Try Frog Legs

“But I relented, figuring Cajun was a good opportunity to give them a try. Rather than having to eat them, say, French style — naked and sautéed — I could batter and fry them, thereby disguising them. I reached into the bag he brought over and pulled out the first pale nude pair of legs, which I immediately cut in two so as not to be utterly repelled by the vulgarity of the thing. Pretty soon I had a couple dozen single frog legs, which I spiced and floured, dipped in a beer/buttermilk mixture, floured again and fried. And they still looked like frog legs. A remoulade sauce would help further conceal their identity. I served the frog legs alongside fried chicken gumbo and crawfish jambalaya and challah for our Cajun Jewish New Year. And I ate one. They really do taste just like chicken. Which begs the question — why not just eat chicken?”

“What tripped me up wasn’t flavor—it was muscle memory. Food carries stories. My first bite of escargot was competing with a childhood memory of stepping on a shell barefoot after rain. My first frog leg had to fight a cartoon frog from a cereal commercial. That’s the honest part of trying “weird” foods: your brain throws a slideshow you didn’t ask for. The fix wasn’t to brute-force it. It was to slow down and build new associations. Smell, bite, breathe, notice. The next forkful was easier because the new memory—garlic butter, warm bread, laughter—was already forming.”

“The first bite was taken by my brave husband and he assured me they were fine. So I bit in … and you guessed it, they tasted essentially like chicken nuggets. Pretty bland, but covered in sauce, they were alright! My darling nephew and his little brother (the birthday boy) were hesitant at first, but after a few bites couldn’t get enough! Every single adult (even the picky ones) tried at least one. To my surprise, the frog legs were a decent hit with my family. Everyone started thinking of different ways to cook them up… frying, bbq-ing, baking, etc.”