Apparently You Can Eat Cicadas- Here’s How To Cook Them
Cicadas will be reemerging around the Tri-State and apparently you can eat them like you would shrimp or lobster.
The Brood X Cicadas will be returning to Indiana after 17 years in late April or early May. They spend 16 - 17 years underground, then emerge for four to six weeks, lay their eggs and then they are gone again not to reemerge for another seventeen years. You'll see them climbing trees, bushes, fence post, anything that they can latch their claws into, and you'll definitely be hearing them as the males make that loud, familiar noise to attract females to mate.
However, did you know that you can actually eat these things? It sounds gross, I know. According to WHAS 11, low in fat and carbs, offer a lot of protein and they're gluten free. While that might not make them sound any more appetizing, apparently millions of people around the world eat there.
Why would you want to eat cicadas though? WHAS 11 says that they are actually related to shrimp and lobster. So I guess they are the shrimp of the land? When you think of it like that, it kind of makes you question eating shrimp or lobster, since in a way it is kind of like eating a bug.
So how would one even cook cicadas? Well, if you're up for trying something new and exotic, here's how to do it. First off, you're going to want to snag some up when they come out of the ground in the morning and before their shell hardens. That's apparently when they are the tastiest (if they are even tasty at all). "If you are cooking up the adult cicadas, you can pull the wings and legs off to reduce the crunchiness," according to WHAS 11.
Since they are related to shrimp and lobster, you can cook them in the same recipes that you would with shrimp or lobster. They also say that you can find several recipes for cicadas online and there's even a cookbook specifically for cicadas called "The Cicada Cookbook" by Chris Royal.
Now, I am nowhere near brave enough to try these out, but I feel like this is a West Side Nut Club Fall Festival food waiting to happen. What would it take for you to try it out?
(H/T- WHAS 11)
10 Gross Things The FDA Allows In Your Food