Grilled Frog Legs | Sybaritica

The first time I ever had frog’s legs was the on first or second night of my family’s arrival in Canada some forty years ago. Even allowing for the size distortion of childhood memories, those legs, served in some sort of white wine sauce were, as I recall, huge and meaty, with just a single joint being some 4 inches long. Since then, the only frog’s legs I have been ever able to acquire have been tiny in comparison and, as such, a little limited in their versatility. Generally, it has been my experience that the smaller varieties are best suited to the sorts of preparations one might use for chicken wings. Today, I have chosen to grill some on my barbecue in the sort of chili-cumin seasoning very popular in Western Chinese cuisine… 

The Ingredients

• 12 pair small Frog legs;
• 1 ½ tsp. Cumin Seed, toasted and ground;
• 1 tsp. Chili Paste (Sambal Oelek);
• 1 tsp. Chili Oil;
• ¼ tsp Salt;
• ½ tsp. Sugar.

These are the commercially frozen frog’s legs I am using. The bag indicates the size (as is done with shrimp) at 16-20 pieces to the pound. This bag contained a dozen pair of legs all individually wrapped.

To prepare the legs, pat them dry of excess liquid once they are thawed then mix with the remaining ingredients. Marinate for at least a couple of hours or overnight.

Grilling the legs is very simple and should take a few minutes only at most. I notice, however, that there was quite a range of different sizes of leg pairs in this particular bag and this means a little extra care needs to be taken. Once done, I served this batch with a simple sauce made with chili oil, soy sauce and just a splash of lemon juice. I can’t really see making a whole meal out of these but they make a lovely little appetizer…

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