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Barbecued Bullfrog Sandwich
Parboil fresh frogs' legs 20 minutes, then broil over hot coals, basting the while with butter. Shred the meat, clap it between hot buttered sides of a bun and sluice with barbecue sauce, plenty hot with Tabasco and garlic.
CANNED LEGS You can't catch frogs by putting salt on their tails, because they haven't any, but you can catch a can of cooked legs in almost any delicatessen, throw together your own froggy snacks and then salt them to taste.
A 1950s campfire novelty that works, though the timings belong to an era when frog legs were assumed to be tough. Treat the parboil as the one thing to change.
- Cut the parboilTwenty minutes of simmering leaves frog legs stringy and the meat falls off the bone before it ever sees the coals. Five to eight minutes in barely simmering salted water is enough to firm the flesh for handling; large bullfrog legs may want ten.
- Bullfrog vs. market frogThe title points to genuine bullfrog legs, which are meaty by frog standards. Frozen legs sold today are usually smaller pond or farmed species, commonly graded somewhere around four to eight pairs to the pound, and need no parboil at all before broiling.
- Canned legs are goneCooked frog legs in cans have long since disappeared from delicatessen shelves. Frozen legs from an Asian or Gulf Coast fish counter are the practical substitute; thaw in the refrigerator and pat very dry before they meet the fire.
- Coal heatBroil over coals burned down to an even grey ash, grate about four inches above them. Legs need only three or four minutes a side, turning once, and are done when the meat pulls cleanly from the bone.
- Basting butterMelted butter dripping onto coals flares. Keep a covered lid or a spare cool zone at the edge of the grate, and baste with a brush rather than pouring.
- ShreddingWork the meat off the bones while still warm, checking for the fine leg bones as you go. A pair of good-sized bullfrog legs yields only a couple of ounces of shredded meat, so allow about two pairs per sandwich.
- The sauce"Plenty hot with Tabasco and garlic" suggests a thin vinegar-based barbecue sauce rather than a thick sweet one. The recipe has you sluice it on after the meat is in the bun, so the bread takes some of it up.
- DonenessFrog legs, like poultry, should be cooked through rather than served pink at the bone. The parboil-then-broil sequence handles this, but check the thickest part of a large leg before shredding.
- If you catch your ownFrog taking is regulated by season, method and licence in most states. Check local rules before setting out with a light and a gig.