“Hizdahr had stocked their box with flagons of chilled wine and sweetwater, with figs, dates, melons, and pomegranates, with pecans and peppers and a big bowl of honeyed locusts. Strong Belwas bellowed, “Locusts!” as he seized the bowl and began to crunch them by the handful.” (Dance with Dragons)
Our Thoughts:
The things we do for food…
As soon as we read the description of honey-spiced locusts in Dance, we knew we had to rise to the challenge.
This Volantene recipe results in a sweet & spicy, super crunchy snack that is surprisingly good. It takes a bit of psychological adjustment to get over the idea of eating bugs, but the novelty and brag-factor makes it well worth the effort. Underlying the more familiar tastes of honey and spice is the real flavor of the crickets- a sort of smoky nuttiness that takes several bites to savor.
We dared to try it. Do you?
Honey-spiced Locusts
- 1/4 cup butter
- pinch of salt
- 1 cup cleaned insects (we used freeze dried crickets from Amazon)
- 2 Tbs. honey
- 1 tsp. Aleppo pepper, mixed in with the honey
Whoa!! Ladies, you’re braver than I!! Still, the recipe is most intriguing…
Oooo, maybe. Maybe! :D
It’s at least a phenomenal conversation dish for a GoT party. ;)
I’ve eaten larvae and wood maggots before… they’ve got a woody flavor… not sure if I could do crickets or locust… might just have to look up prices for this recipe….
The freeze dried crickets we used came from Amazon, and were very affordable. Just saying… :)
What weight container is needed for the necessary “1 cup” volume measurement?
We bought a 6 oz. container of crickets, and used about half of them.
The poison is optional.
Yes.
I hope you didn’t let one person eat the entire bowl.
From THE Amazon or from the amazon.com??
Haha, Amazon.com. They’re probably from Ohio, or something.
I think locusts are related to cockroaches rather than crickets. Still it sounds intriguing, would make a nice snack for watching gladiatorial bouts.
Locusts are a phase of the grasshopper’s life cycle. When conditions are just right, the grasshoppers metamorphose into locusts and fly around in huge swarms, eating everything in sight.
Were these the crickets that you got? http://www.amazon.com/Flukers-1-6-Ounce-Freeze-Dried-Crickets/dp/B0002DRJDG
The very ones! We probably have about 2 more servings left.
worthy of mentioning: they can be had at any PetSmart/PetCo.
I’m curious, did you actually find a source for these to base your recipe on? This seems somewhat elaborate for a first try. :]
Nope, we just winged it. I went with the same basic procedure as a Chex mix, though. :p
I can’t do anything even a little “spicy”, so I think I’m gonna try this recipe using Cinnamon instead of the Aleppo pepper. It will have that strong “spiced” flavor, I hope, but won’t be “spicy” so I can eat it! Plus, a lot of people say cinnamon is “hot” in quantity, so I figure that still works within the description of the books. Haha
What about Paprika? It has most of the earthy pepper flavor without the spice.
Manderly’s pies should be next! I’d try those sooner than locusts.
Ok, my curiousity got to me. I researched Manderly’s pies and found nothing toward about them…is there something strange about them that I didn’t find?
but Freys are so much more expensive to buy online!
why crickets rather than grasshoppers? I would [not] eat a grasshopper over a cricket anyday. ;)
Two reasons: First, we could order dried crickets from Amazon. Second, I wanted a one-bite bug, figuring it would be easier to psych friends into eating than one that takes two. :)
I grew up with parents that harvested locusts (the babies) to deep fry and all, these are my kids and their grasshoppers http://pleasegivepeasachance.blogspot.com/2007/12/grasshoppers-are-yummy.html
so yeah I suspect I could try it but I don’t know. It’s been a looong time
Good on you for being brave enough to try the insects, but you do realise historical/biblical descriptions of people eating “honey and locust” refers to the sweet pulp and beans of the locust tree, not actually bugs?
I believe carob is the more common name of the locust tree (and pretty common, lots of people use carob like chocolate). But I haven’t read the books that far yet, and the snippet posted above sounds more like the insects (crunchy, etc) than carob pods would (I imagine, since I’ve never cooked the whole pod).
I have been trying to find food-quality grasshoppers/crickets/locusts for years! I take it these worked without a problem in spite of being intended for snakes? (I’ve had a snake and am well aware that his standards for cleanliness were not mine.)
True fact: Jumping bugs are specifically kosher according to the Torah, largely because if you have locusts you probably don’t have anything else to eat. A friend who keeps stricter kosher than me said he would eat them if I did. He didn’t know me very well. But we had trouble finding them.
I can’t believe you guys did this!!! :D So awesome!
I am so relieved to hear that they sell freeze dried crickets. I didn’t have the guts to go down to the local bait shop and start with live ones (ewww)!
Neither did we! ;)
Since I know my grandfathers ate locusts this doesn’t really scare me… but I’m more scared at the fact Amazon sells locusts!
I think they’re pet food? People feed them to reptiles they keep as pets?
FYI, freeze-dried crickets don’t really have the same texture as fresh ones.
If you want to go authentic/crazy on this one, you have the option of getting crickets from a pet store that sells lizards.
Trysesame oil instead of butter – will be yummier and with a richer taste!
Jiminy! Jiminy! SPEAK to me.
Alas.
Just a thought: I know you didn’t have to deal with it because of purchasing frozen ones, but what exactly is implied by “cleaned” in the recipe? Suppose I get my crickets in the wild (what calibre do you suggests)? How do I clean them?
Best part is that if you get some wing stuck in your teeth you can pick it out with the leg!
Went to Petco today to get the freeze dried crickets. We’ll see who the brave ones are at the GOT party tomorrow evening. :)
I’m of the same question–what is meant by cleaned insects?
…but how do you prepare the locusts? If you put them in the pan while alive, they’ll hop out, and if they are dead when you receive them, how can you be sure they are safe to eat?
Freeze them while alive, then fry them. ;)
I’m going to give this recipe a go – I’ve had some bugs before (lime ants – live, termites – fried), but nothing terribly leggy. I kept crickets for years for herps, and they are forever etched in my mind alongside a wretched smell, so I can’t really imagine eating them. But I found freeze dried locusts! http://www.rakuten.co.uk/shop/crunchycritters/product/LOC35/?l-id=gb_search_product_thumbnail_1
I just ordered a bunch of crickets to make this the centerpiece of an ASOIAF dinner bash that I’m hosting at the end of the week. Hopefully no one will get sick and accuse me of poisoning them….