The main reason I don’t like frog legs can be summed up by one very vulgar photo, for which I apologize in advance.
Here it goes:
As part of our large recent meat purchase from my meat purveyor friend in Portland, my pal Donnie got a rather large box of frog legs.
“What shall we do with them?” he said.
“You can do whatever you want with them,” I replied. “I’m not eating them.”
He looked dejected.
“You don’t like frog legs?”
I confessed that I didn’t think I’d ever actually eaten them, but was grossed out by the thought of them. I’m a reasonably adventurous eater — I’ll consume pretty much anything from the sea, and have happily gobbled down snails and alligators and tripe and sweetbreads. I’d even try those little birds in France that you pop in your mouth whole, bones and feathers and all. But frog legs ranked alongside brain and turtle and insects in the category of “Things I would not like to try.”
Don had been pressing for a Cajun dinner for some time — he had a large box (he’s a large-box guy) of crawfish in his freezer. We’d found a night — Rosh Hashanah, as luck would have it — and planned the dinner.
Cajun frog legs with remoulade
“How many frog legs should I bring over?” he asked.
“Two,” I replied.
But I relented, figuring Cajun was a good opportunity to give them a try. Rather than having to eat them, say, French style — naked and sautéed — I could batter and fry them, thereby disguising them. I reached into the bag he brought over and pulled out the first pale nude pair of legs, which I immediately cut in two so as not to be utterly repelled by the vulgarity of the thing.
Pretty soon I had a couple dozen single frog legs, which I spiced and floured, dipped in a beer/buttermilk mixture, floured again and fried. And they still looked like frog legs. A remoulade sauce would help further conceal their identity.
I served the frog legs alongside fried chicken gumbo and crawfish jambalaya and challah for our Cajun Jewish New Year. And I ate one.
They really do taste just like chicken. Which begs the question — why not just eat chicken?
Donnie enjoyed his frog legs, which is all that matters
“I hope I never have to eat frog legs again,” said my wife the next morning. If I have anything to do with it, darling, you won’t.
But if you like frog legs, it’s a pretty good preparation. Go catch yourself some frogs and have at it.
* * *
Cajun frog legs with remoulade
serves 4 – 6 as an appetizer
6 pairs frog legs, cut into single legs
1 cup flour
1 tbsp. white pepper
1 tbsp. garlic powder
1 tbsp. paprika
1 tsp. salt
1/2 cup IPA
1/2 cup buttermilk
2 cups vegetable oil
Remoulade sauce:
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1 tbsp. Louisiana-style hot sauce
1 tbsp. mustard
1 tbsp. ketchup
1/4 tsp. celery seeds
1 cornichon, finely julienned and chopped
1 tbsp. chopped parsley
Place flour, spices and salt in a large bowl and toss together. In another bowl, mix together the beer and buttermilk. Dip the frog legs first in the flour, then in the beer/buttermilk mixture, then again in the flour, dredging thoroughly.
Heat the oil in a wok or deep skillet over medium high heat until a drop of batter sizzles. Fry the frog legs, a few at a time, until crisp — about 2 minutes per side. Remove to paper towels to drain, and place on a rack in a 180-degree oven to keep warm until all are cooked.
Make remoulade sauce. Mix together all ingredients until smooth, and place in a small bowl.
Serve frog legs with remoulade for dipping.
skinny girls & mayonnaise 
Oct 03, 2014 @ 01:05:45
Like the post, not the most attractive picture of me.
Sent from my iPhone
>
Oct 03, 2014 @ 01:48:12
You looked positively dashing coming after the vulgar frog legs, I thought.
Oct 03, 2014 @ 01:28:46
yay!! Loving that you are posting some of your fun meat finds on here. I am also really excited that you at least tried the frog legs. I’ve only had them once or twice, never tried to actually cook them myself, but I think your preparation is the most appetizing I’ve seen. You really can take almost anything and fry it and make it delicious. BTW, we can now get in whole iguana…just throwing that out there! (They call it Chicken of the Trees.)
Oct 03, 2014 @ 01:48:41
Chicken of the Trees. I am never gonna forget that. 🙂
Oct 03, 2014 @ 03:11:01
I guess they’re all sort of related to dinosaurs anyway…
Oct 03, 2014 @ 03:15:20
There are actually quite a number of things you guys get that I don’t necessarily feel the need to eat in this lifetime. I’ll stick with my wagyu and iberico. 🙂
Oct 03, 2014 @ 03:47:46
good plan! (iguana is NOT delicious and it definitely does not taste like chicken)
Oct 03, 2014 @ 14:26:33
It won’t be on any menus soon.
Oct 03, 2014 @ 17:25:06
I’m quite sure a large percentage of your customer base is the “I dare you to eat that!” crowd.
Oct 03, 2014 @ 01:47:21
Oh, come on. They can be good. Sure, they’re gross when people don’t clean them right (the veins are creepy… but they are in shrimp, too). But I remember many delicious ones (yes, deep-fried!) in France.
