© Copyright 1995-2023, Clay Irving <clay@panix.com>, Manhattan Beach, CA USA

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Frog Legs

Frog Leg Characteristics
While people who are familiar with frog legs only on high-priced menus or in specialty markets may not think of getting them as sport, there's little doubt that a "leg man" — or woman — considers them good eating. Getting them in the wild is great sport, as anyone knows who has gone out with a gig and tried spearing them! Some people do it bare-handed at night using a light; that way they do absolute minimum damage to the edible meat, which includes the body meat of large frogs — just as good as the legs.

Assuming you have the whole, undamaged animal, the first thing is to kill it by slapping its head sharply on something hard. The head is then cut off; this is best done by holding the forelegs back along the body, putting the blade of a hatchet on the spot to be cut, then hitting the hatchet with a hammer — a two-man job. The feet are cut off in the same way, with a heavy blade and a hammer. With a knife or scissors slit the belly open and remove the viscera. Peel the skin off, using pliers or pincers. The back legs are cut off above the joint with hatchet and hammer.

Frog legs are usually served by the pair, but there is no reason why they should not be cut apart if so desired. The size of the legs — jumbos, small, or in between — will determine how many you will need for a meal for your family.

Frog legs freeze well, but even commercially frozen ones have a spooky tendency to twitch when they are in the hot pan. Let nervous cooks be forewarned!