James Beard's New Fish Cookery - James Beard [160]
Frogs’ legs come in many sizes — for my taste the small ones are by far the best. They are delicately flavored, tender, and cook very quickly. About 6 pairs of the small sort are a good portion.
Frogs’ legs are better if soaked in milk for an hour or more before cooking.
FROGS’ LEGS SAUTÉ
Sautéing is by far the most common way of preparing frogs’ legs. There are a number of variations, but the general procedure is the same. It’s a good idea to use half butter and half olive oil. The oil prevents burning and adds a great deal of flavor to the frogs’ legs.
Use one or two good-sized spatulas to turn the legs. They are very tender and are apt to stick to the pan. Cook them quickly — they need only about 5 minutes. Flavor them at the last, just before serving.
For a plain sauté, soak frogs’ legs in milk for an hour or more. Dry them on a towel, then roll in flour and sauté very quickly in butter and olive oil mixed, turning them so that they become delicately browned on all sides. Salt and pepper to taste and serve with lemon wedges.
FROGS’ LEGS SAUTÉ FINES HERBES
Soak the frogs’ legs in milk. Dry on a clean towel and roll in flour. Chop parsley, chives, and tarragon very fine and add to toasted buttered bread crumbs. (For four people use 1 cup of crumbs and 2 tablespoons each of the herbs.)
Melt butter and olive oil in a skillet. Sauté the legs very quickly and, when they are nicely browned, add the herbed crumbs. Mix these well with the frogs’ legs, salt and pepper to taste, and serve with lemon wedges.
FROGS’ LEGS SAUTÉ PROVENÇALE
Soak the frogs’ legs in milk, dry and roll them in flour. Sauté them very quickly in olive oil (omitting the butter). When nicely browned, add chopped garlic and parsley and blend well. (Use about 1 clove of garlic for each portion. Plenty of parsley, of course.) Salt and pepper to taste.
FROGS’ LEGS SAUTÉ NIÇOISE
Follow the recipe for sauté Provençale above. For each person, peel, seed, and chop one tomato. Cook the tomatoes down in butter until they are a paste. Add a spoonful or so of this paste to each serving of frogs’ legs.
FROGS’ LEGS SAUTÉ ITALIENNE
Soak the frogs’ legs in milk, dry them, and roll them in flour. Sauté in olive oil. Just before they are done, add mushrooms and onion, very finely chopped, to the pan. Salt and pepper to taste and serve sprinkled with chopped parsley.
DEVILED FROGS’ LEGS
Soak the frogs’ legs in milk and dry them. Roll them in flour, dip them in beaten egg, and roll in crumbs. Sauté in butter and olive oil. When nicely browned remove from the pan. Add salt, pepper, lemon juice, dry mustard, Worcestershire sauce, and a dash of brandy or whiskey to the pan. Swirl it around and mix well. Pour this sauce over the frogs’ legs.
FROGS’ LEGS POULETTE
Poach frogs’ legs for about 5 minutes in just enough white wine to cover them. Serve with a sauce poulette (page 25), using some of the white wine broth as a base.
FROGS’ LEGS VINAIGRETTE
For this dish you really must have the small frogs’ legs. Use about 3 pairs per serving as a first course at dinner or as a main luncheon course.
Poach the legs in a light court bouillon (page 18) for about 5 minutes. Or poach them in a mixture of half white wine and half water. Season to taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Chill.
Serve on romaine or Boston lettuce leaves and top with the following very highly seasoned sauce vinaigrette:
For 4 servings:
1 cup olive oil
1/4 cup wine vinegar, or half vinegar and half lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
1/4 teaspoon oregano
1 tablespoon chopped shallot or green onion
1 tomato, peeled, seeded and finely chopped
1 tablespoon capers
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