There usually are three things (maybe more) foreigners won’t touch in French restaurants. Frog legs, brain and snails.
Although I can totally understand the disgust brain and snails can inspire (I don’t particularly enjoy those textures either even though the tastes are interesting), frog legs are an absolute delight.
The first step it to find legs that are not too fat. Even though the ones you’ll find in Chinatowns around the globe are delicious, the frogs in France are much smaller. Their small size makes them crispy almost through and through when you fry them. It is part of what makes them so pleasant to eat. So the size of French frog legs is about 2 inches high and 1 inch wide.
The second step is to forget about the way they look. To be honest, I was making some this past Sunday and it felt like I was deep frying tiny people. You can actually debone them quite easily once cooked and before serving. Your guests won’t be so freaked out. The real foodies out there will eat anything, but I can understand how some foods can gross some people out…
9 times out of 10, frog legs here are just fried and covered with garlic/parsley butter. They are served on their own with some lemon on the side. No rice necessary.
Ingredients (serves one person for a main course, 2 if served as an appetizer):
- 1 pound frog legs
- Plain white flour
- 2 big cloves of garlic
- 1 bunch of parsley
- 1/2 pound of butter
- Canola oil
Steps:
- Rinse legs and cover them with flour
- Heat oil in pan (you can also deep fry) and fry the legs until golden brown. This takes two minutes on each side if pan-fried…
- Take them out and put them on paper towels
- Heat up butter, chopped parsley and garlic (see persillade recipe here)
- Dump the legs in that mixture and stir carefully so the sauce covers all the legs. Take them out right away and serve hot/warm
The name itself is so creative and the dish looks yummy…..:)
Thanks! It was really good. One of my favorite things to eat:)
Funny. Put ballet shoes on them and they would have been ready to dance the Nutcracker. But they were butchered!
Rob
lol!
This look sooooo good that I’m drooling! I wonder if I can find this delicious goodness somewhere in Bordeaux…?? And yes, brain sounds so YUCK but as a Chinese who’s seen a bunch of weird stuff, it doesn’t surprise me anymore
I like snail though 
You can find frozen frog legs at Eurasie (Across from IKEA) or any Picard frozen food store:)
I ate both frogs legs and snails in France and loved both but brains? Meh…. merci, mais non.
lol – ah hah!
Oh they look good! I have enjoyed frogs legs before (the little bones don’t put me off, haha) but these look more tasty than the ones I had. I also don’t mind snails but can’t stand brains – I’ve eaten them as a child though, detested every mouthful that my parents tried to convince me was delicious! Ergh…
I feel the exact same about brains:)
The best ones are those you catch yourself. Got to be careful, they’re easily overcooked. Yours look superb.
I never caught any myself, but people say it’s really fun:) I don’t know if I’d be able to skin them though:)
indeed these legs look sexy , another good recipe
Thank you!!
sexy legs indeed! haha I actually laughed when I read the title and then saw the picture of the frog legs looking like they’re doing a dance. Really good looking! I love frog legs, but don’t get to eat them much
Fantastic! No brains for me but everything else! Delicious parsley butter.
I feel the same about brain:)
…ouais, il est vrai que les cuisses de grenouilles ne sont pas très populaire. C’est peut-être notre référence à Kermit the frog.
Looks like you laid out a ballet company on a plate.
Very funny! I’m telling you, I thought I was frying the whole Moulin Rouge “ballet” company:)
Morning! i’m doing my cooking list for this weekend – reason why i just checked your blog for getting some interesting idea….and…surprise surprise..i found this post! It is really making me smile…and thinking there’s one ingredient missing: some Roger Vivier shoes::)….
Your recipe is surely having a great taste…but i’ve never wanted to prepare something like this…who knows why..::)
Have a great weekend…and long live the original ideas!
Thanks! I know you’ll find something equally delicious to cook this weekend and probably a little more practical:) Have a great one!
I’ve eaten them several times in France but never cooked them. Great to have your recipe for when I find some (which might be when we – hopefully – are in France this coming summer). It’s obviously something simple enough to make in Lofty, the camper van. Is one of your wonderful markets where to buy them? By the way, I love snails, brains and frogs legs – what does that make me?
That makes you a true foodie! Congratulations! I can’t stomach brains:)
Gosh, if these had red stiletto heels on they’d look even more obscene – you’re right, they look like little peoples legs and buttocks, especially in the raw before they’re fried!
I think I should take that photo out. It is a little freaky indeed:)
Nooooo! Leave it in. It’s fabulous!!
I absolutely adore escargot, but I have not had the opportunity to try frogs legs. My parents have a house in the Aude region of France and gizzards are very popular there. I must admit it took me a while to learn to enjoy that delicacy. The frogs legs however look delicious.
Frog legs are indeed a delicacy. They taste a little bit like chicken or a very lightly flavored sole. The texture in in between the two… You should try them next time you visit your parents:)
Love ‘em all, but best to leave the prep to someone else! One food the English do well is brains. Love the creamy, savoury, texture and flavour. I firmly believe if the beast must die, use it all!
Another thing that’s disgusting to prepare but absolutely delicious are sweetbreads:)
Now sweetbreads I have never tried…..
Country-folk eat frog legs! In fact, just a couple weeks ago my Uncle came down to my house to show me his new frog-gig that he made himself.
Very cool!!
Sexy and delicious legs!
Is tooooo sexy for me!
I haven’t had froglegs in a very long time and never as good as these look. I’m about to make your pinwheels!
Wonderful! Tell me how they turn out!!
Every pinwheel disappeared so th
Ey must have been good.
I’m so glad!
But I like all three!
