How to cook frogs legs. Cuisses de grenouilles.
Wes Todd Shaw asked how to cook frogs legs, so I thought I'd try come up with something. The recipe is also for my Hubfriend Derdriu who also wondered about a recipe for her little peepers.
Frogs legs, although usually thought of as a French dish and is a dish that a lot of people might pull a face at; is popular as a delicacy in many countries other that France, including Slovenia, China, certain parts of India, Portugal, and a few others.
The general consensus of opinion is that they taste like chicken; but they have a certain mystic about them and there are a number of ways that they are traditionally eaten. My aim here is make to make them taste of frogs legs, a unique flavour of their own.
First recipe is for Crunchy frog's legs served with rice and mayonaise.
Cook Time
Ingredients for crunchy frogs legs
- frogs legs
- 250ml buttermilk
- 1tsp salt, sea salt
- 1tsp caster sugar
- 1 tablespoon dried dill, dried
- 1 stick clove
- 6 shallots, red for preference
- 1 star star Anise.
- 200gm flour, plain [all purpose] sifted
- 1teaspoon chilli powder., Kashmir is the mildest.
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1tbsp Balsamic vinegar
- 1tbsp Soy sauce
- 250gm presciutto
- How to cook them. Soak the legs in buttermilk, seasoned with a little salt and sugar, dill, a clove and the star anise. Leave them over night if possible, certainly for three to four hours.
- For the flour dredge, add a little salt, pepper, chilli powder, a teaspoon of baking soda and mix well together. Remove the legs from marinade and hop them into a dish with the flour in. Give them a good coating and then pop them back into the buttermilk and repeat the dredge in the flour. Doing it this way, you will get an even tasty, crunchy batter.
- Fry the legs in a deep pan. I suggest that you fry them not as hot as you might usually fry, but give them a little longer so that the meat is properly cooked.
Ingredients for the Mayonaisse
Cup of mayo
Garlic paste,
cucumber chopped and then cubed.
fresh chopped herbs such as, dill, parsley, thyme, basil, oregano.
For extra colour and zing, add a little red chilli sauce
Chef's Tip.
Most of my herbs I grow from seed on the kitchen window sill. you can also grow salad there too. I grow lettuce, beetroot, radishes, cress, all sorts of things so that I have a constant supply of fresh young leaves.
The Rice
For the rice I like to use a mix of long grain and wild rice.
gently warm 1 1/2 cups of water, when it becomes slightly tepid, add a little butter, this will help stop it sticking together.
Give a cup of the rice a good wash and then add to the pan. I don't think there is any point bringing the water to the boil, because as soon as you drop in the rice it cools again.
cook the rice until it is almost soft, but not quite. Once it has stood a short while it will be perfect.
How to serve
Finely chop your shallots, garlic and prosciutto, and add a little ginger powder. Add the soy sauce and balsamic vinegar. and cook them on a low heat.
When the legs look ready, after about 15 minutes in the fryer put them in with the shallots, add a tablespoon of Brandy, I like to use Calvados. Flambé them if you dare, if not cook a few minutes to get rid of the alcohol.
Put the whole thing into some tinfoil, aluminium foil parcel in an oven tray. Cook for fifteen minutes or until tender; you can then drop or hop the legs back into the fryer for three minutes just to make sure they are nice and crunchy
Pre-heat your oven to gm5 about 190ºC or 375º F.
Finally make a bed of rice and place a few legs on top, pour the gravy over them.
You can put the herby mayo mix in side dishes or top the meal with it.
Drinks Cabinet
For a meal like this a need a bright, fresh taste, I would recommend a white wine, perhaps a Reisling which has a little bit of acid and tang.
Or what about a lemon drink, Hub friend Stessily has a great lemon drink, follow the lead.
| Nutrition Facts | |
|---|---|
| Serving size: 100gm | |
| Calories | 73 |
| Calories from Fat | 0 |
| % Daily Value * | |
| Fat 0 g | |
| Saturated fat 0 g | |
| Unsaturated fat 0 g | |
| Carbohydrates 0 g | |
| Sugar 0 g | |
| Fiber 0 g | |
| Protein 16 g | 32% |
| Cholesterol 50 mg | 17% |
| * The Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet, so your values may change depending on your calorie needs. The values here may not be 100% accurate because the recipes have not been professionally evaluated nor have they been evaluated by the U.S. FDA. | |
also by Tonymead60
- Chicken and Pork mince Pie Recipe,
a traditional pie filled with chicken and pork. The pastry is a hot water dough.
