First things first, frog legs taste like a cross between chicken and fish. Their mild flavor has people believing that they taste like chicken. Their texture is the same as chicken wings. You can prepare frog legs in many of the same ways as chicken.
Frog Legs can be considered either seafood or meat. This question is often brought up during the Lenten season, when some religions fast from eating meat on Friday. On menus, you always find frog legs listed under the seafood dishes. More often than not, frog legs are deep fried. As you can see from the recipes that follow, there are many other ways to prepare these delicacies.
One night, when my wife was out of town, I was looking for a different way to prepare frog legs. I thought that I would substitute the shrimp in my BBQ Shrimp recipe with the frog legs. My intuition was correct. The frog legs were just as tasty. It is a very easy and quick meal to prepare.
BBQ Frog Legs
3 pounds Frog Legs (cut the legs so they are single legs) 1 1/2 pounds Butter (6 sticks) 1 1/2 cups Olive Oil 8 tablespoons Garlic, chopped 2 tablespoons dry Basil Leaves 4 teaspoons Salt 3 teaspoons Lemon Juice 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce 4 tablespoons ground Black Pepper 2 teaspoons dry Oregano 2 teaspoons dry Thyme 2 teaspoons BBQ Seasoning 1 tablespoon Creole Seasoning
Over medium-high heat, melt butter in olive oil in a large pot. Combine all other ingredients, except the frog legs, and cook for 5 minutes. Add the frog legs and cook for 10 minutes. Serve in bowls with French bread for dipping in the sauce.
This dish is named after our Yorkie, Abigail. As a puppy, she was attracted to the frogs we would get in our yard. She would chase and catch them, which caused a reaction when she had the frog in her mouth. While writing my cookbook, I wanted to include a recipe named after my sweet little girl. Frog Legs were the obvious choice. This is great served over pasta.
Frog Legs Abigail
16 pairs Frog Legs, separated 1 teaspoon Salt, divided 1/2 teaspoon White Pepper, divided 1 tablespoon Creole Seasoning 1 cup Flour 1/2 cup Olive Oil 2 teaspoons Garlic, minced 2 tablespoons Clam Juice 1 tablespoon Lemon Juice 1 tablespoon Heavy Cream 6 tablespoons cold Butter, cut into 1-tablespoon pieces 1 tablespoon Fresh Parsley, chopped Pinch Black Pepper
Lightly season frog legs with 1/2 teaspoon of salt and 1/4 teaspoon of white pepper. Combine flour with Creole Seasoning and the remaining salt and white pepper. In batches, dredge the frog legs in flour and shake off the excess. Heat olive oil in a large sauté pan over medium-high heat. Add frog legs in two batches and cook, turning constantly until golden brown, 2 to 3 minutes per side. Drain on paper towels. Carefully drain all but 1 tablespoon of oil from the pan and return to the heat. Add garlic and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add clam juice and lemon juice and bring to a boil. Cook until reduced by half, about 1 minute. Add heavy cream and cook for 30 seconds. Reduce heat to medium-low and add the butter, several pieces at a time, stirring constantly, until all of the butter has been incorporated. Remove from heat. Stir in the parsley and black pepper. Return frog legs to the pan and cook over medium heat to warm through, shaking the pan back and forth to coat the frog legs evenly with the sauce, about 1 minute.
If you have not tried frog legs, take a leap of faith and try them. If you like chicken, which most people do, you will like frog legs.
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