← Outdoor Survivalist Trainer Your area

Food guide

Frogs: catch, clean and cook

Bullfrogs and green frogs sit at the edge of every pond; the back legs are white, mild meat that cooks in minutes.

Page numbers below are from the US Army Survival Manual (FM 21-76) unless another source is named. Each one opens that page.

Before you rely on thisThis teaches what the survival manuals say, for a real emergency. Outside one, your state's hunting, trapping and fishing laws apply. Cook all wild meat all the way through, and never eat an animal that looked sick.A learning tool, not a replacement for training. In an emergency, call 911.
What the law usually allows

In many states, frogs are taken under fishing rules: you need a fishing license, there is a closed season in late spring when they breed, and there is a daily limit. Only bullfrogs and green frogs may be taken. Check this year's state rules for dates, limits and legal ways to take them. Never take toads.

Ways to catch it

A bullfrog caught at night at the edge of a pondBy hand or net at nightLicense and season

Frogs stay at the water's edge and dive into the mud at the first sign of danger. At night, a light shone in their eyes often makes them sit still, so you can grab them from behind or scoop them with a net (the light trick: general practice, not the manual).

Needs a fishing license, in frog season. Check this year's rules.

pp. 96 to 97
Gigging a frog at night with a homemade gigGig (frog spear)License and season

A long pole with a sharp point or several points on the end. Move the point slowly toward the frog, then push quickly. Do not throw it, and hold the frog with your other hand so it does not slip off.

Needs a fishing license, in frog season. Check this year's rules for gigs and spears.

pp. 116 to 117
Drawing of spear points made from bamboo, metal and boneMake a spear pointUsually allowed

Sharpen the end of a straight sapling, or split the end, wedge a small stick in to spread it, and sharpen both halves to points. You can also lash on bone or metal.

Making the tool is fine. Using it needs a fishing license, in season.

p. 116
Hook and lineLicense and season

Dangle a small hook with a bit of bait, a worm or a bright scrap of cloth, in front of a frog's nose. Frogs grab at things that move.

Needs a fishing license, in frog season.

p. 113

Clean it, step by step

  1. Be sure it is a frog, not a toad. Frogs have smooth, wet skin and live at the water. Toads have dry, bumpy skin, live in drier places, and are poisonous. Skip any brightly colored frog or one with an X on its back.

    pp. 96 to 97

  2. Kill the frog quickly before you clean it.

    Military Survival and Rescue Guide, page 82

  3. Cut off the head and throw away the head, the skin and the guts.

    Military Survival and Rescue Guide, page 87

  4. Most people keep only the back legs: cut them off just above the hips.

    Military Survival and Rescue Guide, page 87
  5. Skinned frog legs, ready to cook

    Cut a ring through the skin at the top of the legs, grab the skin and pull it down off the legs like a pair of pants. Cut off the feet.

    Military Survival and Rescue Guide, page 87

  6. Rinse the legs in clean water.

    Military Survival and Rescue Guide, page 86

Cook it, step by step

  1. A plate of roasted frog legs

    Roast the legs on a stick over coals, turning them, for a few minutes until the meat is white all the way through.

    p. 123
  2. A plate of fried frog legs

    Or fry them in a little fat, bake them wrapped in leaves under the coals, or boil them with greens.

    Military Survival and Rescue Guide, page 87

  3. Always cook frogs well (general food safety, not the manual). The manual says the same about reptiles: raw meat can carry parasites.

    p. 97

Stay safe

See where it lives near you

The app shows what has been seen near your ZIP code, with photos, and can read a photo you take.

Open this guide in the appFind it near you
Photo credits
A bullfrog caught at night at the edge of a pond: WClarke, CC BY-SA 4.0, sourceGigging a frog at night with a homemade gig: WClarke, CC BY-SA 4.0, sourceDrawing of spear points made from bamboo, metal and bone: US Army, FM 21-76 (1992), figure 8-22, Public domain (US government), sourceSkinned frog legs, ready to cook: MOs810, CC BY-SA 4.0, sourceA plate of roasted frog legs: StoppedTime, CC0, sourceA plate of fried frog legs: Gertjan R., CC BY-SA 3.0, source

More food guides

Squirrels and chipmunksCottontail rabbitGroundhog (woodchuck)Raccoon and opossumMuskrat and beaverWhite-tailed deer