The other white meat...entomophagy

Takumaku

Arachnoknight
Old Timer
Joined
Feb 27, 2006
Messages
273
http://www.eat.bees.net/ {D

Just looking at these pictures makes me want to grab a few dozen crickets and make some more Chocolate Chirpie Chip Cookies.

Ingredients:
2 1/4 cup flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
1 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
2 eggs
1 12-ounce chocolate chips
1 cup chopped nuts
1/2 cup dry-roasted crickets
Directions:
Preheat oven to 375. In small bowl, combine flour, baking soda and salt; set aside. In large bowl, combine butter, sugar, brown sugar and vanilla; beat until creamy. Beat in eggs. Gradually add flour mixture and insects, mix well. Stir in chocolate chips. Drop by rounded measuring teaspoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheet. Bake for 8-10 minutes.
 

cacoseraph

ArachnoGod
Old Timer
Joined
Jan 5, 2005
Messages
8,325
i'll get there eventually

i already eat my food while i am feeding out roaches :drool:
 

LeilaNami

Arachnoking
Old Timer
Joined
Jun 8, 2006
Messages
2,164
I've had chocolate covered crickets, mealworms, and some other unidentified chocolate covered goodies. They kinda have a bitter aftertaste. :drool:
 

OldHag

ArachnoHag
Old Timer
Joined
Sep 8, 2003
Messages
1,711
Now I know what to do with my extra roaches!!! Why bother trying to trade and sell them! Feed them to the kids!!!
 

Takumaku

Arachnoknight
Old Timer
Joined
Feb 27, 2006
Messages
273
Now I know what to do with my extra roaches!!! Why bother trying to trade and sell them! Feed them to the kids!!!
{D The bugs are alot heathier and fewer calories than most meat products we feed our kids.
 

Mr. Mordax

Arachnoking
Old Timer
Joined
Oct 22, 2006
Messages
2,301
I have a copy of that book. I made chocolate-covered crickets in highschool and was soon christened "Bug Boy."
 

Zarathustra

Arachnosquire
Old Timer
Joined
Aug 20, 2006
Messages
106
http://www.eat.bees.net/ {D

Just looking at these pictures makes me want to grab a few dozen crickets and make some more Chocolate Chirpie Chip Cookies.

Ingredients:
2 1/4 cup flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
1 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
2 eggs
1 12-ounce chocolate chips
1 cup chopped nuts
1/2 cup dry-roasted crickets
Directions:
Preheat oven to 375. In small bowl, combine flour, baking soda and salt; set aside. In large bowl, combine butter, sugar, brown sugar and vanilla; beat until creamy. Beat in eggs. Gradually add flour mixture and insects, mix well. Stir in chocolate chips. Drop by rounded measuring teaspoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheet. Bake for 8-10 minutes.


That sounds like cool recipe. I might make some of those and bring them to work, or to my relatives for Christmas.(And then tell them what's in the cookies after they enjoy them.{D )

How exactly do you dry roast the crickets? Is that the same thing as putting them in the oven, or do you need an actual fire? If it’s the oven, for how long and at what temperature do you roast them? (I have never cooked before, so please don’t laugh if those are silly questions.) Are Petco crickets suitable for human consumption? Do the crickets have to be cleaned in any way?

Thanks. I’m really looking forward to making these cookies.:)
 

Takumaku

Arachnoknight
Old Timer
Joined
Feb 27, 2006
Messages
273
First, you must dry roast the crickets while they are alive. Postmortem changes happen rapidly, making the crickets unpalatable very quickly. Then purge their guts for 24 hours, either by starving them or by allowing them to eat only apple or potato.

Just before cooking, put your crickets in the refrigerator until you are ready to roast them. You don’t want to kill them, only slow their metabolism down so that they stop moving. This allows for arranging them on the cookie sheet with out them trying to get away. Remove the cricket's wings and legs before roasting.

Preheat oven to 200 degrees. Spread a bunch of pre cooled live crickets out on a cookie sheet. Bake at low temperature for an hour or more until completely dry. Test by crushing a dried cricket with your fingers. If they do not seem completely dried out, roast them some more. However, be careful not to burn them as they taste terrible scorched! Let cool.
 
Last edited:

Takumaku

Arachnoknight
Old Timer
Joined
Feb 27, 2006
Messages
273
For an added touch, you can substitute a 1/4-1/2 cup of mealworm flour to this recipe.

