DawgTalkers.net Forums DawgTalk Everything Else... Any DT'ers willing to share their Cicada recipes?

The cicadas are coming — and foodies are getting ready to feast
BY LI COHEN

MAY 24, 2021 / 6:43 AM / CBS NEWS

Billions of Brood X cicadas are emerging after being underground for 17 years. As many in the eastern U.S. anxiously await their arrival, others are preparing their plates for what they say is a delicacy.

So far this year, the cicadas have been spotted in Washington, D.C. and several states, including Pennsylvania, Michigan, West Virginia, New York and Georgia. The winged bugs did not emerge silently — the sound of the swarm can reach up to 100 decibels. People have described so many bugs in one place that it appeared "the ground was moving," and there are countless reports of people holding — or being covered in — multiple cicadas.

Jessica Fanzo, a professor of food policy and ethics at Johns Hopkins University, told CBSN on Friday that the insects are "really important" and are the sign of an "incredible moment."

"It's a true testimonial to nature's resilience. With all the major challenges we face — climate change, urbanization, loss of the plentiful diversity — it's incredible they've survived," she said. "The last time we saw these little critters was 17 years ago and they have just a couple of weeks to come above ground, mature, woo their mates, breed and then die."

But before they can meet the end of their natural life cycle, many will end up on peoples' plates. Maybe not in the U.S. or Europe, Fanzo said, because of "the ick factor," but worldwide, billions of people consider the short-lived insect a special staple.

"[It's] really common around the world to eat insects seasonally, for their taste, for their nutritional importance," Fanzo said. "And even here in the United States, some Native American populations consumed cicadas in times of hardship, when their land was taken from them and they faced starvation. For some Native American populations, these foods have a historical importance for their survival. But it's all about what you're used to."

Eating cicadas, Fanzo explained, is also good for the environment.

"As the planet warms due to climate change, we need to think about our diets," Fanzo said. "Food systems, the way we produce food, the way we move food around the world, is contributing to 30% of total greenhouse gas emissions. That is significant... We can change the way we produce food."

The exact nutritional content of cicadas is not known, she explained, but insects can go "pound-to-pound" with red meat with some nutrients. Insects, Fanzo said, are usually anywhere from 20 to 70% protein and have high amounts of iron and zinc.

One study, published in NFS Journal in 2016, said that there are over 2,000 known edible insect species and that eating insects is common in 113 countries. The protein content of insects varies depending on the type and development stage of the insect. Some edible insects, the study found, also have "a reasonable amount" of minerals and vitamins.

Cicadas, Fanzo said, are "definitely an alternative source of protein," that humans can consume.

"Livestock, particularly, contributes a lot of greenhouse gas emissions, but they are also a major cause of deforestation and biodiversity loss. So what can we replace beef with, or at least decrease our consumption of some of these intensive environmental footprint type foods?" Fanzo said, "Insects, along with smaller animals like chicken or seafood, plant-based proteins, all play a role, not only for our nutritional needs but for treading more lightly on the planet."

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/cicadas-brood-x-eating-foodies/

I marinate them in the tears of Steelers fans and toss them in a stir fry with Raven innards.

A little hot sauce and some whipped cream, MMMMMmmmMMmmMMMmmMmm Them's good eating.

Keep it simple sauté with garlic and butter

Bugs and beer stew

Net upa few hundred cicadas toss em in a pot with some taters ,carrots ,onion, celery (optional) garlic and a few cans of beer.
Corn starch if needed for thickining
👍👍

Air fryer then cover with chocolate. Because chocolate needs crunchy bits.

Cicada Mashed Potatoes

Just chuck a dozen or so in with your taters. Fun for the kids too because the end product can be tangerine orange, mustard yellow, or diaper green depending on gut content of the little fellas. BUT watch out for the legs that don't fully mash, they can be a choking hazard.

I haven't yet heard any here in SE Tennessee. Should be soon enough.

I have eaten all sorts of unusual things in my life(squirrel brains and eggs as an example), so I wouldn't be against it due to any "ickey" factor, but since I am not in some survival mode at this point I won't just start picking them up off the ground or off a tree trunk and start munching away.

Stew. Good thought. Imo they'd go in "wayward boy stew" as well.

What's in wayward boy stew you ask? Anything. Doesn't matter. They're wayward.

Oh man, that one's older than dirt.

So the title from the other page cuts off half way it reads

Any DT'ers willing to

and it cuts off,
Now, of all the things DT'er would be willing to do, reminding anyone that anybody on earth Eats Bugs! Is a big letdown.

