frogs' legs

An article about the delicacy of frogs' legs appeared in one of my "foodie" magazines this month. I must admit I've NEVER consumed frogs' legs in my life (as the opportunities at even some of the most expensive restaurants I've visited seem limited in this regard). However, after reading the article, I'm prepared to order it any time the opportunity now presents itself.

I remember my first experience with escargots when I was in college. It was at a little, now defunct, French restaurant known as Le Parisienne. This was a very well-established restaurant here in Salt Lake City and helped introduce me to a number of culinary delights that up-to-that point in my life, I hadn't sampled. My first chocolate mousse was devoured with delight there as was my first Dover Sole. The Dover Sole was and continues to be one of my most vivid memories of a dish that utterly overwhelmed me. As you may recall from the film "Julie and Julia," this was the dish that awakened Julia Child's world to the possibilities of French cuisine. The escargot, incidentally, was a revelation. So, it does not surprise me that frogs' legs (which I now seem to recall were offered at Le Parisienne) have been a favored dish for thousands of years spanning the globe.

Archaeologically, fossils from the Neolithic Age suggest we've been eating frogs for more than 5,000 years. They are ingredients in stews, soups, stir-fried with lemongrass, deep-fried, and simmered with chilies, cilantro and garlic ranging from Indonesia to Mexico to the United States (where you can evidently buy them deep-fried at Nathan's hot dog stand on Coney Island).

But, nowhere in the world have frogs' legs been so revered and appreciated as they have been in France. This predominant cuisine was so widespread, it earned the French the nickname of "Frogs" back in the 16th century. The frogs of France belong to the species Rana esculenta. They are spotted green frogs that populate Europe's fenlands. Today, not only does France supply frogs' legs to the world, but other countries have joined in including, Vietnam, Bangladesh, Indonesia and China. These frogs belong to the species Rana tigrina and are essentially known as the Indian Bullfrog. The Asian suppliers farm-raise their bullfrogs, feeding them a diet of fly meal (Yum!). Arguably, the United States is better than both varieties and is much larger. Weighing in at as much as one-and-half pounds, the American Bullfrog can reach a length of eight inches. They devour bugs, fish, snakes and even small birds! (USA! USA!).

The author of the article begins by relating a bullfrog hunting expedition he joins in New Orleans with one of his chef friends. They embark on there camouflaged pontoons, armed with nets, flashlights and coolers of beer at sunset. Ultimately, they bag their prey, a "croaker sack" they call their spoils, the hunters wet and caked with river mud. The chef starts a fire and then coats the frogs' legs with buttermilk, dusts them with a cayenne-seasoned flour and throws them into a vat of boiling peanut oil. The author reports that "the meat was a little chewy, and closer in taste to fish than fowl, with a subtly pungent note that called mind the frogs' marshy home."

Bon appetit!