...it is a far, far better repast that I go to than I have ever known.' And so, went five frogs I had in a tank in my basement for the last two days. I got six of them at a Chinese fish market, on 8th Avenue, at 58th Street, in Brooklyn on Friday.
Put them in a tank with clean water and changed the water a couple or few times over the past couple of days to let em get clean of the rather filthy water they had been in in the shop. Then today I took five of them out, stopped their clocks, pulled the skin off of their legs, cut the hind legs away from the body, split the legs where connected to one another, cleaned em, patted em dry with paper towels, rolled each in flower, rolled each in beaten egg, rolled em in seasoned bread crumbs and put em in a deep frying pan about 1/3 full of hot vegetable oil. About five minutes on side one until golden brown, flip em and about 3 or 4 minutes on the flip side until golden brown on that side and they were fall from the bone ready for my belly.
I cooked them up as a special treat for my brother-in-law the elder who turns the big 60 this week. He, my brother-in-law the younger, my mother-in-law, wife, daughter and son and my sister-in-law (my late brother's wife) are having a birthday bash for the birthday boy. The wife cooked up a nice pot roast dinner (maybe sauerbraten - not sure yet since the rite kraut is giving off a strong but yummy aroma). So far, I think only me and my brother-in-law the elder have partaken in the froggy goodness. He loved them. So did I. I am pretty sure Brendan will gulp a few down but was surprised that my younger brother-in-law declined even one. Not much of a surprise that the wife, daughter and MIL will not have any. As for the sister-in-law, she is not here yet (edited to add: yes she too declined).
A decent video, of frogs going from the catching to the cooking and eating can be seen here.
Oh yeah, in case you are wondering why I only cooked up 5 of the 6 frogs, I have given the 6th one a reprieve. It will live on, in a tank in my basement, at least until I get a hankering for frogs legs again and cook up another batch (dredged in flour/salt/pepper and sautéed in butter next time, I think). Chances are though, if I keep it for my next frogs' leg dinner, I'll be keeping it for quite awhile and it likely will live to a ripe old age for a frog. That's because the last time, before this, that I made frogs' legs was at least four or five years ago, so the odds are in the frog's favor of living a long life of froggy bliss until it dies of old age and goes to frog heaven long before I cook them again.
All the best,
Glenn B
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| One thing is for sure, there was not much of a chance I could go out and catch frogs of this size anywhere near me in New York. They were a handful and their legs were a tasty mouthful. |
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| There were some nice looking fat legs on these babies and that made for great eats. |
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| Man oh man was that ever some froggy goodness. Golden brown, fall off of the bone done and absolutely delicious. |
Oh yeah, in case you are wondering why I only cooked up 5 of the 6 frogs, I have given the 6th one a reprieve. It will live on, in a tank in my basement, at least until I get a hankering for frogs legs again and cook up another batch (dredged in flour/salt/pepper and sautéed in butter next time, I think). Chances are though, if I keep it for my next frogs' leg dinner, I'll be keeping it for quite awhile and it likely will live to a ripe old age for a frog. That's because the last time, before this, that I made frogs' legs was at least four or five years ago, so the odds are in the frog's favor of living a long life of froggy bliss until it dies of old age and goes to frog heaven long before I cook them again.
All the best,
Glenn B
