If you can’t beat ‘em, cook ‘em: 6 recipes to try with cicadas from your Georgia yard

Cicadas are loud, messy…and edible?

Yes, you read that right.

So, you are feeling extra adventurous with your cooking skills or just want to eat something new. Perhaps, you’re looking for revenge on the noisy bugs buzzing all over your yard. Whatever the reason, we’ve got some recipes with a unique main ingredient.

But there are some things to know first:

Why do people eat cicadas and how do they taste?

Well, for starters, they are free and organic food.

Secondly, they “are a great source of sustainable protein,” according to Akito Y. Kawahara, Ph.D., at the Florida Museum of Natural History at the University of Florida.

And the taste of the bugs? Well, if roasted, you can compare them to your favorite pub mix: nutty. However, if you boil them, they take on a shrimp-like or lobster-like, buttery flavor.

Thus, experts say you should avoid eating cicadas if you have a seafood allergy.

And no, you shouldn’t eat them raw.

“Cicadas, like any bugs, can carry pathogenic microorganisms on them. That is why it is important to handle them as if you would a piece of raw chicken or shelled eggs,” said Toby Amidor, a nutrition consultant for Food Network.

Other people who should avoid eating cicadas are children and women who are pregnant or breastfeeding due to the mercury content of the bugs.

If you’re not in one of those categories, it’s time to chow down.

Here’s what to do with the excessive amount of cicadas in your Georgia yard:

6 cicada recipes to try

We’ve split the recipes into three categories: beginner, intermediate and advanced. Read, cook and eat them at your own risk.

Beginner

If you’re curious about cooking and eating cicadas, here are some beginner recipes that might scratch that itch:

Chocolate-Covered Cicadas

Recipe from Cicada-licious cookbook

Ingredients:

• 8 squares of good-quality semi-sweet chocolate

• 30 dry roasted cicadas

Directions:

1. Roast teneral cicadas for 15 minutes at 225 F.

2. Meanwhile, melt chocolate in a double-boiler over low heat. Dip insects in chocolate, place on wax paper and refrigerate until hardened.

Yield: 30 cicadas

Cicada Breakfast Tacos

Recipe from Bugible

Directions:

Roast up cicadas with a bit of oil, salt, pepper and chili powder. Combine the seasoned bugs with a couple eggs and any other desired spices. Once all cooked and combined, layer up in tortillas and serve. Tacos can be as simple or complex as you make them.

Intermediate

If you’ve eaten them before, but you want to really dig in, here are some recipes for you:

Cicada Stir-Fry

Recipe from Cicada-licious cookbook

Ingredients:

• 1 onion, minced

• 2 tbsps fresh coriander (cilantro), chopped

• 1 tbsp fresh ginger root, minced

• 3/4 cup sliced carrots

• 3/4 cup chopped cauliflower and/or broccoli

• 1 can water chestnuts

• 3/4 cup bean sprouts

• 3/4 cup snow peas

• 40 blanched teneral cicadas

Directions:

1. Capture cicadas at night as they emerge from the ground. Blanch for one minute in boiling water. They can now be stored in the freezer or used immediately in recipes.

2. In a wok or other suitable pan, heat a couple tablespoons of vegetable oil. As each ingredient partially cooks, add the next ingredient the order listed above.

3. Serve over whole-grain rice and add soy sauce to taste.

Yield: 4 main course servings

Cicada Chips

Recipe from food.com

Ingredients:

• 30 - 40 cicadas

• 1 teaspoon salt

• 1 teaspoon pepper

• 1⁄2 teaspoon paprika

• 1⁄2 teaspoon garlic powder

• 1 cup flour

• 1 egg

• 1 tablespoon milk

• oil (for frying)

Directions:

1. Heat oil in a pan.

2. Find the Adult Cicada. They are the ones with red eyes and clear wings.You can either find them by following their beautiful screeching sound or just locate them in any tree.

3. Leave the screechers as is, no need to tear off wings or legs. They add to the crispyness.

4. Mix together flour and seasonings.

5. Mix together milk and egg.

6. First, dip cicada into egg, then into flour mixture. Drop each coated bug into oil. Don’t worry, they wont try to fly away they are too dumb for that.

7. Fry them for no longer the two minutes.

8. Transfer to paper towels. Then serve immediately.

Advanced

If you’re a seasoned cicada cooker and super adventurous eater, here are some recipes to try:

Maryland Cicadas

Recipe from Cicada-licious cookbook

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup Old Bay® Seasoning

• 2 tablespoons salt

• 4 quarts water

• 1 (12 fluid ounces) can beer (optional)

• 8 red potatoes, quartered

• 2 large sweet onions, cut in wedges

• 2 pounds lean smoked sausage, cut in 2-inch lengths

• 8 ears fresh corn, broken in half

• 4 pounds large cicadas

Directions:

1. In an 8-quart pot, bring Old Bay, salt, water and beer to a boil. Add potatoes and onions; cook over high heat for eight minutes.

2. Add smoked sausage to potatoes and onions; continue to cook on high for five minutes. Add corn to pot; continue to boil for seven minutes. Add cicadas, cook for five more minutes.

3. Drain cooking liquid. Pour contents of pot into several large bowls, shallow pails or mound on a paper-covered picnic table. Sprinkle with additional Old Bay if desired.

Yield: 8 servings

Tempura Battered Cicadas with spicy Sriracha Aioli

Recipe from Grilling 24/7 blog

Ingredients:

• 36 Cicadas Wings Removed

• ¾ cup Flour

• ¼ cup Cornstarch

• 8 oz Sprite

• 1 tbsp Korean Chili Flakes

• ½ tsp Sea Salt

• 2 quarts Canola Oil (for Frying)

For the Sriracha Aioli:

• ½ Cup Dukes Mayonaise

• ¼ cup Sriracha

• 1 tbsp Lime Juice

Directions:

1. Once you have caught many large cicadas, place them in a bag and freeze them for about two hours. This will put them to sleep most humanely.

2. Heat up two quarts of frying oil in a pot to 350 F.

3. Prepare the Sriracha aioli by whisking the Sriracha, mayo and lime juice until smooth. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

4. Prepare the tempura batter by mixing one egg, flour, cornstarch, sprite, Korean Chili Flakes, or any spicy seasoning you have on hand.

5. Remove the cicada wings, rinse under warm water, drain and pat dry with a paper towel.

6. Dip the cicadas one at a time in the tempura batter, then gently place in the oil. Cook for three to five minutes until golden and crispy. Season with Korean chili flakes and kosher salt.

Have you eaten cicadas before? Let me know how you cooked them at cmadden@mcclatchy.com.

Cicada noise can ‘overwhelm’ people with sensory issues. When will they leave Georgia?

As Georgia heats up, snakes crop up. See which ones are venomous & what to do if 1 bites

Lizards the size of a dog spotted in 2 Georgia counties. Here’s what to do if you see one