Bug enthusiasts may have discovered that the fountain of youth and a new superfood are right in our very own backyards. The thing that could give us greater arterial health, according to local medical researcher Binx Selby, is also the largest grassland predator: grasshoppers!
On September 19, at Cady Hall, about 30 brave individuals gathered to investigate the finer aspects of grasshoppers and other edible insects at the “Grassland Insects: Delicious Delights and Other Matters” panel discussion and local foods potluck. During this creepy crawly event, hosted by Borderlands Restoration, guest speakers from the community talked about everything from ecology to hunting to survival, and the nutritional aspects of insects in our grasslands. Experts Liz Bernays and Jason Botz taught us more than we ever wanted to know about insects in our backyards, and some of us brave souls even tried these tasty delights. Who knew grasshoppers and cicadas could taste so good? According to Binx Selby, bugs are nutritious, too.
We learned that common edible insects come from the families of Lepidoptera (butterflies, moths, and their caterpillars), Coleoptera (beetles), Blattodea (cockroaches!), Ortnoptera (crickets and grasshoppers), and Homoptera (cicadas)—although grasshoppers are the most preferred edible, according to the speakers.
Sisters Cindy Martin and Kim Nenninger shared a riveting tale of adventure and survival foraging grasshoppers during a ten-day trek along the Arizona Trail. Eating grasshoppers gave them the opportunity to experience wild Arizona and to test their boundaries. And if you try grasshoppers, they say, “Don’t forget the Old Bay Seasoning!”
The following Grasshopper recipes are from entomologist Liz Bernays, with additions from entomologist and USDA agriculture inspector Jason Botz:
Collect a load of grasshoppers by sweeping grassland with a butterfly net or by picking them off grasses in the early morning and placing them into a 5-gallon bucket filled with a couple inches of water. Hoppers are slow and easier to catch in the cool morning hours. