Fried frog legs come in various forms, but I came to them as a child in French restaurants, lightly fried and served with parsley and garlic. The dish said “luxury” to me as a kid, and I also got a good snicker when they told me this is why the English call the French “frogs.”
How did I get these frog legs, you ask? I gigged them, in Lake Tahoe. Yep, the frog hunting is awesome up there — and what’s more, by killing them we were doing a good deed for the environment! Makes these fried frog legs taste even better. Of course it could be all that butter…
It all started when our friend Joel let me know there were frogs in them thar hills. Bullfrogs? Yep. Bigguns? Yep. We’re so there.
“We” happens to be my girlfriend Holly and me; we headed up the hill on a recent Friday evening for what felt like a proper date — if you like your girls dirty, muddy and grinning while holding a stuck frog on the end of her spear. I know I sure do.
Prepped with a few beers, we headed out for the Secret Spot, which, suffice to say, is somewhere around the lake on the California side between Truckee and South Lake Tahoe. Honestly I am not certain exactly where we were. It was dark, and did I mention I might have had a few beers?
Joel had a Hawaiian sling normally used for spearfishing, a powerful spotlight and a five-gallon bucket with a lid. All three are vital frog killing tools. Yes, I know: The Cajuns just grab their frogs. I prefer to kill at a gentlemanly distance. Actually, the real reason is because I’m just too slow to catch them by hand.
The spotlight is important because even my mag light/truncheon wasn’t powerful enough to really spotlight the wily amphibians. And the bucket should be obvious, as should the lid.
What? Aren’t the frogs dead when you spear them? Um, sorta. Please refer to my post on how to clean a frog for the grisly details on this one.
So out into the night we went. I looked exactly like someone from Swamp People, with rubber knee boots, jeans, ball cap and a t-shirt. Holly had her boots, too, while Joel went surfer: sandals and shorts. We were all armed with spears; Holly and I sported quadridents — Poseidon’s trident isn’t good enough for frogs, which, as you know, can partially live on land. A party of beachgoers asked us what we were doing.
“Frog giggin,'” I said, being sure to clip my gerunds. For some reason vaguely having to due with the South (the native home of the American bullfrog), it just seems more natural to say “giggin'” as opposed to “gigging.” Imagine John Kerry hunting frogs and you’ll have an idea why. The beachgoers muttered a nervous “good luck” and began to pack up for the night, one eye on us.
We didn’t care. We were all ears, listening for it. As night fell, the ponds we were hunting grew silent. Where were they? Joel began to fidget a little. He’d promised us a bonanza, after all.
Thrummmm, THRUMMMM! There it was! Joel aimed his spotlight beam at the sound and we all saw it at once: The unmistakable smiley face of a spotlighted bullfrog. The eyes and what pass for a frog’s lips refract light, making them look like little smileys right above the water.
It’s a touch macabre. They sit, mesmerized by the light, while someone creeps up close with a spear. So long as you never cross the beam of light the bullfrog will sit still.
Closer, closer you creep, until your spear hovers right over the frog. You tense yourself as you lower it closer to his back. From here on in, it’s your reflexes against his. With a lightning jab you either have a bullfrog stuck with a four-pointed spear, or you have a frog calmly gliding under the water out into the night. I’d be lying if I said I never missed, but none of us missed much.
(Looking for a different frog legs recipe? Try my Chinese stir-fried frog legs.)
Spearing the frog is one thing. Once you’ve pinned him to the bottom, you then need to grab his legs and wrench him off the spear and toss him into the bucket. Here’s where the lid comes in. Frogs jump. It was a little disconcerting to hear a bunch of gigantic bullfrogs (some weighed more than a pound!) jumping around in the bucket as we speared one after the other.
But damn was it fun! There’s something primal and childlike about gigging frogs. You’re out after dark, getting wet and muddy and spearing slimy things that you plan on eating — you know they’re tasty, but if not you can use them to scare off little girls. When it was over, we’d speared 14 big bullfrogs in about 90 minutes. Not a bad haul. We toasted to our success with another round of beers.
I can hear some of you wondering whether it’s a good idea to gig frogs when, after all, there are endangered red-legged and yellow-legged frogs in the Sierra Nevada. I can assure you that when you get within eight inches of a bullfrog, you know damn well it’s a bullfrog. What’s more, bullfrogs eat these endangered frogs. They are invaders from the South.
Apparently, some chucklehead brought bullfrogs to Contra Costa County, in California’s Bay Area back in 1896. The plan was to ranch them as a sort of amphibious fish farm. Frog legs sold for the equivalent of $7.55 per pound back then, which, oddly, is about the same price you can get them for now.
Well, bullfrogs made it to Lake Tahoe by the 1940s, and although they missed the Gold Rush by a century, they’ve been pretty happy there ever since. And almost since their arrival, state and federal authorities have been trying to get rid of them; the last effort cost the taxpayers more than $200,000. Yet there are still lots and lots of bullfrogs around the lake.
Tell you what, State of California: I’ll keep gigging frogs if you pay for my gas up to Tahoe. Deal?
This is a classic Provencal recipe called cuisses de grenouille à la Provençale, and it is the way I first ate frog legs, back when I was a boy. I can vividly remember it. Fried frog legs were part of the gourmet buffet at a place in West Orange, New Jersey called The Manor. I also remember that mom used to starve us all before we descended on the buffet like Visigoths. I am pretty sure I ate close to 10 frogs’ worth of legs at one trip to the trough alone.
For the record, fried frog legs really do kinda-sorta taste like chicken. Light, flaky, mild, they are like a combination between chicken breast, shrimp and crab. Damn good. Make more than you think you need.
Fried Frog Legs, French Style
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 to 2 pounds frog legs
- 1 cup milk
- 1 tablespoon salt
- 1 tablespoon black pepper
- 1 cup flour
- 10 tablespoons clarified butter, divided
- 3 garlic cloves, sliced very thin
- 2 to 3 tablespoons lemon juice
- 2 to 3 tablespoons minced fresh parsley
Instructions
- Soak the frog legs in the milk in the fridge for an hour. Meanwhile, mix the salt, black pepper and flour in a bowl, then chop the garlic and parsley.
- Heat 5 tablespoons of the butter in a frying pan large enough to hold all the frog legs; if you don't have a pan large enough, put a baking sheet in the oven and set a rack inside. Turn the oven to about 180°F. You'll use this to store the finished frog legs while you fry the rest. If you do have a large enough pan, set the baking sheet with the rack set inside next to the stovetop.
- Dredge the frog legs in the seasoned flour and shake off the excess. Fry in the butter over medium-high heat until golden, about 3 to 5 minutes per side. Flip only once if you can help it, as the flour coating is fragile. Set on the rack to drain when the frog legs are done.
- Discard the butter in the pan and wipe it out with a paper towel. Set the pan back on the stove over medium-high heat. When the butter is hot, saute the garlic until it smells good, about 1 minute. Turn off the heat and swirl in the lemon juice. Arrange the frog legs on individual plates, and, right before you serve, mix the parsley into the sauce. Pour it over the frog legs and serve immediately.
Notes
Keys to Success
- Have your clarified butter hot! You want to see a wisp of smoke coming from it when you toss in the frog legs. Keep the temperature around 340°F and you will have crisp frog legs.
- Good, fresh ingredients are the key here. Wilty parsley and pre-peeled garlic won't cut it.
I’ve always loved frog legs and joke about launching a promotion “Frog legs, the 3rd white meat.” I order them whenever I see them on a menu. I was able to purchase some the other day and immediately went to see what Hank had to say. This recipe was easy and incredible. I’m going hogging at my first opportunity to do this again. Thank you Hank Shaw.
Recipe was Fabulous! Thank you so very much! I have sent this to many friends and family. We will certainly use this again.
We used ghee for the butter. For the dredge we used 1/2 cup of almond flour mixed with 1/2 cup panko for crisp factor. Was perfect.
Hi Hank
What a great story…
Im Bruce Dynes i live in Waterloo Ontario Canada..this weekend is our guys ice fishin weekend away four of us guys fish in a 10 x 18 shed for two nights and three days i think you’d like it,sounds like yur adventurous. Anyway we wont have much more than a two burner propane cooker..no oven. Is it ok to shallow fry these legs ‘ yur style ‘ in oil or butter. Maybe with some ‘Slap yur Mama’ seasoning in the flour mix..
Thx Bruce
Hello, I work for a non-profit watershed restoration group on Vancouver Island, Canada called The Tsolum River Restoration Society. We have a big problem with invasive American Bullfrogs and are looking to create a cookbook to encourage others to hunt these frogs for food. Would it be possible to use your recipe in a book used for outreach, educational, and possible fundraising purposes? We would credit you and include your website name.
I’m just curious. I’ve been looking for a leg recipe in all 4 of the Hank Shaw cookbooks that I have and I can’t find one. So I open up the net, and here it is. Am I missing something? Did this not make it to one of your cookbooks??
Patten: No, why would it? I haven’t done a cookbook that covers frogs.
I did enjoy these frog legs but I prefer a crisper texture. These are just too soft for me.
My bull frog story: This occurred back in the 1950’s
Fantastic recipe! I love frog legs. I used wild Allium ampeloprasum instead of garlic cloves. And tapioca starch instead of flour. It has a very nice texture and sticks well in a fine dry layer. This is a super quick dinner but tastes like a fancy french restaurant meal!
I love Frog legs too. In December, my friends and I went to a Vietnamese Super Market in Santa Ana, California. We found frog legs on sales (5 pounds for $15.00). We cannot pass it. I bought a bag. They are in goo. size. I was too busy until today. I will tryout this recipe. Thank you for posting.
Shot, cooked, and ate my first batch of frog legs today. I used your recipe and the legs tasted delicious. Can’t wait to get back out there and gather some more frogs.
Here is some essential literature if you are hunting frogs. You may be late for your frog hunt after reading these because you will not be able to stop laughing:
1. Fair Play for Frogs, https://www.amazon.com/Fair-play-frogs-Waldie-Frobish-papers/dp/0151299617
2. The frog episode in Steinbeck’s Cannery Row.
Can you tell me exactly where you gig the bullfrogs? Only if you remember. Lol. My buddy got me into giggin bullfrogs, so I went and bought myself a cheap crossbow with 2 reel, some retriever bolts and a hand full of target bolts. We’d been going to Mendota and the canel nearby. We’ve been giggin some pretty fat ones. We’ve been giggin for 2 months straight and noticing the Bullfrogs are getting smaller by the week. So we need to conserve those bullfrogs so they can produce more frogs and allow them to get fat. I’ve been looking around to find a good spots to giggs some fat frogs. I would love to travel to Lake Tahoe to gigg some pretty big frogs..
The last time I harvested a bull frog was back in the early 80’s. I was renting a farm house in MD with a pond. One night about 2am, I heard him croak. I knew right away what it was and that it was big. I got my .22 rifle and a flash light. I waited for him to croak, turned the flashlight on him and bang. Right through the throat and out the top of the head. The impact knocked him up onto the bank so I didn’t even have to get my hands wet. Sauted the big guy up in butter and made an froggy omelet for breakfast. Best omelet I’ve ever eaten.
Love frog legs, used to go giggin when I was a teen. You can use a pole with a hook and a piece of colored cloth too. The will jump and catch it. Legal to use a .22 as well.
Which one was the prince?
A great report Hank, seriously making me want to go to the Asian supermarket to get some. None of a gigable size on this side of the pond
SBW
“The Cajuns just grab their frogs. I prefer to kill at a gentlemanly distance.”,/I>
I told you! Gentlemen use gigs!
I bought some frog legs at the grocery store a while back, and they were awesome. I used to catch them as a kid in the gravel pit-turned-pond next to the wooded lot my folks owned. We had mostly no idea what to do with them once we got them, though. We knew you could eat frog legs, but killing the frogs we caught never crossed our minds.
I’d love to gig for them here, but most of the habitat is, as Andy mentions, swampy. Last year, my boyfriend fell chest deep into a sinkhole, and I got stuck hip-deep in thick, sticky mud. Nearly dislocated said hip, and I know people who *have* dislocated hips in swamp mud. It makes me wary to go giggin’.
Andy, we have bullfrogs all over the place! When I was a kid, I’d catch ’em in irrigation ditches where I lived in the San Joaquin Valley – farm country. My mom has them in her little seasonal creek and pond in the foothills too. No swamp necessary!
Man I love to gig frogs. Was the habitat you were in swampy at all? Its hard for me to picture Lake Tahoe being swamp like, and hard to picture bull frogs living in pristine water. That would make frog gigging even more fun. Good post.