Utah wants you to eat as many ‘enormous’ invasive bullfrogs as you can stomach

Utah is so desperate to rid itself of “enormous” invasive bullfrogs that state officials are encouraging people to catch and eat as many as possible.

The Utah Division of Wildlife Resources made the request this week on Twitter, and included a link to trapping and cooking tips.

“You can find enormous #bullfrogs here in Utah,” the post said. “They’re an invasive species so catch as many as you want, and they’re really tasty!”

The pest is the American bullfrog, a species that is not native to the state and is being blamed for causing “declines in many amphibian species native to Utah,” according to the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources. It’s believed the population was introduced into the state around 2004, via a golf course pond in the Uinta Basin, wildlife officials say.

And yes, they’re big: Adults grow to eight inches in length and 1.5 pounds, according to National Geographic. They are territorial ambush hunters, known to “eat just about anything they can fit in their ample mouths,” National Geographic says.

“The burning question: how do they taste? I think they taste like chicken, but a little chewier,” Ja Eggett reported in the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources blog. “Others think they taste like fish. So if you like chicken and fish like I do, you’ll love the taste of frog legs.”

Eggett recommends eating them marinated in buttermilk, breaded and fried, after you skin them from the waist town “like taking off frog trousers,” according to his blog.

“Make sure you let them cool for a bit before eating, but don’t leave them out for too long. I prefer my frog legs warm,” he says.

This story was originally published June 26, 2020 at 3:22 PM with the headline "Utah wants you to eat as many ‘enormous’ invasive bullfrogs as you can stomach."