FROG LEGS!! Catching and Cooking Bullfrogs Midday

Oh. Yes. I. Did.

This summer has been one of adventurous eating. We ate the big nas (who didn't turn out to be nas), we ate turtle, which could've gone better, and to top it off, I had an impromptu frogging session. Grandma, Laura, Dassah, and I took a little jaunt to the neighborhood pond to see if it had any fish in it. Traditionally, people catch frogs at night using flashlights and either a net or a gig. Since it was daytime and I only had fishing gear, frogs weren't originally on my menu. Where there's a will, however, there's a way to catch frogs.

The summary of animal and fish species I observed in the pond included one big ol' yellow sunfish, a red eared slider,  a few muskrats, and LEGIONS of frogs. Like seriously, they've established a colony, a nation-state of frogship. There's a little dock on the pond and when I looked into the water, I could see tons of nearly mature tadpoles coming to the surface to gulp air then swimming back down. It was bizarre and a bit disappointing considering our original goal was to catch fish.

Given the fishing sucked, I started trying to catch said frogs. Bullfrogs are voracious predators and will even in certain circumstances eat other frogs. So, I tied on a little green crappie jig and started throwing it out on top of the pond algae. Sure enough, I soon had little frogs jumping across the thick green mass to chase down my lure. I'm not sure what they thought it was, but as long as I jiggled it, they thought it was something edible.

If you pay close attention, you can walk the edge of the pond and see the big bullfrogs' heads sticking up out of the weeds. It'll look like a bit of algae sticking up from the rest at first, but as you get closer, you  may discern a pair of eyes. The most fun part was throwing out the jig and hopping it across as a big daddy bullfrog chased it. They can't really sit on top of the algae because of their weight, so you'll see the algae ripple as they lunge through the water. It's pretty thrilling. Another good method if you're facing a bank from a dock is to cast it into the grass alongside the algae and then hop it into the water. It makes it look like a grasshopper taking a mistaken jump. I even caught one by throwing it out onto a rock by the water.

Five frogs getting their tan on

How do I find a pond with frogs?
Pretty much any body of water is going to attract amphibians. In fact, it's much easier to find frogs and turtles than it is to find fish. They tolerate harsher conditions, such as low oxygen levels in water, much easier than fish. For this method of frogging, I'd focus on smaller ponds or areas of water than have algae. No one likes have a algae choked pond, but they provide a ready made haven for big bullfrogs.


 How do I tell what type of frog I caught?
It's most likely you'll run into two types of frogs in Missouri; green frogs and bullfrogs. You can eat both. Bullfrogs are generally larger and are most easily distinguished by their black splotchy pattern on their underbelly. Green frogs have some other identifying characteristics, but if you catch it from water and it's big enough to eat, it's a safe bet you've got one of the two.


I caught the things, now what?

Behold! An leg of frog! 

As always, we want to dispatch our catches as humanely as possible. Honestly, probably the best method, as brutal as it sounds, is to grab their legs and smack their heads on the ground really hard. It knocks them out instantly. From there you could sever the head or pierce the cranium. Frankly, there's no nice way to kill an animal. As a hunter or as someone who eats meat at all, it's necessary to square with that difficult fact. Death is unpleasant. If you eat meat, you need to be willing to kill.

To clean them, make a cut at the base of the neck. Grab the loose skin with pliers and pull it off. Usually, the body and the legs come off in one neat piece. If not, it's no big deal. Frogs are very easy to skin. If you want to keep the arms, use the same technique. After skinned, you can remove the entrails or just cut the legs off. There is meat on the rest of the animal, but a raccoon or a turtle would probably benefit more from eating it than a human. In nature, nothing is wasted.

Let's get down to business, to-oo eat, some frogs! 

The meat is surprisingly white. Given they eat mostly insects though...

Step One: Rinse them. Then, place in buttermilk for at least two hours. This helps break down the meat and prepare it for frying. It also reduces any pond-like flavors. If you don't have buttermilk, salt water is a good alternative.

Step Two: After letting them soak, prepare a two dip frying batter. In other words, have a whipped egg in a bowl and two separate bowls of breading seasoned with salt and pepper. I prefer corn meal. Dip the frog in the first bowl of corn meal to give the egg a surface to adhere to. Then, dip in egg. Dip in the remaining bowl of breading. Your pan should be heated with oil. Fry them  until golden brown. After frying, I like to season mine with cayenne or a cajun seasoning. Enjoy!

You know it's good when they're wife approved.