Wildlife officials want you to catch and cook ‘fat and juicy’ invasive species in Utah
Catch and cook this “fat and juicy” invasive species in Utah, and you won’t just be eating good — you’ll be helping the environment at the same time.
“Since it’s National Invasive Species Awareness Week (#NISAW) it’s a good time to remind you that bullfrogs are invasive to Utah, so you can catch as many as you want,” the Utah Department of Natural Resources said in a Feb. 23 tweet. “And bonus: they’re tasty.”
Cook them right, and they taste like chicken, according to a blog post on catching and cooking tips the department shared in the tweet. Ja Eggett, range facilities and grounds supervisor at the Lee Kay Public Shooting range, wrote the post.
Bullfrogs are native to the eastern U.S., and officials don’t know when they first arrived in Utah, the post says. They started breeding in the state in the 1970s, according to the post.
“Bullfrogs are voracious predators that’ll eat almost anything, including snakes, fish, toads and mice,” the post says.
Bullfrogs are also the largest of all North American frogs and can grow longer than 8 inches and weigh 1.5 pounds.
“So target the big ones — they have the most meat,” the post says.
And there’s no limit on hunting them in the state. You don’t even need a license to catch them, though a fishing license is a good idea if you’re using fishing gear.
That doesn’t mean it’s a total free for all, and you should still be careful about your hunting practices, the post says.
It’s against the law to transport live bullfrogs, and it’s also important that you don’t leave “any parts of the bullfrogs behind or discard parts of frog carcasses” in bodies of water. Doing so could spread an amphibian infection — called Chytrid — that harms native amphibians.
“Now the burning question: how do they taste?” the post says. “I think they taste like chicken, but a little chewier. Others think they taste like fish. So if you like chicken and fish like I do, you’ll love the taste of frog legs.”
This story was originally published February 24, 2023 at 3:56 PM with the headline "Wildlife officials want you to catch and cook ‘fat and juicy’ invasive species in Utah."
