Frog Legs With Sauce Piquante

Welcome to our 2nd live blog! Today, we make frog legs in honour of our trip to Charleston next week. This recipe is courtesy of David Link and Sean Brock of Mind of a Chef, which is only the best show ever created. It's on Netflix. You should watch.

We'll be starting at 5:00pm- we look forward to you joining us on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook using #liveblogdeadfrog.


Kelly here - my pre-blog questions are what Songza playlist should I use, and what type of beer should I crack? Pressing stuff….Follow my updates on Twitter as well @kellllybeth! 

Great question Kelly! I'm having a PBR. You can follow me at @baileymariereid! Let's do this!

I just started my legs. I've got a bowl full of flour and Old Bay seasoning, which is coating those legs before they go in the pan. They're... legs. Very much bringing back to anatomy.

You got Old Bay?! So smart. I have some dried habanero spice and cajun seasoning, but a few of my legs are still frozen (whoopsie) so I'm busy chopping up onions and celery while they thaw. And I've got some Bayou beats on too! 

Ha! I already had Old Bay! I go through it in tubs. What kind of peppers did you get? I've got bell, jalapeño and some other spicy one. I've also chopped my onion, celery, and garlic!

Have you tried any of the meat yet, Kell? I haven't.

Tried the meat yet?! I'm still chopping. I totally should've prepped my mise en place in advance. I got bell peppers, jalapeños, and Hungarian peppers! 

Okay, finally done chopping. Oil is hot and legs are ready to take a dip. Everybody in the pool…..

Also, i feel like a dolt for saying I'm using frozen legs instead of fresh. But try finding fresh frog legs in Kingston, Ontario! It was bad enough trying to find foie gras that one time…..

I had to get frozen too! There was nothing fresh in Ottawa, either. But! I've fried up my legs. Next, I added about a tablespoon of butter into the hot pan with the frog grease (that is not appetizing... I mean the liquid gold!) Next I added the mirepoix (onions, garlic and celery.) Finally, in went the peppers, and about a half cup of flour. I'm about to add some tomatoes now.

My tester leg fried up a beautiful golden brown but subsequent legs are looking pasty. Cranking my oil temp. For visuals, check in with me at @kellllybeth on twitter or @kellyelizreid on Insta. 

Good call, sister. My roux has my gravy mad thick. I'm ready to simmer after adding some stock! They are going to simmer for about 15-20 min. Time to make some rice. Remember how in Mind Of A Chef they serve it with grits? But then Sean Brock says that's sacrilege, so I'll do rice. How is that oil coming along?

i've got a serious roux going, but I think I burned the bejesus out of my garlic!

Oh no! Burned garlic is the worst. I tried one of my mystery peppers to see what it was like... I'm sweating, my tongue has no sensation, and I'm now terrified of touching my face. But it smells like the bayou in here!

Hahahaha! My mystery Hungarian peppers turned out to be pretty mild but it smells like the Bayou in my kitchen too! Debating dumping half a beer in to augment my stock just for the hell of it…..

That sounds like a fabulous beer. Let's shoutout your brewer? Who did you go with?

Went with Sleeman Honey Brown! A total delight. My stock is in, simmering away on top of my mire, tomatoes, and peppers. What stock did you end up going with? I assume you didn't have frog stock. I used chicken. 

You're right. No frog stock here... although now I know what to do with my bones? I went with a homemade vegetable stock, because that's just what I had on hand. I wonder if fish stock would work too?

Taking this lull while my stock simmers and my rice water boils to add a few photos, in case you haven't been following Twitter or insta! 

Your photos look awesome Kell! My phone seems to be uninterested in syncing. I'll get there, but you can find my finished product at @baileymariereid on Twitter or @baileyreid85 on Insta!

Well, apparently brown rice takes FORTY FIVE MINUTES to cook, so my finished product shot will be up in approximately 41 minutes. 

Bahahahahahhahahahahahah Mummy would be so mad that you didn't prep this all in advance! Bad girls Kelly. PSA- frog bones are LITTLE. Like, LITTLE. So be careful with that, everyone. Go easy on the bourbon until after dinner.


Okay everyone! Thank you so much for joining us for this blog! Next week, we head out on a road trip to Savannah. Travel with us by following #SouthOf49!

Pre-fry. Looking beautiful!

Sacrificial lamb. He looks good!

Ready to go

Simmering the goods.