Here at work we have an open freezer policy and are encouraged to take home and eat whatever products we have floating around at the moment. So the very first time I opened the freezer, eager to snatch some heart-shaped ravioli to take home for dinner, I was shocked when the first box I opened was full of frog legs (and they were BIG).
I promptly put them back.
A few days later, I got to thinking… Whenever I ask my 5 year old nephew what he’d like for dinner, 9 times out of 10, he’ll reply enthusiastically “Frog Legs!” and then laugh. We had plans to attend a family function that weekend so what a perfect opportunity to serve my clever nephew the frog legs he’s always requesting. And better yet, I figured I could convince my adventurous brother-in-law to do the cooking.
It was easy. I showed up to a lasagna dinner kid birthday party with a pan full or raw frog legs. The adults were wary and the kids were stoked!
My brother-in-law dipped the legs in a flour mixture, dredged them through an egg wash, rolled them in a cracker coating and then into the deep fryer they hopped (everything tastes good deep fried – right?).
I pulled out a bottle of ketchup for the kids and made an aioli dipping sauce for the adults.
The first bite was taken by my brave husband and he assured me they were fine. So I bit in … and you guessed it, they tasted essentially like chicken nuggets. Pretty bland, but covered in sauce, they were alright!
My darling nephew and his little brother (the birthday boy) were hesitant at first, but after a few bites couldn’t get enough! Every single adult (even the picky ones) tried at least one. To my surprise, the frog legs were a decent hit with my family. Everyone started thinking of different ways to cook them up… frying, bbq-ing, baking, etc.
The kids were hopping around like frogs for the rest of the night!
Since then, I’ve heard sautéing is the way to go. I think we have a few left in our freezer, so if anyone has fabulous frog leg recipes, please share!
Comments 2
Okay Emily, I accept this assignment — I’ll be cooking frog legs this weekend. Sautéing will be involved… details to follow…
HA! “Heart-shaped ravioli”! Yeah, I was surprised when I got frog legs at a restaurant and they were in pairs. Tasty little things.