5 Ingredients or Fewer

Frogsicle Pops with Basil and Meyer Lemon

by:
January 20, 2010
0
0 Ratings
  • Serves 2-4
Author Notes

Pierino realizes that whatever credibility he has is now probably in tatters. But this is based on a dish I tasted at Stokes Restaurant in Monterey last year. The key technique is "frenching" frog legs. French kissing the frog will not make him turn into a prince. Don't ask me how I know that. Frenching the legs however will cause the meat to ball up at the end of the amphibious tibia like a lollipop. —pierino

What You'll Need
Ingredients
  • 1 pound frog legs
  • 1 tablespoon capers packed in salt
  • 1/3 cup clarified butter or ghee
  • 1/4 cup superfine flour (Wondra)
  • 12 basil leaves
  • 4 meyer lemons, cut into wedges
  • sea salt
Directions
  1. Begin by soaking the capers in cold water to rinse the salt off. Set aside
  2. Using a sharp paring knife or utility knife cut through the tendons of each frog leg and scrape down the bone to completely clean them. I'd like to say "save the scraps for another use" but I can't think of one. This will leave you a knob of flesh at the top
  3. In a pie pan spread out your flour and add some sea salt. Give the legs a good dusting of flour
  4. Heat the butter in a saute pan (this would be a good time to drain the capers)
  5. Working in batches saute the legs in the butter until cooked through, set aside
  6. Roll up the basil leaves into cigarette shapes and quickly chiffonade them
  7. Add the capers and the basil to the butter in the pan and give it all a quick toss
  8. Spoon the butter onto individual serving plates and arrange the leg pieces
  9. Serve with lemon wedges

See what other Food52ers are saying.

  • Maria Teresa Jorge
    Maria Teresa Jorge
  • aargersi
    aargersi
  • pierino
    pierino
Standup commis flâneur, and food historian. Pierino's background is in Italian and Spanish cooking but of late he's focused on frozen desserts. He is now finishing his cookbook, MALAVIDA! Can it get worse? Yes, it can. Visit the Malavida Brass Knuckle cooking page at Facebook and your posts are welcome there.

4 Reviews

Maria T. January 22, 2010
I love the recipe but will pass the frog legs. Will find something to use with this recipe. Anyway, the name is fabulous, I didn't know frog legs balooned. What's the matter with your credibility, am I missing something here?
 
pierino January 22, 2010
My credibility gap has to do with the fact that I groove on some astral plane and get caught up in ideas I think are wonderful. This one wasn't my own, I just tried to get it right. Frenching a frog leg? What a brilliant idea. And delicious too.
But I promise I that I will never offer a "sous vide" recipe. I don't need to justify the expense of an immersion circulator.
 
aargersi January 20, 2010
OK seriously - I think you win for the name alone! Ha! And hoe DO you know about frog kissing????
These do sound tasty by the way - and for those of us without frog legs handy - would it work on chicken drumettes? That little top of the wing drumstick looking thing?
 
pierino January 20, 2010
I'm not sure that the technique will work with drumettes but go ahead and try it. It does work with lamb shank.