used to eat at when I was very young. My (even younger) sister used to order them. I seem to recall liking them, but not enough to not order the fried clams (with bellies!) instead.

I haven't happened to try frog legs. I can see now that I most likely wouldn't want to take a bite, but only because you're telling me that they're fishy-tasting - I don't eat cooked fish for this very reason:-). I wouldn't be repulsed, however, if my dining companions were to order frog legs, just like I don't care if they have fish.

@brooke29, with fresh frog logs cooked correctly there's no fishy taste whatsoever that I've noticed. You just need to find good ones or make them yourself.

@LunaPierCook - in this case, there is hope for me yet and I'll certainly be willing to try!

Hey, I'd forgotten ... one of the recipes the Frog Leg Inn had me put on the web site is a recipe for Chef Tad's Frog Legs A La Parisienne, which is served with an onion cream sauce. You can get a PDF copy of the recipe by clicking here (Adobe Reader required, click here to download and install).

@ czken: Most frogs you eat these days are raised in captivity and are actually a subspecies called "edible frogs." I have friends who -- back in the day -- used to go out and gig frogs (spear them out of the bayou) and cook those up to eat, but I've never personally eaten a gigged frog. I prefer getting my frogs from the butcher, where I know they won't taste "swampy."

I imagine the younger to middle-aged frogs would taste best. To my knowledge, I've never eaten a senior citizen frog and don't think they'd taste very good. I've also never eaten any part of the frog other than the legs... And they are frogs, not toads -- an important distinction. Just FYI, since I've been asked that question before. :)

@sheeats.......age discrimination, age discrimination (to be said before, "citizen arr ay est, citizen arr ay est"). Are you insinuating that the senior citizen frogs, like their human counterparts, are fattier and crabbier - hence more fishy tasting, and thus undesirable? Where's Gomer Pyle when I need him?

All frog I've eaten have been skinned, I've never seen a preparation with the skin on, so I imagine that the skin isn't all that appetizing.

And yes, most frogs available around here are farm raised, so their diet is regulated and they don't have that bottom of the aquarium taste that is (naturally) offputting to non frog fans.
I usually have them in Chinatown, or if they're being prepared at home, get them from a Chinatown fishmonger where they're sold live in big plastic tubs when the weather starts to warm up.

I have no idea about the preferred age of frogs for eating...they're probably not very old if you're looking for tender meat.

I'd really have to say they're quite a bit like monkfish, and the entire frog is edible, sans head. Just chop em up like you would chicken and prepare in similar ways.

Even frog bones are like a cross between a bird's and a fish, and while small, they are soft and easy to remove from the meat, so don't be squeamish about eating the rest of the frog!

I've never prepared them at home. Most of the time it's been in restaurants and with Asian treatment, not classic French. I've had it with black bean sauce and with lemon grass, a little heat. Always fried.

As a kid I watched a cooking show (the ragin' cajun or the crzy cajun or something) and this old man with a white moustache, blue denim shirt and red suspenders would hoot (Whoooeeeeee!) and cook. He barbequed some frog legs once and they looked so good, it imprinted me forever. If a restaurant offers frog legs, I order 'em, whoooooeeeeee!

I'll admit it. The idea of eating them myself makes me squeamish, but I don't care if other people eat them. I just have some unresolvable issues with eating things that come from lake, river, or sea.

Yum! Yum! Yum!!!! Love the frog legs! YUMMY!

FYI: just in case anyone is interested in seeing pictures of the nefarious meal itself, here you go. >:-)

I like them, and never got that swampy taste but probably the ones I had were farmed.

Someone I knew used to hunt for frogs when he was a boy and I'll never forget his description of cleaning the things. I won't forget the description but I have forgotten the exact term used for the "butchering" (ha, ha butchering frogs sounds ridiculous). The common term used was something like "pulling their pants down" due to the way you have to remove the legs from the carcass.

So I had to try to find this term, naturally. Didn't find it but did find a recipe from Rick Tramonto for a Frog Leg Risotto. Filed under "aphrodisiacs" of all things!

That "Crazy Cajun" was Justin Wilson. Excellent cook and story teller.

@1stmakearoux--Yes! That's him! I loved listening to him talk and watching him cook! His show was on Saturdays and I'd have to fight with my sisters in order to watch his show instead of cartoons!

Albeit a tad messy for finger-eating, I like them sauteed and simmered in a marinara sauce.

Deep-fried, y'all...frog legs. My mother makes these on occasion. I am mad for them. I wish I knew where to get them in Philadelphia.

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