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"A Letter from Paris: Frog Legs May Be Out of Favor, but Not Flavor"!
LES ÉCHETS, France "There was a time when frogs legs drowned in butter and garlic were standard fare at just about every bistro in France. Then two things happened.
First, tastes changed. With the advent of nouvelle cuisine in the 1970s, cuisses de grenouilles lost their cachet, as did country pâté, lamb kidneys in Dijon mustard
sauce, duck à lorange and profiteroles.
Second, frogs became an endangered species worthy of protection by the state. In 1980, France banned the capture, transport and marketing of live French frogs. Most frogs that end up on dinner plates here these days have to be imported, either live from places like Poland, Albania and the former Yugoslavia, or as frozen legs from Indonesia and China.
But search hard enough and you will find a believer in just about everything edible in France. I found my frog lover in Christophe Marguin, 45, a fourth-generation proprietor-chef at the hotel and -restaurant that bear his name 10 miles outside Lyon.
His establishment, painted Chinese red, opened in 1906 as a way station for travelers on the highway between Lyon and Strasbourg. Mr. Marguins great-grandfather pumped gasoline from a single pump; his great-grandmother prepared hearty meals with carp, pike, crayfish and frogs fished out of the family pond.
The first member of the family to attempt upscale cuisine was Jacques Marguin, Christophes father, who had been first apprentice to the food legend Paul Bocuse. Jacques learned all about frogs from his mother, who gave him the task of killing, skinning and cutting off the heads of the catch every day before school.
Today, the restaurant is a temple to frogs.
Frog oil paintings adorn the walls. Frog figurines in glass, china, metal, plastic and pottery perch on display-case shelves. Stone frogs stand guard at the entrance. Green frogs have been painted on the custom-made china plates by Bernardaud. (Bernardauds first frogs werent very pretty, so Christophe went to the chinamakers office on the Rue Royale and watched as they were repainted.)
"Frogs are mythical, delicate creatures. They deserve respect". Christophe Marguin
This is not the place to come if you dont like butter, cream and lots of drink. When Mr. Marguin poured me a glass of Champagne before noon, and I said it was a bit early for me, his eyes widened as if to say, Who is this American puritan and what is she doing here?
He served me frogs four different ways. First came a potato galette stuffed with shredded pieces of frogs legs and mushrooms on a sauce of parsley, butter, garlic, almond powder, white wine and cream. Then came scrambled eggs with black caviar, chives, slivers of frog and a touch of cream. That was followed by a crusty tart filled with mousseron mushrooms and olive-shaped pieces of frog meat in a white wine sauce.
For the finale, the classic sautéed frogs legs in butter [I like mine with chopped scallions, garlic, sea salt and cracked pepper], Mr. Marguin invited me into the kitchen. He heated butter in a large frying pan until it sizzled and formed bubbles an inch in diameter. You have to watch the [butter] rise in the pan and turn nut-colored, he said. Thats the secret to success.
Image: A Classic: Frog legs lightly floured before being sautéed in butter.
Then he threw in tiny frogs whose heads, feet, skin, spine and insides had been excised. As the frogs turned crispy brown, he flipped them over one by one until they were equally done. Then he showered them with raw chopped parsley and garlic and slipped them under the broiler for five seconds.
They taste best when eaten with your fingers, he said. Easier said than done. Its hard to take notes with buttery fingers, and even harder to look elegant when butter is dripping down your chin. I eventually found my rhythm, popping the frog whole in my mouth, sucking out the flesh and tossing out the bones.
Each dish was paired with its own wine, all from 2008: a Beaune Clos des Mouches by Joseph Drouhin, a Meursault Clos de la Barre Domaine des Comtes Lafon, a Domaine Pierre Amiot et Fils, a Charmes-Chambertin Grand Cru. Two very old Chartreuses followed coffee and dessert.
Mr. Marguin is a collector, and his collections extend far beyond frogs. He has framed and hung the monogrammed uniforms of many of Frances most famous chefs (which they have signed) on the wall leading to the main dining room. He has about 2,500 menus from meals served at the Élysée Palace by French heads of state going back to Charles de Gaulle. His wine cellar contains not only fine wines and spirits, including a 1967 Chateau dYquem, it also hold his collection of dozens of Champagne buckets and Coca-Cola, Perrier and Badoit bottles.
