Ingredients for frog leg preparation:

• 1lb American bullfrog legs skinned, rinsed, and patted dry
• 1/2 cup all purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
• 1/2 teaspoon paprika
• Salt and pepper
• 2 Tablespoons butter
• 1 clove of garlic minced

Instructions for frog leg preparation:

1. Melt butter over low medium heat
2. Add minced garlic and heat until aromatic
3. Mix flour, garlic powder, chili powder, and paprika
4. Salt and pepper both sides of frog legs  
5. Dredge frog legs in flour mixture and shake off excess
6. Raise heat of the garlic and butter pan to medium (not too hot to burn garlic)
7. Pan fry floured frog legs until one side is golden brown, then flip and do the same to the other side (about 2-3 minutes on each side depending on thickness of legs; take care not to overcook!)  
8. Remove frog legs from heat and set on paper towels

Ingredients for sauce:

• 3 Tablespoons butter
• 1 shallot chopped
• 2 cloves of garlic minced
• 1/2 cup of white wine
• 2 Tablespoons capers
• Juice from half a lemon
• 1/2 lb of crimini mushrooms sliced
• 1/2 can quartered artichokes
• 10 – 15 grape tomatoes
• 2 handfuls spinach leaves

Instructions from sauce:

1. After removing frog legs from heat, melt remaining butter
2. Add chopped shallots and minced garlic, heat until shallots are soft and translucent and garlic is aromatic
3. Pour in white wine to deglaze the pan (also makes for easy clean up!)
4. Heat until white wine has reduced to half the volume
5. Add capers, lemon juice, and mushrooms
6. Cook mushrooms until browned on both sides
7. Add artichokes and tomatoes, cook for another 2-3 minutes
8. Turn down heat to low and add spinach.  Toss until all the leaves are covered in sauce.
9. Allow to simmer and top with pan fried frog legs when ready to serve.

I served it with a fresh loaf of sourdough bread (perfect for sopping up the piccata sauce) and a steamed artichoke.  The frog legs turned out very lean and mild in flavor, though distinctly tasting of fish with the texture of poultry.  I would not say, “it tastes just like chicken,” but that simile isn’t too far off.  The pile of cleaned frog bones in the end seemed to indicate high approval of this dish.

Finished frog leg piccata (Photo credit: S. Sim)

Popular worldwide as a food source, pet, and for educational purposes (who hasn’t dissected one?), the American bullfrog has also become a formidable invasive pest.  

brrrrrp... I'm invading an aquatic ecosystem near you. (Photo credit: Wikimedia commons)

The American bullfrog (Lithobates catesbeianus or Rana catesbeianus, depending on who you talk to) has a lot to offer.  It’s a large charismatic amphibian that can be kept as a pet, dissected in a science classroom, or eaten as a great source of protein.  Unfortunately, the many uses of American bullfrogs also led to considerable export over the last 200 years.  Native in the eastern United States, American bullfrogs have become invasive in western US and have also been established intentionally and unintentionally in over 40 countries around the world.  Their progress has been described as nearly unstoppable, and models suggest that climate change may only serve to exacerbate their invasion in some areas.

Where they have been introduced, American bullfrogs have had dramatic impacts due to their voracious appetites, prolific reproduction, and adept dispersal.  Tadpoles gobble up algae and can outcompete other organisms for valuable resources.  As adults, bullfrogs will eat whatever they can fit into their mouths- insects, small amphibians, other bullfrogs, rodents, snakes, even birds.  In addition to limiting resources for other species, bullfrogs turn a lot of those calories around into reproduction- a female can produce 20,000 eggs in a single clutch, and an average of around 5,000 of those will actually hatch.  Finally, bullfrogs can transmit chytrid fungus, a disease that has been plaguing amphibian populations worldwide.

With such dramatic impacts, it’s no wonder that the American bullfrog has found its way onto the IUCN list of the world’s 100 worst invasive species.  Even the folks over at “Save the Frogs!” don’t like them!  As a result, there’s a lot of interest in bullfrog control.  We recently got our hands on some frog legs, and coming up we’ll share a few ideas on how invasivores can do their part to quell this invasion.