I was a Knoxville frog's worst nightmare!

Back in 1978, I was 13 years old. My biggest concerns back in those days was keeping my bicycle chain greased, making sure I had worms or corn to fish with, and which pond had the biggest frogs. Yeah, I know, nothing like the concerns of kids nowadays. My son’s biggest concern is whether or not he has the latest PS2 game. My, how times have changed!

This post is really centered on frog gigging. Just in case you aren’t familiar with this wonderful Southern pastime, let me educate you.

Equipment needed:
1. A bright light: Usually just a regular flashlight with new batteries will do. However, one of those hand held spotlights that run from a square 6V battery works really, really well.

2. Frog gig: Just a 4 pronged gig that you mount to the end of a pole, usually an old rake handle, like mine in the picture above. Nowadays, you can get really fancy gigs, but they are expensive.

3. A bag: Any old sack will do, however, (you’re going to laugh), but the best frog-gigging bag is a pair of old panty hose. Just ask your mother, sister, wife, whoever, for a pair of their old stockings, cut the legs off, and use them for bags. Throw the other part away, freak! These bags will hold tons of frogs and you can even tie them onto your belt for safekeeping.

4. Frogs: Everyone knows that the best frogs are Bullfrogs. They are the biggest, meatiest, and tastiest of them all. You’ll need to select a pond, because naturally, frogs prefer them to creeks, rivers, and lakes.

How to Frog Gig:
Now that you have your equipment and have selected your pond, just wait for nightfall. Once it gets dark, proceed to the pond very quietly. Let your eyes adjust to the darkness and wait for the frogs to start their croaking. You’ll recognize the Bullfrog by his loud, deep sound. He’s the King daddy of the pond and he lets everyone know it. Once the frogs start coming to the banks of the pond, get your spotlight and shine it on them. The bright light will blind and confuse them like a deer in the headlights. Then, take your frog-gigging pole and run it through the frog and into the bank. Don’t pull the gig back out immediately or the frog will work its way off and jump into the water. Yes, they normally don’t die instantly, so if you are a pantywaist, then frog gigging ain’t for you. Now carefully, pull the pole up and stick the frog into the bag. Move on to the next victim.

Since frog legs usually aren’t all that big, especially here in Knox County, you will need to get several of them for a meal. Normally it will take 10 to 15 frogs to make it worth your while and that really depends on the size of them. The larger the frog, the fewer it takes, but in my book, the more the better! I’ve been known to come away with over 20 frogs just to be safe.

How to clean:
The only thing that you are interested in on the frog is, of course, the back legs. Maybe some folks use more than that but I don’t know about it if they do. Find you a good place outside to clean the frogs (you don’t want to do this on your kitchen counter because it’s really gross). I normally use a small piece of plywood for a cutting board. Take the frog and lay it on the board, stretch out its rear legs, take a sharp knife, and cut the legs off up around where they connect to the body. Then, peel the skin inside out down to the feet and cut it off, feet and all. Place the raw leg in a bowl. After you have finished with all of the frogs, take the bowl of legs into the house and wash them really well.

How to cook:
In my opinion, the best way to cook frog legs is to just cook them like you would fried chicken. Put you some grease (Crisco or Lard) into a frying pan; heat it up to medium heat. Dip the frog legs into some egg, roll them in some flour, add salt and pepper, and drop them into the skillet. You’ll want to watch them carefully because, unless you cut through the back tendons of the legs, they will jump around in the pan. I’ve seen legs jump clean out of the frying pan and onto the floor! You might prefer a lid but I don’t like the way it holds in moisture and keeps the legs from browning well.

How to eat:
Do I really have to explain this? Well, first you pray to the good Lord above and thank him for the wonderful meal that you are about to consume, and then you dive in with both hands! Bon appétit, or whatever them fruity Frenchmen say…

Other interesting Frog gigging articles:

A City Slicker Goes Frog Gigging Really funny story about a city girl’s first frog-gigging experience (and most likely her last!)

The Front Porch Swing Can you hear your lunch calling you?

A Pond, My Dad, and Frog Legs A sons fond memories of his dad’s passion for frog legs.

Good ol’ frogs legs This guy isn’t quite sure about frog legs yet.

Teenager frog gigging has nighttime encounter near Dickson be careful when frog-gigging, you just might run into Bigfoot.

Frog Gigging from Wikipedia A pretty poor description, I might need to update that entry!