Grasshopper Fritters

PSM · 11-29-2011, 13:04

When we arrived on our new property here in Arizona, we were swarmed by honking big grasshoppers. One type averaged at least 3" long and about an inch wide. They immediately attacked my wife's plants and reduced the leaves by nearly half, so she moved them inside.

In high school I remember guys buying chocolate covered ants and fried grasshoppers and teasing the girls with them. So I thought I'd check out recipes for these bugs. This one looks interesting:

Grasshopper Fritters
from 'Ronald Taylor's "Butterflies in My Stomach"

3/4 cup sifted flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
3/4 c milk
1 egg, slightly beaten
1 c grasshoppers
1 pt. heavy cream beaten stiff

Sift flour, baking powder and salt together into a bowl. Slowly add milk and beat until smooth. Add egg and beat well.

Pluck off grasshopper wings and legs, heads optional. Dip insects in egg batter and deep fry. Salt and serve.

Link: http://www.faculty.de.gcsu.edu/~cbad...thinsects.html

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Can anyone suggest a good wine to go with it?

Pat

Gypsy · 11-29-2011, 18:53

I'd serve them with a nice Chianti and some fava beans.

Oh wait...

Dusty · 11-29-2011, 19:07

They are tasty, especially served with Picante Squirrel and Orange Barrel.

Oldrotorhead · 11-29-2011, 19:52

Their smaller cousins are on a lot of menues in Oxaca Mexico and aren't bad. I'm sure I must have eaten worse things in Asia. Yes I also ate the Chocolate covered ants and bumble bees when I was a kid, they more or less just added crunch to the chocolate.

twistedsquid · 11-29-2011, 20:31

88% pure protien...12% fat...paleo perfect

11-29-2011, 22:41

Bet you could first marinate them in some Jack Daniels for a few hours. Yum!

SPEC4 · 11-30-2011, 08:51

They are big in Nebraska too. I put a saddle on the bigger one.

mark46th · 11-30-2011, 12:27

Deep fry them, Southeast Asian Chips...

greenberetTFS · 11-30-2011, 13:08

Quote:

Originally Posted by NORMAL550GIRL

I just threw up in my mouth a little bit.

Shame on you NG,I'm really disappointed,I thought you were "GB timber"...........

Big Teddy :

PedOncoDoc · 11-30-2011, 13:11

Quote:

Originally Posted by greenberetTFS

Shame on you NG,I'm really disappointed,I thought you were "GB timber"...........

Big Teddy :

I'm sure she only threw up in her mouth so she could revisit a particularly pleasant meal from earlier in the day.

PSM · 10-17-2012, 20:41

OK, there seems to be an omission in the recipe. Do you kill the 'hoppers first or coat them and let them die in the hot oil; kinda like lobster fritters?

Our crop this year is much smaller in size than last year. I shot a few with my .45. That's not going to work. Any suggestions?

Pat

echoes · 10-18-2012, 06:28

Quote:

Originally Posted by PSM

OK, there seems to be an omission in the recipe. Do you kill the 'hoppers first or coat them and let them die in the hot oil; kinda like lobster fritters?

Our crop this year is much smaller in size than last year. I shot a few with my .45. That's not going to work. Any suggestions?

Pat

Hi Pat, here is what I came up with...

According to the below research, I would first try and determine if the grasshopper could potentially be a female carrying eggs. If I had a choice, I would opt to eat the grasshopper not carrying the eggs, but that is personal preference.

More research below shows a tradtional recipe that requres boiling first.

If it were me, I would take a live grasshopper and submerge it in a bowl of a thick marinade which will suffocate the insect, then I would fry it. (Obviously taking a .45 to the little things is killing off your chow!)

Hope this helps!

Holly

http://entnemdept.ufl.edu/creatures/...rasshopper.htm

Description

Adults: The overall color gradually changes from a pinkish-brown or reddish-brown to more of a yellowish-brown hue as the grasshopper reaches sexual maturity. The adults bear fully developed wings with large dark brown spots on a lighter background. Adults are distinctly different in appearance from the immature stages (nymphs). The length of the male is 39 to 45 mm, whereas the female is 42 to 55 mm.

Eggs: The female American grasshopper deposits her eggs in the soil about 2 to 3 cm below the surface by pushing her ovipositor down into the substrate. The grasshoppers prefer areas with some ground cover to deposit their egg clusters. The egg cluster generally consists of 60 to 80 eggs that are secured together by a frothy polymer-like substance that the female secretes. Females may lay up to three egg pods. The eggs are 7 to 8 mm in length and are light orange in color.

__________________________________________________ ____________

http://books.google.com/books?id=SiB...ecipie&f=false

Unmentionable Cuisine
By Calvin W. Schwabe

Fried Grasshoppers (Jourad) Arab Countries

Boil prepared locusts then fry them in oil or butter. Or fry the prepared insects without boiling and serve in a little vinegar.

mark46th · 10-18-2012, 08:10

How many grasshopper eggs to make an omelette?

echoes · 10-18-2012, 09:10

Quote:

Originally Posted by mark46th

How many grasshopper eggs to make an omelette?

Sir,

As my research suggested;

"The egg cluster generally consists of 60 to 80 eggs that are secured together by a frothy polymer-like substance that the female secretes. Females may lay up to three egg pods. The eggs are 7 to 8 mm in length and are light orange in color."

From that data I would opine that a dozen or so female grasshopper egg secretions would be able to sustain as an omlet, give or take a few?

It would take work though to prepare the eggs after the female has been rendered dead, but it could theoretically be done am sure....by a very highly skilled special operative with a lot of patience, and a hungry stomach needing sustanance in the wild?

Holly

PSM · 10-18-2012, 09:33

Between echoes' and Sarski's suggestions, perhaps marinating them in Jack Daniel's overnight is the best bet.

Doesn't help that my wife stomps on every one she sees.

They're Mexican Generals, by the way.

Pat