Got a couple of frogs!...cleaning help needed...

[gobblegrunter]

My 5yr old son and I got a couple of frogs on our 1st ever froggin hunt together  :D  

I'm hopin you guys can help me...

I have the legs disconnected and skinned out. Is there any other special cleaning that must be done on them before preparing? (i.e. veins removed, etc) Thanks in advance!

[swampdrummer]

Nope,Just roll em in flour and throw em in the grease!

[Jack Guard]

I like to salt mine.  Its kinda old fashioned but it keeps them from jumping in the pan.  

You can soak them in salt water if you like.  

Then pat them dry and flour them.

Shoot, my mouth is watering.   Scuse me while i get a napkin !

[Hawkeye]

Frog legs may be my very favorite of ALL meals... not just wild game!!

Enjoy them, and remember the great experience it was getting them.

[4dogs]

Didnt forget the backstraps did ya?  :D

[jamesh76]

I just had some tonight. It seems to me though that the salt makes them a little more chewy.

I use the louisiana fish fry (yellow bag) for mine. Dip them in milk/egg then roll in the fish fry mix. Cook in pan w/ oil medium heat for about 25 minutes.

[GRINCH]

Soak in salt water batter and fry,doesn't get any better.

[gobblegrunter]

Thanks all! It was our first time huntin them and we had a blast! I think it'll be a new 4th of July tradition! Frog legs and fireworks! Can't get any better can it?! I'll post some pics of the hunt soon.

[Doc Nock]

Congrats, Bud! Sounds like you found a good location!

I really like frog legs, but once I saw that cartoon poster of all them frogs wheeling out of the kitchin in tiny wheelchairs...I dunno!

   

Glad you found a spot or 2 and the boy and you got to build memories!

[2fletch]

You must be in the right place. Can't remember the last time I heard or saw a large bullfrog in NC.

Last year at Coudersport, Pa I saw more frogs then when I was a kid. They were sitting around in the corners of the lake where we stayed, and there would be a group of 15-20 frogs in small areas, just floating on top of the water. Brought back lots of memories frog hunting as a kid.

You are going to enjoy eating those froglegs. One of my favorite wild meat items.

[Mudd]

Our conservation agent said that a lot of good meat was going to waste if all we take is the legs.

He proceeded to show me how he cleans frogs.

He 1st cut the head off just behind the tympanic membrane, then he skinned the rest of the body and cleaned out the viscera. Once all of this was done he used side cutters to take off the feet. Done!

It isn't much more effort and you do get some more good eating from your kill.

Now here is the rest of the story as told by "Mudd"... cleaned like this isn't hard but when you lay them out in the pan to fry the look an awful lot like miniature humanoid bodies...lol

It took some doing for me to get over that and eat them cooked whole like that.

My solution was to clean them as directed but to cut them up further before putting them in the pan..lol

Sounds like you are in for some tasty eating in the not to distant future.

Congratulations to you and your son!!

God bless,Mudd

[stik&string]

Congrats on the successful hunt.

Thanks for the cleaning tip as well Mudd!

[7 Lakes]

Years ago, when I lived up in the mountians I met an older gent that could tell the weather better than anyone on TV.  He was considered a champion frog hunter.  One morning he called and told me we had to be at the frog pond at 2:00 pm. He wouldn't tell me why, said I wouldn't believe it.  

We arrived at the pond 1 minute early and he made me wait, just as the seconds ticked to 2:00 he fired his shotgun into the air & all the frogs jumped toward the pond.  At that time a icy wind blew over the pond and froze all those frogs in the ice just as they entered the water. Froze them all with just their legs sticking out above the ice.  

We went around & cut the legs off, sometimes we had to pull the legs a bit.  Just like I've been pulling yours.

Old Jack Tale told to me by Richard Chase.

[gobblegrunter]

Thanks everyone! We really had a blast huntin them and it gave us the best quality hunting experience to date. In addition, the entire family LOVED the legs! (I read your post after I had prepared the legs only, Mudd, but will remember that for next time)

We'll continue to hunt the pond edges pretty hard, I think! The best news is that the season goes through 10/31!

[gobblegrunter]

You had me goin for a sec there Mike...