Read More: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/12/dining/frogs-legs-may-be-out-of-favor-but-not-flavor.html?_r=0
"Every morning one must start from scratch, with nothing on the stoves. That is cuisine". Chef Fernand Point
"A Letter from Paris: Frog Legs May Be Out of Favor, but Not Flavor"!
LES ÉCHETS, France "There was a time when frogs legs drowned in butter and garlic were standard fare at just about every bistro in France. Then two things happened.
First, tastes changed. With the advent of nouvelle cuisine in the 1970s, cuisses de grenouilles lost their cachet, as did country pâté, lamb kidneys in Dijon mustard
sauce, duck à lorange and profiteroles.
Second, frogs became an endangered species worthy of protection by the state. In 1980, France banned the capture, transport and marketing of live French frogs. Most frogs that end up on dinner plates here these days have to be imported, either live from places like Poland, Albania and the former Yugoslavia, or as frozen legs from Indonesia and China.
But search hard enough and you will find a believer in just about everything edible in France. I found my frog lover in Christophe Marguin, 45, a fourth-generation proprietor-chef at the hotel and -restaurant that bear his name 10 miles outside Lyon.
His establishment, painted Chinese red, opened in 1906 as a way station for travelers on the highway between Lyon and Strasbourg. Mr. Marguins great-grandfather pumped gasoline from a single pump; his great-grandmother prepared hearty meals with carp, pike, crayfish and frogs fished out of the family pond.
The first member of the family to attempt upscale cuisine was Jacques Marguin, Christophes father, who had been first apprentice to the food legend Paul Bocuse. Jacques learned all about frogs from his mother, who gave him the task of killing, skinning and cutting off the heads of the catch every day before school.
Today, the restaurant is a temple to frogs.
Frog oil paintings adorn the walls. Frog figurines in glass, china, metal, plastic and pottery perch on display-case shelves. Stone frogs stand guard at the entrance. Green frogs have been painted on the custom-made china plates by Bernardaud. (Bernardauds first frogs werent very pretty, so Christophe went to the chinamakers office on the Rue Royale and watched as they were repainted.)
This is not the place to come if you dont like butter, cream and lots of drink. When Mr. Marguin poured me a glass of Champagne before noon, and I said it was a bit early for me, his eyes widened as if to say, Who is this American puritan and what is she doing here?
He served me frogs four different ways. First came a potato galette stuffed with shredded pieces of frogs legs and mushrooms on a sauce of parsley, butter, garlic, almond powder, white wine and cream. Then came scrambled eggs with black caviar, chives, slivers of frog and a touch of cream. That was followed by a crusty tart filled with mousseron mushrooms and olive-shaped pieces of frog meat in a white wine sauce.
For the finale, the classic sautéed frogs legs in butter [I like mine with chopped scallions, garlic, sea salt and cracked pepper], Mr. Marguin invited me into the kitchen. He heated butter in a large frying pan until it sizzled and formed bubbles an inch in diameter. You have to watch the [butter] rise in the pan and turn nut-colored, he said. Thats the secret to success.
Image: A Classic: Frog legs lightly floured before being sautéed in butter.
Then he threw in tiny frogs whose heads, feet, skin, spine and insides had been excised. As the frogs turned crispy brown, he flipped them over one by one until they were equally done. Then he showered them with raw chopped parsley and garlic and slipped them under the broiler for five seconds.
They taste best when eaten with your fingers, he said. Easier said than done. Its hard to take notes with buttery fingers, and even harder to look elegant when butter is dripping down your chin. I eventually found my rhythm, popping the frog whole in my mouth, sucking out the flesh and tossing out the bones.
Each dish was paired with its own wine, all from 2008: a Beaune Clos des Mouches by Joseph Drouhin, a Meursault Clos de la Barre Domaine des Comtes Lafon, a Domaine Pierre Amiot et Fils, a Charmes-Chambertin Grand Cru. Two very old Chartreuses followed coffee and dessert.
Mr. Marguin is a collector, and his collections extend far beyond frogs. He has framed and hung the monogrammed uniforms of many of Frances most famous chefs (which they have signed) on the wall leading to the main dining room. He has about 2,500 menus from meals served at the Élysée Palace by French heads of state going back to Charles de Gaulle. His wine cellar contains not only fine wines and spirits, including a 1967 Chateau dYquem, it also hold his collection of dozens of Champagne buckets and Coca-Cola, Perrier and Badoit bottles.
Read More: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/12/dining/frogs-legs-may-be-out-of-favor-but-not-flavor.html?_r=0
