Frog Legs and Fried Chicken

When I was a little girl my grandfather took all the grandchildren frogging. I remember creeping around the pond with flashlights in search of frogs, but I never watched the actual gigging. Gigging is when you stab frogs with a fork like spear; a pretty gruesome activity for children but Grandpa never gave it a second thought. After he had all the frogs he wanted we took them home and someone skinned them and my aunt fried the legs in an iron skillet.  If you’ve never seen frog legs frying then you don’t know that they jump around like they are alive. It always scared the daylights out of me.

Farm life is not for the faint hearted. Every Saturday my grandmother would go outside, grab a chicken and take it to the chopping block where she took an axe and chopped their heads off. I would stand at the kitchen window and watch with horrified fascination as the headless chicken ran around the back yard. While I can still conjure up horrific images of headless chickens, it didn’t keep me from sitting down at her table and devouring biscuits, gravy and friend chicken.

I never tasted fried chicken as good as hers but this recipe is pretty close to the way she made it. http://www.tasteofhome.com/Recipes/Best-Southern-Fried-Chicken

Grandma also fixed squirrel brains. She used to say eating them would make you smart. I never tried them and don’t have a recipe for that. Sorry, I’m sure you are disappointed!

What about you? What are your Thursday Thoughts?

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30 Comments

  1. I remember that trip very well! We also camped out… All the kids and just the moms.. Seems the dads said the women couldn’t do it and they set out to prove that they could!

  2. Thanks, Rachel (that’s my daughter’s name too) I appreciate all comments and especially yours since you are a vegetarian. Thanks for stopping by!

  3. The crazy thing is I’m a vegetarian and I think your post is great. I think we should be closer where our food comes from. Honestly, it’s the reason I don’t eat meat. I bet it tastes better too!

  4. My daughter and I found our first little frog together today! We just watched it for a while tho, and then went off to find worms! Have a great weekend.

  5. I love the memories of your childhood and can probably match them with stories of gutting dear and antelope; no wonder I don’t eat meat anymore! Hi! Newest follower here… via Aloha Friday! I love your blog and was kinda hopin’ that you’d pop on by, stay a while, and follow me back if you like what you read!

    Have a great weekend!
    Sarah
    http://www.enjoyingtheepiphany.com

  6. Teresa, thanks for inviting me to be a part of your hop. I will now be having flashbacks of our time on the farm 🙂 Have a great weekend!

  7. To this day I can not eat fish cause my Dad used to put it in a big wash tub until he was ready to kill and eat it!! I doubt I would have eaten any of the things you mention had I seen them killed!! Of course the only thing I have eaten is the chicken—-

  8. Thanks for commenting Kari. School lunches sure aren’t what they once were! Blessings to you!

  9. Nursing wasn’t for me either but so happy some men and women got that calling!

  10. Ah, sweet memories of stabbing frogs! lol Thanks for stopping by and glad the snakes didn’t get you!

  11. Farm life is definitely NOT for the faint of heart. 😉 I had a grandmother who loved frog legs.

    I’m visiting today from Linkin’ with my Ladies.

  12. I love this, I went frog giggin as a kid with my dad and now I don’t think that I would want to do that. There had to be tons of snakes out there at night, but as a curious little girl, that never entered my mind.

    Bobbie Anne

  13. Hi Teresa, thank you for inviting me to your party!
    I started following you on facebook… and sorry no, I don’t have a recipe for squirrel brains… !
    MammaNene from

    SergerPepper.blogspot.it

  14. Oh dear. Never gigged frogs, even tho I grew up on a farm here in Oregon. I helped my dad dress a lamb after it was slaughtered. Ick. Lamb tastes good but that instance made me sad. I love lambs. But that’s one of the reasons they are raised for. I did dress a pheasant once that someone gave us. After that I decided I didn’t want to be a nurse. Ha!

  15. My grandma had a farm too, but the most horrifying thing we had to do was collect the eggs and pick green beans. I am so glad we didn’t have to catch the frogs for dinner! lol.

  16. i remember my maw maw doing the same thing with the chickens! and they tasted so good!! Now I complain about having to clean one I’ve got in the grocery store and put in the oven to roast (which dont taste nearly as good). I had forgot about what a big job it was for my Maw-Maw!!

  17. Urgh! I think I’d have nightmares for years after seeing all that!

    I was bad enough when my Nan told me stories of when she lived on a farm, I’m glad I don’t 😉

    x

  18. My grandparents had a farm and the worst memory was being chased by a goose. My mother says my sister became a track and field star because of it.

  19. I’ve never tried frog legs or squirrel brains – and probably never will, LOL! I can remember when I was little my grandma once made cow tongue – UGH! I didn’t try that either. My grandma was a farmer’s wife and a school lunchroom lady (back in the days when they actually cooked from scratch at schools). When I was about 3 or 4 years old and had yet to start school, my grandma would sometimes take me to work with her and I got to sit in the school kitchen watching them prepare lunch. I loved tasting all the yummy food they made. Her cooking was so amazing. I’m sorry to say I never picked up any of her skills, though.

  20. I have never eaten frog legs, nor squirrel brains. I remember attempting to eat squirrel meat as a child. Actually, I remember being told I was served chicken, and looking at it and knowing full well that that was not chicken on my plate. Finally, the adults admitted it was squirrel.

  21. Great memories 🙂 I have seen chicken and duck necks cut and bled, but never frog nor squirrel caught. I do love frog legs fried in butter. Not sure about the squirrel brains though 🙂 Thanks for sharing, have a beautiful weekend Teresa.

  22. Oh Teresa, I’m not at all sorry you don’t have a recipe for squirrel brains! As for farm life, the worst thing I ever had to to on one was to collect eggs at my aunt’s place. Those chickens scared me to death, too! Nasty creatures…but tasty! Thanks for hosting!

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