We Get Emails: Frog Legs … What About The Rest Of It?

Posted on 1 September 2007 under Emails | 2 Comments

Rick & Cheryl Rasmussen sent in the following question:

A friend asked what is commonly done with the rest of the frog after you have used the frog legs?

Of course, I immediately tuned back to 1979, “The Muppet Movie”, with Charles Durning playing Doc Hopper, and Kermit the Frog as, well, Kermit the Frog:

Doc Hopper: [pointing to a billboard showing a bucket of “Doc Hopper’s French Fried Frog Legs”] Isn’t that splendid? Just splendid! Just take a look at it.

Kermit: All I can see are millions of frogs with tiny crutches.

Really, that’s not far from the truth. The fact is, there isn’t much you can do with the rest of the frog. I had to dig a bit for this one as not too much info is available. I’m thinking this info is simply accepted now and no one really discusses it anymore. From the 1954 edition of The Wise Encyclopedia of Cookery published by Wm. H, Wise & Co., Inc., New York:

However, only the legs of the larger frogs are suitable for use on the table, and the best known of these are the Bull Frog, Leopard Frog and the Pickerel Frog. These big fellows weigh up to several pounds and sometimes measure 18 to 20 inches from the tips of their pointed noses to the toes of their outstretched legs.

They reiterate later on the same page, with more interesting details:

The hind legs of frogs are the only parts used for the table. If bought in the market they will already have been skinned; if the small boy of the family catches the frogs the legs must be separated from the bodies and then skinned before cooking. The skin is thin and loose and can be pulled off as the finger of a glove would be pulled. The weight of the Jumbo frogs’ legs is up to six pounds for the dozen pair.

Now, that having been said, about halfway down this page is a recipe for Frogs in Fricasse which uses the frog carcasses to create the sauce for the legs. Part of the recipe reads:

Take the required number of frogs which have naturally been skinned and thoroughly rinsed. Remove the legs and put to one side in cold water. The rest of the carcass will be used to prepare the sauce … then add a finger of white wine and once this has evaporated, add the frog carcasses, salt, pepper and a pinch of dried mushrooms. Add sufficient water or, if available, fish broth, cover and allow to boil over a medium heat for about an hour, so as to obtain a tasty and aromatic broth … Strain the quantity of broth required into a saucepan and discard any excess.

In other words, throw away those cooked frog carcasses. Ya’ just don’t eat ‘em.