Comments
Hi, Tony. Looks and sounds delicious! You've also reminded me of a delicacy I haven't tried in probably the best part of twenty years! The first time I ate frogs legs was in a Chinese restaurant in Morecambe in what I reckon must have been the late 1970's. They were served curried in that instance. After that, I ate them a couple of times in a casino in Glasgow, where although similar to your idea, they had been deep fried in a thick batter. Definitely need to try and get a hold of some frogs' legs and try cooking them - where did you buy yours? Online?
Well you sure did it up!!!!!!!!! I had some the other day - they turned out all right, but I just battered them like chicken, and I believe that I cooked them a bit too long.
Very good, Sir - I'll bet there is no better page on this subject on the web!
- Author
HI Gordon,
nice to hear from you again, thanks for calling in.
Boy you live dangerously, casino in Glasgow and Morecambe, just the dish you'd expect there;]
Yes I bought them online, not easy to find though. Osgrow is a exotic meat supplier, £15 a kilo. I've seen them for £40/ kilo. I don't know whether I'm allowed to give you the www. here, anyway you'll get it from the name if needs be.
While I've enjoyed frogs legs when eating out, the only time I cooked them I was a little taken aback when they contracted in the pan and looked like they were still alive! :) But your recipe looks scrumptious, so maybe it's time to try again! :)
Well done hub, voted up!
- Author
Wesman Todd Shaw,
It needs a little bit longer to cook than chicken, but I thought it had a slight fishy taste, hence my choice of herbs.
good luck
Tony
- Author
HI Gordon,
nice to hear from you again, thanks for calling in.
Boy you live dangerously, casino in Glasgow and Morecambe, just the dish you'd expect there;]
Yes I bought them online, not easy to find though. Osgrow is a exotic meat supplier, £15 a kilo. I've seen them for £40/ kilo. I don't know whether I'm allowed to give you the www. here, anyway you'll get it from the name if needs be.
cheers
Tony
- Author
Stephanie, thanks for comment and vote.
I think the best way to stop them wriggling is to cut the tendons. It must have given you quite a shock when they started kicking. Thank you for your story too.
regards
Tony
Tony, What a belly-rumbling, finger-licking, lip-smacking, mouth-watering, tummy-scrummy recipe! It's an honor -- what with your expertise in all things food and recipes -- to find such a delicacy named after me, and in French to boot! As usual, you do a really great job with straightforward instructions and useful tips. It's especially helpful to know exactly how to get froglegs crunchier.
Also, I appreciate the serving and drink recommendations, both of which are eminently do-able and enticing, since it's a welcome time-saver to know how to fit such an unsual dish into the wider context of a meal. And yes, I agree that Stessily's home-made lemon juice is always a refreshing addition to a dessert, meal or snack.
As always, I particularly favor recipes which include balsamic vinegar, fresh greens, and sea salt. As always, I like how you break the entire process into manageable steps, with clear instructions and illustrative original photos.
Finally, it's most interesting to know which herbs and salad ingredients can be grown most attractively and conveniently on a kitchen window sill for easy plucking.
Voted 5 stars + all the categories (although I'm not finding the voted up button on this page: is it staring me in the face somewhere?).
Respectfully, and with many thanks to the Proper Champion Yorkshireman for sharing and for naming this recipe after me, Derdriu
- Author
Derdriu,
many thanks for comments and the votes; very much appreciated.
I hope that you tried the 'Aroma-Hub' button, it really works, honest. Sort of honest anyway.
The legs took some locating, folks around here would just stare blankly at you for suggesting that they actually eat them.
Fabio should be over this weekend and we are going to try some other ideas. The girlfriend has gone.
You can hardly see my kitchen windowsill at the moment I've so much on there. I plant beetroot seeds and cut the leaves, they are very tasty.
