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. | |
- Chicken and Pork mince Pie Recipe,
a traditional pie filled with chicken and pork. The pastry is a hot water dough.