Mealworm flour:
Poach about 1/2 cup of live mealworms in your favorite liquid. Drain, place on cookie sheet, and roast in a 300 F oven for about 10 minutes or until toasted. Allow to cool. When cooled, place in the food processor with 1 tbsp of the flour and grind until fine.
 

Zarathustra

Arachnosquire
Old Timer
Joined
Aug 20, 2006
Messages
106
First, you must dry roast the crickets while they are alive. Postmortem changes happen rapidly, making the crickets unpalatable very quickly. Then purge their guts for 24 hours, either by starving them or by allowing them to eat only apple or potato.

Just before cooking, put your crickets in the refrigerator until you are ready to roast them. You don’t want to kill them, only slow their metabolism down so that they stop moving. This allows for arranging them on the cookie sheet with out them trying to get away. Remove the cricket's wings and legs before roasting.

Preheat oven to 200 degrees. Spread a bunch of pre cooled live crickets out on a cookie sheet. Bake at low temperature for an hour or more until completely dry. Test by crushing a dried cricket with your fingers. If they do not seem completely dried out, roast them some more. However, be careful not to burn them as they taste terrible scorched! Let cool.


Any idea on how many crickets would make 1/2 cup? The kids at Petco would be confused if I asked them for a 1/2 cup of crickets.:)
 

ScorpDemon

ArachnoScorpion
Old Timer
Joined
Jun 5, 2005
Messages
595
Any idea on how many crickets would make 1/2 cup? The kids at Petco would be confused if I asked them for a 1/2 cup of crickets.:)
I would think 2-3 dozen should just about do it. but then again.. you could add as many as you want, or as few as you want.. just depends on how many crickets you like in your cookies.

I never follow a recipe, I always add this, leave that out.. and make it the way I want it. I just use the recipe as an outline.
 

kahoy

Arachnoangel
Old Timer
Joined
Dec 8, 2005
Messages
859
who else reads this and thinks "so how long till haloween" {D
why wait for haloween, this would be a nice addition on your table this christmas, or send some to your nasty neighbor as a peace offering this x-mas...;P
 

ogershok

Arachnopeon
Joined
Nov 7, 2006
Messages
27
Hissers - not just for breakfast anymore.

I keep a culture of Hissers (Gromphadorhina portentosa) and several times have fixed a batch of them as a result of seeing a recipe on the internet. Oven roasted, they taste somewhat seafoodish, somewhere between shrimp and clam with a nuttiness that's quite pleasant. Truthfully, I didn't expect them to be as good as they are! The really large ones are a bit tough to chomp down but the mid-sized ones are perfect. I freeze them just until dead (be sure or they run all over the place) and sprinkle them with a bit of barbeque seasoning. Cajan spice was the original recommended seasoning. About 20-25 minutes on a cookie sheet at 375 does it.
 

Mr. Mordax

Arachnoking
Old Timer
Joined
Oct 22, 2006
Messages
2,301
That sounds pretty tasty . . . I'll have to try when my colony gets big enough.

*emails recipe to self*
 

Zarathustra

Arachnosquire
Old Timer
Joined
Aug 20, 2006
Messages
106
I keep a culture of Hissers (Gromphadorhina portentosa) and several times have fixed a batch of them as a result of seeing a recipe on the internet. Oven roasted, they taste somewhat seafoodish, somewhere between shrimp and clam with a nuttiness that's quite pleasant. Truthfully, I didn't expect them to be as good as they are! The really large ones are a bit tough to chomp down but the mid-sized ones are perfect. I freeze them just until dead (be sure or they run all over the place) and sprinkle them with a bit of barbeque seasoning. Cajan spice was the original recommended seasoning. About 20-25 minutes on a cookie sheet at 375 does it.
A friend was asking me what the hell I’m going to do with all my hissers when I have about 1000, or so. I now know.:) I will definately try the cajun roaches.

A few days ago, I ordered some cook book called, “Eat a Bug” or something like that. Hopefully there will be more than one recipe for roaches in it.
 

Mr. Mordax

Arachnoking
Old Timer
Joined
Oct 22, 2006
Messages
2,301
If it's written by David George Gordon, and the cover has a chef with his Chilian Rose-Hair in a frying pan, then that book has three cockroach recipies.
 

Mr. Mordax

Arachnoking
Old Timer
Joined
Oct 22, 2006
Messages
2,301
Sadly, I haven't tried them yet . . . but I was inspired to try stir-fried terryaki walkingsticks, which turned out quite tasty (if a bit chewy -- next time, I need to get them immediately post-molt).
 
Top