About the drinks, I've almost finished the first of my river expiditions, this one is about the Moselle, its wine and towns. There is some explanation of the regional wines.
It is my honour to name it after you, and my pleasure that you approve.
ttfn.
Tony
Tony,
May I link my spring peepers hub with this hub?
Respectfully, and with many thanks to the Proper Champion Yorkshireman, Derdriu
- Author
Derdriu,
Yes of course, that would be good, I've already linked to your hub and Stessily's hub.
The more links the better I think.
regards
Tony
Tony, Certainly an interesting recipe, well presented, with nice photos, but I'll probably never try it ~ particularly not after reading the exchange above between you and Stephanie Henkel about legs writhing in the pan. I'm enjoying it vicariously, though, which is my way with some recipes.
Your statement about the distinctive aroma of cloves is indeed true. It's one of many favourite culinary aromas for me.
I was pleasantly surprised and very honoured at the end to see a link to my lemon drink hub. Thank you. I'll link back to you from there.
I do hope that you'll write a hub on your windowsill garden, with lots of photos. That's a special interest of mine, even though I have not pursued that form of gardening to its full extent. Perhaps it's fated to be just another vicarious pursuit for me.
You've definitely honoured Deedee with this hub, which is a good followup to her hub on your Tenerife dragon tree.
All the votes except Voted UP, which I'm not finding anywhere on this page. What happened to it?
Ta ta, Stessily
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Stessily,
I've no idea what has happened to the buttons, my details are also missing from my screen on this.
Many thanks for the visit and kind comments.
We used to stick cloves in oranges and hang them from the Christmas tree at one time.
I've not tried your drink yet, but I can imagine the flavour and smell will be knock-out.
I think it would make a good hub too, but it will have to get in the queue which gets longer everyday.
ttfn Tony
Tony, What if Scotty were to beam my request to the front of the queue?
ta, Stessily
- Author
Stessily,
Well in that case I might just be able to move my schedual, but it would have to be at warp speed.
I really don't know what has happened to my pages. Have they changes it again? All my hubs have changed for some reason. If you can hear a sqeaky scratchy noise, that's me scratching my head in confussion.
ttfn
Tony
Tony, Yes, I just heard the squeaky scratchy sound, so thanks for enlightening me as to its source and its raison d'être.
Scotty informed me that he's feeling sluggish so warp speed might not be attainable. So fit my request in when you can, hopefully not too far in the future, please.
Someone near me is cracking their knuckles; a female actually. When I was growing up, it was only the guys who popped their knuckles. Is that a pastime in the UK?
ta, Stessily
P.S. Your avatar isn't appearing on this hub. I wonder why the UP vote and your avatar have gone missing. I think that mine are still in order.
We always had frog legs to eat. I would go froging with my Mom and Dad. I love them, could eat them everyday. It is really a southern dish too, I think because of the big bull frogs they have down south. I have cooked them, I only put them in flour with salt and pepper. Enjoyed your hub. Your recipe sounds good;
- Author
Stessily, I guess from the knuckle cracking you are in your favourite library. I thought it was just concert pianists that did it.
I'll try and start this week, honest! I hope to launch one about the Moselle and its wines tomorrow.
ttfn
Tony
- Author
moonlake, thank you for your interesting comment. It must have been fun looking for your meal in that way. Did you net them or just chase after them?
I enjoyed them, maybe your recipe is better, you can taste real frog that way.
regards
tony
We caught them with a piece of red ribbon or fabric on a string. The frog will grab it and just pull him in. We would go along the river and see them in the water hang the red fabric in front of them and they would jump for it. It was easy I was catching them when I was little. My Dad and my husband would go out at night to catch them. They sit out better at night. They would shine the flash light on them hang the fabric in front of them and pull them in.
I make them the way my Mom always made them.
- Author
moonlake, Thank you for the reply, that is really fascinating. Poor old frog thinks he's grabbed something fancy and he's tugged away to be eaten. Are they in rivers, or swampy sort of areas? You should do a hub about them, unless you already have. I'll be along later to checkout some of your hubs.
regards
Tony
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