david george gordon describes himself as a naturalist who has made a career of writing about insects and eating insects. His famous “Bug Eating Cookbook” is celebrating its 15th anniversary this year, and now Gordon has released a revised and updated version, complete with new recipes and beautiful photos of dishes that really make bugs look delicious.
Gordon was working on his 1996 book “The Whole Roach” when he first realized how truly edible cockroaches really are: they’re packed with protein and, as most New Yorkers know, they’re especially crunchy, he said in an interview with business insiders.
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Gordon soon began work on a cookbook that would include recipes for all insects, not just cockroaches. it was published two years later.
These days, Gordon spends much of his time traveling the country cooking bugs for raunchy audiences of hundreds (you can check out his schedule here).
He has been featured in Time and the Wall Street Journal, and has been a guest on Late Night with Conan O’Brien, ABC’s Nightline and The View. But perhaps Gordon’s most impressive feat is making insect dishes look enticing and even appetizing.
The bees in your three bee salad could almost be mistaken for beans. Of course, they’re not, and most people wouldn’t dream of covering their salad with bugs, but Gordon is quick to point out how silly that is.
“80% of the world eats insects in some form,” Gordon said. “We really are the weirdos because we don’t eat bugs. Western ideas of taste are pretty set.”
In addition to being nutritious, insects are a sustainable form of food. In May, the UN published a report urging people around the world to eat more insects, as doing so could help fight world hunger.
for beginning bug eaters, gordon recommended crickets, which he said are crunchy, light and easy to find in pet stores. he buys them himself by the thousands from a supplier in louisiana and then freezes them, “so they don’t jump in the pan.”
Waxworms, his personal favorite, spend their lives eating honey and, as a result, taste surprisingly sweet. you can buy them cheap at bait and tackle stores. when baked into his white chocolate wax worm cookies, he told me, they taste “a little pistachio.”
But what about things that are harder for people to swallow (in more ways than one), like tarantulas? gordon’s solution: fry them.
“I singe the hairs, dip them in tempura, and then fry them,” he laughed. “I always say I’ll eat anything fried!”
Beneath the surface, spiders have a unique texture. “Tarantulas have body armor that is very flexible,” Gordon explained. “Their legs are full of this long, white muscle, and people are always amazed at how chewy they are.”
when i mentioned the hordes of cicadas that covered much of the east coast during may and june, gordon had a lot to say.
“cicadas are full of vitamins, minerals and protein,” he told me. “The best time to get one is right after it emerges from the ground, but before it starts to develop a hard shell. Some people say they taste like a soft shell crab.” Her book includes a recipe for a pizza topped with cicadas and artichokes called piz-zz-zz-za.
As wacky as his recipes can be, Gordon himself is down to earth, especially when it comes to his expectations of insects as food.
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“I hope everyone starts eating bugs? No, but I want people to question their ideas about what is acceptable to eat and where those ideas come from,” he said. “we eat chicken eggs, and that’s kind of weird when you really think about it.”
he may be onto something.
gordon shared three of his bug recipes with us. the rest is in his book, available on amazon.
three bees salad (yields 4 servings)
1/2 cup (about 40) frozen adult bees; 1/2 cup (about 60) frozen bee pupae; 1/2 cup (about 60) frozen bee larvae; 2 tablespoons of red wine vinegar; 6 tablespoons of olive oil; 1 teaspoon of dijon mustard; salt and freshly ground pepper to taste; 1 ounce of bee pollen granules; lettuce to serve; Nasturtium petals or other edible flowers to serve.
1. Bring two quarts of lightly salted water to a boil. add the adult bees and boil again for 1 minute. Using a slotted spoon, remove the bees from the water. pat dry with paper towels and let cool.
2. To the same water, add the bee pupae. repeat the procedure to cook the adult bees (but watch how you pat these little ones with the paper towels!), also let the pupae cool down.
3. repeat the same process with the bee larvae.
4. In a large bowl, combine the vinegar, oil, mustard, and salt and pepper to taste. add cooked adult bees, then pupae, then larvae.
5. Just before serving, add the bee pollen granules, stirring to ensure the granules are evenly distributed.
6. Serve on a bed of lettuce, garnished with nasturtium petals, a useful touch for this delicious dish.
wow! kabobs (makes 6 servings)
12 frozen, thawed grasshoppers, grasshoppers or other large-bodied orthoptera; 1 red bell pepper, cut into 1 1/2-inch pieces; 1 small yellow onion, cut into 8 wedges
marinade
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1/2 cup fresh lemon juice; 1 tablespoon of olive oil; 1 teaspoon of honey; 1/2 teaspoon freshly grated ginger; 1 tablespoon of dijon mustard; 2 tablespoons chopped fresh herbs, such as parsley, mint, thyme, and tarragon; 1/4 teaspoon of salt; pinch of freshly ground pepper.
1. Mix all marinade ingredients in a non-reactive baking dish. add grasshoppers, cover and marinate in refrigerator overnight.
2. When ready to cook, remove the grasshoppers from the marinade and pat dry. Assemble the skewers by alternately stringing the insects, bell pepper, and onion wedges to create a visually interesting lineup.
3. Brush grill lightly with olive oil. cook skewers 2 to 3 inches over heat, turning every two to three minutes and basting with additional olive oil as needed. the exact cooking time will vary, depending on your grill and the type of insects used. however, the skewers should be cooked no longer than 8-9 minutes.
fried tarantula spider (serves 4)
2 cups canola or vegetable oil; 2 frozen adult Texas brown, Chilean rose or similar size tarantulas, thawed; 1 cup tempura batter (scroll down); 1 teaspoon of smoked paprika.
1. In a deep saucepan or fryer, heat oil to 350°f.
2. Using a sharp knife, cut out and discard the abdomens of both tarantulas. Singe any of the hairs on the spider’s body with a crème brûlée torch or butane cigarette lighter.
3. Dip each spider into tempura batter to completely coat. use a slotted spoon or your hands to make sure each spider is split open (so to speak) and not clumped before placing it in the hot oil.
4. Fry the spiders, one at a time, until the batter is lightly browned, about 1 minute. remove each spider from the oil and place on paper towels to drain.
5. Use a sharp knife to cut each spider in half lengthwise. sprinkle with paprika and serve. encourage your guests to try the legs first and, if they’re still hungry, to nibble on the meaty mesothorax, avoiding the spider’s paired fangs, which are hidden in the head region.
tempura batter
1 medium egg; 1/2 cup of cold water; 1/2 cup all-purpose flour; 1/2 teaspoon baking soda.
1. To make batter, beat egg in small bowl until smooth. Slowly add cold water, continuing to beat until evenly mixed. add the flour and baking soda and gently beat until combined; the dough should be a bit lumpy.
2. Let the dough rest at room temperature while you heat the oil.
recipes reprinted with permission from eat-a-bug cookbook, revised by david george gordon (ten speed press, © 2013). photo credit: chugrad mcandrews.
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