Frog and Toad - Comfort food or not? / myLot

Cambridge, England

October 1, 2021 10:04am CST

I have eaten frog's legs once. They were served cold in an aspic glaze and I can only say that they were like mini chicken legs. Certainly nothing to write home about (except to say that I had eaten them). Now, Toad (in the Hole) is quite another matter. I class it as one of the classic British comfort foods. It isn't difficult to prepare but it does need a hot oven! First cook your Toad The 'toads' are actually pork sausages (the English kind, made of ground pork, rusk and plenty of seasoning and loaded into skins which are twisted at intervals to produce links of sausages). About 8 sausages and a deep sided roasting tin is what you need. Cook the sausages in a 200 C (400 F) oven for about 10 minutes. Make the Batter While the sausages are cooking, make a batter with 180g of flour, 2 eggs, 350ml of milk and salt and pepper. Set it aside to rest while you take the sausages out and turn the heat up to 230 C (450 F). If the oven isn't hot enough, the batter will not puff up and crisp properly! After 10 minutes (to allow the oven to reach temperature), put the sausages back in for 5 minutes. This ensures a really hot pan! When everything is nice and hot, take the pan out, pour the batter quickly over the sausages and slide it back in. It should be done in about 25 minutes. Serve it with an onion gravy, cabbage and mashed potato (or with whatever you want). The sausages and the crispy, puffed batter (which is really a Yorkshire Pudding) are what makes this!

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6 responses

Anna

@LadyDuck (471272)

• Switzerland

2 Oct 21

I have eaten grog's legs in France (do you call them Froggies??

), but not cold in an aspic. They were hot cooked with garlic and parsley and the taste of the legs disappeared, so I would say "pleasant experience". I never tried your comfort food but it sounds interesting. The batter is similar to a "clafoutis" I am sure that it is a pleasant taste.

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Just an Ordinary Owl?

@owlwings (43910)

• Cambridge, England

2 Oct 21

I found the frog's legs underwhelming when I had them. A pleasant little morsel, perhaps, though I'm not very fond of savoury jelly. I might have enjoyed them more as you had them - hot and cooked with garlic and parsley. It seems that a clafoutis is usually a dessert. I have heard of people serving Yorkshire pudding with jam and cream, though I have never tried it myself. This dish is, of course, a savoury one but the batter is essentially neutral, so I see no reason why the same method couldn't be used with apples, pears, plums, cherries (as in the traditional clafoutis) or even bananas.

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Just an Ordinary Owl?

@owlwings (43910)

• Cambridge, England

2 Oct 21

@LadyDuck Your ham, cheese and olives clafoutis sounds delicious. Do you serve it warm or cold?

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Anna

@LadyDuck (471272)

• Switzerland

2 Oct 21

@owlwings Just like you, I am not very fond of savoury jelly, my husband likes more. The clafouris is usually a dessert, but I make a ham. cheese and olives clafoutis to serve as appetizer, it is savory and really good. I am sure the same method would work with fruits.

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BarBaraPrz

@BarBaraPrz (47256)

• St. Catharines, Ontario

1 Oct 21

Always wondered just exactly how toad in the hole was made.

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Just an Ordinary Owl?

@owlwings (43910)

• Cambridge, England

1 Oct 21

Well, there you are. It's very simple and you could do it with any sausage, virtually, or even with pork chops. (Might have to call that "Pig-in-the-Wallow"!) If you want to add some sage and onion or even Cajun seasoning to the batter, no one's there to stop you!

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