DISCLAIMER-
If you are really backwoods, a real hillbilly, or swamp person, please know I
mean you no disrespect with this post…it is all in good fun!
The first time I had
dinner with my brother’s girlfriend Karen, she asked us all to check out an
awesome Chinese restaurant in San Francisco. On the menu, among other delicious
sounding dishes, I saw spicy Cantonese frog legs. As I was trying to make a
good impression I summoned my strength and did not order this delicious
sounding feast! However, since that day I have been craving frog legs cooked in
a not-so-western style.
If you think squirrel
sounds like hillbilly food, I have to say, to me, frog legs sound like
downright swamp-people fare. Yet they are delectable!
Photo- Jarek Tuszynski
The American Bullfrog (Lithobates catesbeianus) thrives in the
wetlands, bogs, rivers, ditches, and every other moist habitat it can find here
in California. Yet it is not a native species! In fact, the American bullfrog
is responsible for the decimation of many invertebrates, competing native
species, and yes even our beloved native salmonids i.e. salmon and steelhead
fry. They are such cunning and relentless hunters that in many California lakes
and bodies of water with current high concentrations of bullfrogs, all salmonid
restoration efforts have ceased until these green eating machines are
completely eradicated. This is a sad state of affairs for our native species, especially
the red legged frog (Rana draytonii)
which have been decimated by this intruder. Yet once again, we hungry foragers
(and all of you I hope) are coming to the rescue. It is true that bullfrogs are
not native, but few people realize that they were originally introduced for
food…because they taste soooo good!
My partner-in-crime,
and best buddy, Alex was completely on board when I proposed an all night
hillbilly-style frog giggin’ adventure. He arrived shortly thereafter and, with
a few straps and a whole lot of elbow grease, we had the two-man kayak delicately
balanced on the small roof of his Honda Civic. The night before we had scouted
the pools that we intended to hunt and had heard the unmistakable croak of
bullfrogs en masse…if you can call
them croaks…they were more like growls! These little amphibians have an ominous
and thunderous call that resonates so deep into the darkness that if you did
not know they were frogs, you might think twice before a stroll along the lake
shore. However, we knew exactly what we were hearing thanks to many a hillbilly
happily sharing frog gigging tips on www.youtube.com.
We began by rigging up our aqueous hunting
equipment. The tool of choice for lacustrine environments is an effective and
menacing implement known by a simple name—GIG! We constructed two cold steel
tipped frog spears complete with hand carved barbs. Alex fashioned his from an
old three prong pole spear tip that had brought me many calico bass in southern
California, and him many rockfish in northern California. He hafted this to a
carbon fiber shaft and attached a bungee to give the spear more thrusting
power. I went old school and used nothing more than a somewhat straight ash
wood shoot I had cut a while back, some string and electrical tape for hafting
and two welding rods I cut in half for prongs. These four prongs were fit
snuggly into the business end of the gig after I pounded the tips flat with a
hammer and anvil and sharpened points and barbs with a file.
When the sun went down
we headed to the water heaving along my uncle’s old two man kayak. On the way
we met a couple Latinos fishing and chatted one on one about forager cuisine.
They recommended using quartered fish (bluegill to be specific) in a spicy fish
soup...sounds pretty good to me!
Before we hit the water
we had to have some last minute laughs while there was still light so we put on
mullet wigs, beards, and whatnot and filmed a hillbilly how-to-gig video clip.
By the time the sun went down and we waded out through the aquatic vegetation
and mud to launch our watercraft, we were all smiles.
The next half hour we
paddled up and down the banks listening to the sounds of the wetlands at night.
Cranes, owls, Canada geese, and our favorite, the frogs! I know it is going to
sound immature, but I have to say that when a frog doesn’t quite get the croak
to come out right, it sounds like a huge fart! So needless to say, many a
silent stalk, ready for an accurate shot was destroyed by one of us bursting
into laughter after a frog piped up in just such a manner.
By the end of the night
we had two frogs each! We were hoping for just one each as it was our first
time. We were completely content!
The next morning (late,
as we were awake until 2am hunting), we cleaned our quarry and began cooking.
The kaffir lime leaves from my mom’s tree inspired the dish, and after a lot of
fun adding this and that in the kitchen, we triumphant foragers enjoyed a batch
of Thai frog leg red curry that was so good all that could be heard when we ate
it was mmmmmmmm! The texture of these frog legs was somewhere between chicken
and fish, and the flavor was subtle yet intoxicating.
So remember, be a
conservationist, help out the wetlands, and bring some food to the table too!
If you live near a lake, pond or wetland where it is permitted, give giggin’ a
try!
Keep the old ways
alive!