Any DT'ers willing to give some advice.
Advice:
If pets, can have health insurance, a real thing, then how much time until pets will get life insurance.

jc

I'm bummed as there wont be cicadas in the ATL.

Not that I would eat them.

I just dont like being left out.

Saw a thing of Facebook where people were putting them in Smores.

Why not?
It's what they're made for.
It's why so many of them hatch all at once.
Step up, brother- do your part.

Said the Cicada, upon emerging after his 17-year interval:

"Dear Mom & Dad,
Just wanted to let you know that I'm officially above ground... and I-75 is still under construction..."

None have come out here. I was watching the Memorial golf tournament, in Columbus on TV and that is all you could hear.

I guess I will use munching on a few as motivation to stick around another 17 years to beat the odds.

Coulda swore the 17 year cycle isn’t due until ‘31 or ‘32. 1997 or 1998 was the big year when I was a young buck. Would have put the last infestation at 2014 or 15.

Best recipe I can remember... well the darn things would cover entire trees. My best friend and I would grab a big mason jar with holes nailed in the top; like if you were gonna try to catch lightnin’ bugs when you were little.

Run down to the honey hole and hook one of them bugs through the butt. Make sure that the wings can still work. Use light line and NO weight. Just pitch ‘me out so the cicada can flutter down to the water on it’s own. They’ll be beatin’ the water with their wings, that is if they aren’t engulfed by a bass before they hit.

Keep a couple decent ones for a shore lunch, but throw those bigguns back. Cicadas make great fillets.

Brood X cicadas light up national weather radar as U.S. grapples with swarms: "We were getting over 2,000 a day"
JUNE 10, 2021 / 7:10 AM / CBS NEWS

The massive invasion of Brood X cicadas now has the insects swarming large areas of the East and Midwest.

Coming up from the ground once every 17 years, their numbers are so large in the Baltimore-Washington area they're even showing up on National Weather Service radar.

"We were getting over 2,000 a day," Maryland mom Jessica Helms told CBS News' Ben Tracy after cicadas took over her backyard.

6-year-old Olivia began counting the cicadas in her backyard but quickly ran out of fingers — and buckets to collect their shells.
CBS

"Then we had to watch where we were stepping!" Olivia said.

While the many shells covering the ground and hanging from trees may terrify adults, Olivia is now invested in these insects, giving the cicadas names and playing with them alongside her toys.

"We are surrounded by not just the cicadas but their sound from every direction. "Pretty much all the cicadas that exist are out of the ground and they are in the treetops." entomologist Sammy Ramsey said. "This is the symphony section of the experience."

Only the male bugs make cicada's trademark loud noise — clocking in at 73 decibels, a level that rivals a garbage disposal or vacuum cleaner.

The male cicadas are trying to attract females.

"They get the chance to sit around and say 'I don't like him, I don't like him, I don't like him. That one — I like him," Ramsey said.

For the next four weeks, the cicadas will fulfill their 17-year mission of mating in the trees to produce the next generation. But they have to avoid getting eaten by a bird before they do it.

Ramsey is not the only one enjoying the experience — cicadas are inspiring art, food, fashion and music.

A brewery in Virginia created a cicada beer and named it Brewd-X.

Cicada tacos are on the menu at a Leesburg, Virginia restaurant, which sells about 30 orders of them every day.

"About 50% of those that come in order a second round of tacos," Chef Tobias Padovano said.

Unfortunately, however, after waiting nearly two decades, the cicadas' moment is fleeting.

"They are here for a good time, not a long time," Ramsey said.

Both the males and females will die off after mating, according to Ramsey. The eggs the females lay in the trees will fall to the ground and the cycle will begin again.

Ramsey noted the massive time jump before the next time the U.S. sees the cicadas in 2038.

"I cannot describe to you the sense of dread that is already in my heart knowing that I am not going to be able to experience this again until I am in my forties," he said.

https://www.cbsnews.com/amp/news/cicadas-brood-x-national-weather-service-radar/

I miss hearing their sound. I’m heading back to Ohio to see family in mid July. Most of the cicadas will have run their lifecycle by then but there’s likely to be a few left… or at least I’m hoping. Having moved west 20 years ago, I missed the last brood 17 years ago. The last time I heard them was when I was living in my parent’s home and just 14 years old. The same home I’m going back to visit next month. Would be cool to hear them again from my old bedroom window.

Here's the odd thing about all of this for me. I live southeast of Nashville and we usually have cicadas every year. I know it's a different species of cicadas than the 17 year variety but it's still pretty much an annual thing here.

This year? Nothing.