Oct 03, 2014 @ 03:12:20
But they’re not delicious the way, say, an oyster is delicious. I mean, if an oyster tasted like chicken, I wouldn’t eat the oyster. Frog legs taste like chicken — if I want little bones, I’ll eat a chicken wing.
Oct 03, 2014 @ 02:10:14
Not in this lifetime! Positively no way…..Cheryl
Oct 03, 2014 @ 03:13:42
I’m glad to say I tried it. And it tasted just fine. But yeah, a frog. I mean, I look at a chicken, and I think, “Yeah, I want to eat that.” And I look at a pig, and think, “Oh yeah baby, let’s get YOU to the table!” But I look at a frog, and I don’t get hungry. I’m not a hawk.
Oct 03, 2014 @ 03:04:25
I think I had them once as a child, but never again. Do they have their little bones in them? Ew.
Oct 03, 2014 @ 03:14:33
Yes! Which, I guess, is better than a lot of gristle. But not by much…
Oct 03, 2014 @ 03:12:39
Love them frog legs!!!
Oct 03, 2014 @ 03:14:07
Those are Don’s legs you love, not the frog’s.
Oct 03, 2014 @ 03:26:20
Just a note…if you are cooking fresh frog legs, cut the tendons in them or they will jump out of the pan. Seriously. Something about the heat makes the muscles spasm.
Oct 03, 2014 @ 14:25:48
OMG, grossest thing ever.
Oct 03, 2014 @ 03:31:47
I LOVE frog’s legs, especially the tiny ones the French cook in garlic and butter. I thought you were going to say you didn’t like them because your Mom brought them home from a dinner in a French restaurant [Papillon] and told the kids they had to taste this chicken cause it was as good as it gets and then when they loved it, confessed, but on further reflection I’m not sure you were born yet.
Oct 03, 2014 @ 14:26:18
That does sound like your sense of humor. 😉
Oct 03, 2014 @ 19:15:34
It’s funny which creatures we eat and which gross us out. I love duck but the idea of eating rabbit makes me gag. Never tried frog legs and never will.
Oct 03, 2014 @ 19:24:27
Yes, you’re right — I think about that often. Why am I so comfortable eating the belly of a pig, for example… but the idea of eating one of those Australian witchity grubs utterly horrifies me. Had I been born and raised in some other parts of the world, I’d probably be happily chomping down insects, reptiles, rodents and various other unappealing creatures. (BTW, DO NOT go to Peru — they’ll try to serve you guinea pig!!!)
Oct 05, 2014 @ 18:46:41
When they come up with an edible saltwater frog I “may” give it a try. I don’t eat alligator or snake or lizard or rat and rat like things nor bugs or bug like things. Just because you can doesn’t mean you should.
Oct 06, 2014 @ 16:13:51
Awhile back I did a post about my pal Dan catching a rattlesnake and then assuming I was going to want to be part of his rattlesnake dinner. Needless to say, that was a naive assumption on his part. I asked him after the fact how it was, and it said, “It was okay. Tons of little bones.” Yeah, I don’t need to eat that.
Oct 08, 2014 @ 15:08:30
Once–on vacation as a little kid–we stopped at a place in the south for breakfast. My dad, being in a rare congenial and generous mood, said order anything you like (I think he was thinking scrambled, over easy, French toast, sausage or bacon etc.). I took advantage, like I am want to do sometimes when the opportunity feels right, and ordered the frog legs with eggs and grits which came at a high premium. I remember that they did taste like chicken or something similar but I never had them since then. It may be because everytime I think of frog legs I have a feeling they’ll be served with a side of scorn . . .
Oct 09, 2014 @ 22:31:40
They always are…
Oct 05, 2014 @ 21:41:24
Mom and Russ played a trick on us once when we were kids and brought home Frogs legs and told us they were chicken so we all ate them. I think you were still a baby Sean, so you probably didn’t. They DID taste just like chicken! So I get your point….why not just eat chicken. I assume frogs legs are a lot more expensive than chicken….
Oct 06, 2014 @ 16:14:38
Expensive or not… THEY’RE FROGS!!! I don’t want to eat them for free! I will not eat them here or there, I will not eat them anywhere!
Oct 08, 2014 @ 15:12:49
Not on a boat? Not with a goat?
Oct 09, 2014 @ 11:02:19
Would you eat them
in a box?
Would you eat them
with a fox?
Not in a box.
Not with a fox.
Not in a house.
Not with a mouse.
I immediately thought of Dr. Seuss upon reading this entry but you beat me to the punch. Obviously you’re a clever and wise being. 😉 I’ve also been put upon to try the froggy haunches. I believe the ones I had were breaded and fried with a buerre blanc. Still, they were not redeemed by butters ameliorating powers. They tasted like fishy chicken–awful. Also, as a psychotherapist, I’m trying very hard to avoid the implications of your picture above. I imagine the visage has burned itself into my mind for most of the day. I wonder how it will affect my poor patients.
Oct 09, 2014 @ 22:32:15
Do not show the image to your patients. They’ve been through enough…
Oct 09, 2014 @ 14:07:50
Hehe