Frogs Legs
Extract from Gastronaut, BBC Books
Let’s just get a few things straight:
1. Frogs’ legs do not taste fishy. In fact, they’re a bit like chicken, and have a very delicate texture. They are utterly delicious. I know this because I’m sitting here eating some.
2. The French do eat them, but not for every meal. Despite that, we are still entirely within our rights to call them ‘Froggies’ in much the same way as they call us (in their endearingly clumsy way) ‘rosbifs’.
3. Most of the frogs’ legs eaten in France are bought frozen and imported from Taiwan and Indonesia. Their French name is grenouilles [les cuisses de grenouille]
4. Not being able to find them is a poor excuse – buy them by mail order.
Serving frogs’ legs does raise eyebrows, but even your wettest friends should enjoy them after their initial revulsion. If you do have any problems, try Escoffier’s trick – he called them ‘nymphs’ because he thought that ‘frog’ was a vulgar word. And where was Escoffier from? Nuff said.
They’re disarmingly easy and quick to cook. The legs come already prepared – there’s no frog peeling involved, which is a relief, even for me. They’re usually wrapped in little individual plastic sleeping bags to keep them separate.
The idea with this recipe is to sauté them in a light dusting of seasoned and slightly garlicky flour. It’s important to keep it delicate – a KFC coating won’t do them justice.
Here’s an extra recipe thrown in for free. Free? What do I mean? You aren’t paying anything anyway. Hmmm.
Frog Sauce
Should the ease of the frogs’ legs recipe insult your intelligence and should you feel the need to tackle something more elaborate, try this sauce for pasta. It will make enough for four light portions.
12 pairs of frogs’ legs
a knob of butter
1 small onion, chopped
salt and pepper
1 tablespoon flour
250 ml vegetable stock
a second knob of butter
1 egg yolk
a small handful of fresh parsley, finely chopped
pasta of your choice
Gently fry the frogs’ legs in butter with the onion, salt and pepper. Cook for 10 minutes, making sure it doesn’t brown.
Meanwhile, put the flour in a bowl and slowly stir in the stock. Add it to the frying pan and turn the heat down. Simmer it very gently for 20 minutes, stirring it every now and then.
Pick out the legs and let them cool until you can pull the meat off (don’t throw the liquid away). Pass the meat and liquid through a sieve, into a bowl, pushing it through using a wooden spoon to make a fine paste. Add the second knob of butter, the egg yolk and parsley.
Cook your pasta to your preferred consistency, then drain it and return it to the warm pan. Stir in the sauce, taking care not to cook it any further but just warming it through.
