When spicy buffalo sauce brand Frank’s RedHot first implored adventurous eaters to “put that $#!t on everything,” we’re not sure noisy summertime cicadas is what they meant.
Nevertheless, the Springfield, Missouri-based hot sauce brand has developed Frank’s RedHot Cicada Cookbook, a digital collection of recipes wherein the buzzing insects are the star.
The digital cookbook, which becomes widely available next week, includes recipes for buggy dishes including Mini Cicada Corn Dogs, Air-Fried Buffalo Cicada “Wings,” Buffalo Bug Dip and a Spicy Cicada Mary.
The recipes were inspired by the emergence of Brood X cicadas across the eastern U.S., which spend 17 years burrowed underground, then tunnel to the surface as spring temperatures warm up to molt, mate and die.
Or get skewered and used as a Bloody Mary garnish, if Frank’s has anything to say about it.
The cookbook features cheeky — though sometimes a tad barbaric — illustrations, as well as recipes that are, on the whole, pretty solid. For instance, a home cook could easily omit the roasted cicadas from the book’s Buffalo Bug Dip recipe for an easy and approachable snack that’s worthy of a poolside hangout.
If you’re feeling adventurous and want to add bugs to your diet, though, we wouldn’t suggest using the generally grey and tan species that descend — or rather, ascend — upon the Lone Star State every summer.
At least two San Antonio restaurants serve up traditional Mexican dishes of toasted insects with copitas of mezcal, and SA-based Natral (formerly Manna Foods) offers sustainable beetle powder as an alternative to whey or soy protein powders.
So many restaurants, so little time. Find out the latest San Antonio dining news with our Flavor Friday Newsletter.
This article appears in May 19 – Jun 1, 2021.