Crickets are an excellent source of protein for your larger fish, reptiles, other pets, and yes, even for your family. There is a small, but growing movement to encourage humans to consume crickets and other insects as a low cost protein to increase nutritional options for everyone world-wide.
If you want to try cooking with crickets or other insects, or are just curious about how one creates edible (we’d say tasty!) dishes featuring the winged and crawling parts of the food chain, there are some basic caveats to consider. For the ease of discussion, we’ll consider just crickets as an ingredient, and live ones at that.
Think of it this way, if you’re cooking a lobster, you purchase it live from a lobster tank and cook it while it’s fresh. Crickets should be thought of in the same manner. It is advisable to purchase live crickets, transfer them to zippered storage bags, and store them in your refrigerator for at least an hour. This should not kill the insects, but will put them in a state of hypothermia, which renders them immovable and easy to handle. If you’re one of the people who can’t stand knowing the lobster (or cricket) dies when you cook it, you can freeze them for an hour or two instead.
There are recipes which invite you to do everything from create your own cricket flour to a kind of roasted cricket popper, where a little oil and sea salt create an appetizer or finger food that seems to beg to be dipped in all manner of sauces for a tasty and crunchy snack. Once the cricket is crisped, regardless of what recipe you’re making, rolling them between your hands or some paper towels to remove the legs and antennae is recommended.
Again, much like premium seafood, we urge you to be sure you purchase your crickets from a reputable dealer, and remember that fresh is usually best.
