No. 1018

Frogs' Legs a la Osborn

Cuisses de Grenouilles a la Osborn

Cut a pound of thighs in two to divide them, then each leg in two at the joint; season with salt and pepper and fry them in some butter with a teaspoonful of chopped up onions, a finely shred green pepper, two peeled tomatoes cut into eight pieces, four ounces of finely minced mushrooms and one gill of espagnole sauce (No. 414), cover and set the pan in the oven for fifteen minutes, then dress the frogs' legs, reduce the sauce and pour it over, sprinkling the top plentifully with chopped parsley, then serve.

← No. 1017 Frogs' Legs a la d'Antin Frogs No. 1019 Frogs' Legs a la Poulette with Mushrooms →

For the Modern Kitchen

A short sauté-and-braise from Ranhofer's Delmonico's kitchen, written for cooks who already had espagnole standing by. The main work of translation is that sauce and the vessel.

Espagnole (No. 414)A brown mother sauce built on brown roux, brown stock and mirepoix, simmered and skimmed for hours. A good jarred or homemade demi-glace, loosened with stock to a light coating consistency, stands in for the one gill required.
A gillHalf a cup, 4 fl oz. That is all the liquid the dish gets, so it should be strong; the tomatoes and mushrooms give up more as they cook.
Oven heatRanhofer does not specify, and the pan goes in only to finish through. A moderate oven, around 350°F, should suit the fifteen minutes covered; much hotter risks tightening and drying the legs before the sauce comes together.
Cutting the legs"Thighs" here means whole hind legs. Separating them at the pelvis and again at the knee gives short pieces that brown evenly and sit neatly when dressed.
Don't overcookFrog leg meat is lean and fine-grained. Fry briefly in the butter for colour; the fifteen minutes covered in the oven does the rest, and much beyond that the meat dries and pulls off the bone.
Green pepperA sweet green bell pepper, not a chilli. "Finely shred" means cut in thin strips rather than diced.
Reducing the sauceLift the legs onto the serving dish first, as the recipe directs, then boil the pan liquid down until it naps a spoon; left in the pan while it reduces they will go on cooking.
YieldA pound of legs is a first course for two, or a main for one. Scale the aromatics with the meat rather than the sauce, which is already scant.
SourcingFrog legs are sold frozen at most Asian and Cajun markets, usually in one-pound packs, already skinned. Thaw fully and pat very dry or they will steam in the butter.

A Little History

The Epicurean (1894) is Charles Ranhofer's record of his long service as chef at Delmonico's in New York, and its frog chapter reflects a French kitchen serving Americans who had, by then, largely been persuaded. Frogs' legs were a standing joke against the French in English-speaking countries through the nineteenth century, yet Ranhofer gives them a whole run of preparations, and American frogs — largely bullfrogs — supported a real commercial trade before imported legs took over. Dishes named "a la Osborn" at Delmonico's were often dedications to a patron or a colleague, and the identity behind this one is not now known; the restaurant's reputation rested in part on such personal namings. The green pepper and tomatoes may reflect American produce worked into a French framework.