All I can say is my Aussie loves them raw, lol

We weren't supposed to have any here.

I went outside last night and heard them.

The 17 year cicadas are going to be most prevalent in western Ohio. I am hoping they miss Youngstown completely.

I grew up in the sticks west of Toledo.

The sound is pretty incredible. It never ceases to amaze me how loud those little suckers can get.

It's everything else about them that gets pretty old, though.

I lived in Maryland 34 years ago. It is a surreal experience. .

Man crashes car after cicada hits him in the face

Haven't seen any in "NEO-Ville but as per the article, if I happen to capture a few I'm hoping to capture a few young nymphs.

Then again, aren't we all.....

(Laura Chase de Formigny for The Washington Post/food styling by Diana Jeffra for The Washington Post)

Spicy Popcorn Cicadas
Total time:
25 mins (plus 3 hours for freezing and 1 hour for marinating)
Servings:
2 (about 6 cicadas each)

By Kari Sonde

May 19, 2021 at 3:45 p.m. EDT
Brood X cicadas are finally emerging, meaning that if you are interested in tasting them, now’s the time to get them.

Edible insect advocates promote bugs as a sustainable protein source, and regular cicadas are eaten by many cultures around the world. With the emergence of the 17-year cicadas in the Eastern United States, we offer this recipe if you want to give them a try.

Don’t eat cicadas if you’re allergic to seafood, the FDA warns

Experts say that their full adult stage isn’t as tasty, so look for the nymph stage, in which they appear light brown and are just emerging from the ground, or their whitish teneral stage in which they cast off their nymphal case before unfurling their wings and forming their full adult coloration. This recipe calls for tenerals, though you could try it with nymphs.

The best time to look for them is later in the evening or at night. Pick them up, place them in a lidded container and store the container in the freezer overnight. When ready to prepare, rinse the tenerals well to remove any dirt.

They are similar to small shrimp in size and genetics, but not taste — folks have described the flavor as very mild with most of it coming from whatever spices you add to them. This recipe marinates them in Worcestershire and includes a spicy blend of paprika, cayenne, garlic and onion in the batter to fry them into crispy, flavorful bites.

These fried cicadas are best if eaten right away. You can eat these as a snack or try them on top of a green salad.

NOTE: Cicadas are edible, but if you have allergies to soy, nuts or shellfish, or any contact allergies to other insects, experts say to consult your doctor before consuming. The creatures do not contain any toxic substances, but accumulation of pesticides and other chemicals is possible. Unless one binges on cicadas, however, experts say this should not be a concern.

Ingredients.....

12 freshly emerged 17-year cicadas
1/2 cup Worcestershire sauce
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon sweet or smoked paprika
1/8 teaspoon fine sea salt
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 large egg
Vegetable oil, for frying
For the spice mix

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
Step 1
Place the live cicadas in an airtight container and freeze at least 3 hours, or overnight.


Step 2
Thoroughly rinse the frozen cicadas to remove any dirt, then transfer to a small bowl, pour the Worcestershire sauce over them and stir to combine. Cover and refrigerate for about 1 hour.

Step 3
Remove the cicadas from the Worcestershire sauce and transfer to a wire rack or a towel-lined plate to drain.

Step 4
Set out two shallow bowls. In one, whisk together the flour, onion powder, garlic powder, paprika, salt and cayenne; in the other, whisk the egg.

Working with one cicada at a time, dip it into the egg, letting the excess drip off, then coat it in the flour mixture, shaking off any excess, and transfer to a plate. Repeat with the remaining cicadas.

Step 5
In a small saucepan, add enough oil to come about 1 1/2 inches up the sides of the pan, about 1 1/2 cups. Set the pot over medium-high heat and warm the oil until it registers 350 degrees on an instant-read thermometer. Place a wire rack near the stove or line a large plate with a clean tea towel or paper towels.

Step 6
Make the spice mix: In a small bowl, whisk together the cumin, salt and cayenne.

Step 7
Fry the cicadas in two batches, 6 or so at a time, until light golden and crispy. Once they float to the surface, watch them carefully to avoid burning, stirring occasionally with a slotted spoon so they brown evenly, about 2 minutes. Transfer to the prepared rack or plate.

Step 8
Lightly sprinkle the hot cicadas with the spice mixture as soon as they are removed from the oil. Transfer the cooked cicadas to a small bowl and serve.

Nutrition Information
(Because no reliable data exists on the nutritional content of cicadas, this analysis is impossible.)

https://www.washingtonpost.com/food/2021/05/19/spicy-popcorn-cicadas-recipe/?outputType=amp