Adventurous Michelle:)
Well posed legs you’ve got there. Were you a glamour photographer in a previous life.
I consider myself an adventurous eater, but I ‘d have to work up some nerve to eat brains. Frog legs, snail, rabbit, etc. are all good.
I feel exactly the same;)
Those legs look delicious.
They were:)
I tried frog legs a long time ago. It does taste like chicken !
It really does:) I think it’s between chicken and sole:)
Yes, that’s a better description
YUM! I absolutely need to try these. Thanks for sharing!
They are delicious indeed:)
I love the title but I have to say I just look at them and my stomach rolls! I don’t think I could get beyond the looks without gagging! I’m too visual!
I can totally understand!
I do enjoy snails. I have tried frog legs but they are just not for me. Brains are best left in the head. We were in Spain once, ordering plate after plate of these tiny crispy morsels. At the end we asked what they were and then it was disclosed we were eating bird brains.
I knew we wouldn’t have ordered them if we knew. I wondered what they did with rest of all the birds, we ate so many.
That’s a good story! I sometimes think of the first person who ever decided to eat oysters or snails. He/she must have been really really hungry:)
Or even an artichoke!
It was a long time ago on the bayou in Louisiana when I tried frog’s legs. Maybe it’s the French influence there. And a lot of frogs. I remember people talking about going out frog gigging at night.
Here they fish them with a hook and a red ruban. Frogs are attracted by red:)
Frogs’ legs? Delicious. Snails — also delicious. (In Sarlat, not far from our home in Daglan, there’s a restaurant that serves snails with not only the necessary butter and garlic, but also bits of confit de canard. Yum!) I have had brains (in the former Czechoslovakia) and I can’t say I’d rush out and try them again. But as with so many foods, it’s a matter of what you’re used to, what you had when you were little. Good for you, for expanding food horizons.
Thanks! Our family home is near Salignac and I know how great the food is in that area. You are lucky to have a home there:) I am planning to go to the Farmers’ Market in Sarlat one Saturday when Spring is here. I’m going to take tons of pictures:) Escargot and confit. What a great idea. You should also try it with “noix” in the persillade:)
I have eaten these once in Louisiana and I remember them as being delicious… But brains and snails? Sorry, no way!
Poor little frogs!
Frog legs, a delicious treat by dim candle light sans spectacles… Only you could make them LOOK appetizing. xox, V
Thanks Vicky. They’re one of my favorites. Only you could write such a sophisticated comment:)
That looks yummy! I know it is crazy that being a Texas County Girl I have not had frog legs, I would be happy to try them and they are everywhere here, so I should. I do love snails. Brains… You know, if I hadn’t walked into my Turkish father-in-law’s kitchen and saw them (lamb brains) just floating in the pot I might have been able to try them. But the image was just too much,
I know! I won’t touch them either:)
I actually tried frog legs for the first time last weekend and I have say- it wasn’t terrible at all. I had this prior thinking that it was going to be gross.- Chris
It really depends a lot on how you prepare them and how you present them. They are one of my favorite things to eat:) Kudos to you for trying! Very brave indeed:)
Chinese people eat everything! I like all three
though it’s been forever and a day since I’ve had any. It’s hard to come by here in the states.
One of my Asian readers once sais: “We’d eat anything with 4 legs except maybe chairs”. I thought that was really funny… Maybe I laughed because the French are exactly the same way:) You’ll find them in any Asian grocery store in the frozen section. I know they always had fresh (live) ones in Chinatown in San Francisco. They were a little too big for my taste…
Oh les belles cuisses de grenouilles!
Ton blog me rend nostalgique!
Je pensais à ton avatar quand j’ai écris l’article:)
Sexy but look way too skinny for my taste. I wouldn’t dare to touch it…or else they might brake. I like frogs by the way. They are white meat
I’ve tried snails and frog legs but never brain. Nope, don’t think I could go there
I loved brain as a kid… until I understood exactly what it was. Reminds me of the Indiana Jones movie:)
This post makes me laugh. Exactly why I cannot eat frogs – they look like tiny people! Plus I had to dissect them in biology. Brains are on my definite no eat list, as are eyeballs and snails – snails because I spend so much time picking escargot out of my gardens! Voracious little critters!
Give me a lovely escargot steeped in garlic butter or some yummy scallops in their shells, any day I have to draw the line at frogs legs! I am sure they are delicious but having brought a tiny frog from my mother’s allotment in London (no one else had a pond) all the way to our allotment in Brighton, the thought of eating any frogs legs is just on step too far!
Oh but our early garlic is sprouting already.. that will be worth waiting forX
I understand!
Love the post title, and I adore frogs legs when I find them, but I must say I’ve never tried cooking them at home as I’ve never seen them for sale in this area. I will check again at our Asian market though. These look delicious and simple to prepare.
You’ll find some for sure (frozen) at any Asian market. I would rince them with vinegar though to make sure they are chemical and bacteria free…
Beautifull pictures! Enjoy !
Thanks! I took them a while back with the Iphone. So I think they could have looked a little sexier if taken with a proper camera:)
Lovely looking legs! I posted about frogs legs myself a while ago. You can see it here http://wp.me/p1NUXa-q4 if you are minded to. Keep up the excellent work.
Best,
Conor
Did your mom try them in the end?
Stephae – You had me at SEXY LEGS. I just love frog legs, French style, along with breaded and fried brain and escargot. Mmmm.
I must admit I won’t come near brain. It’s weird as I used to LOVE it as a child…
Are you sure you’re really French??!!!!
I love how you invite us to be a little daring in our food choices!
Dare darling! Dare!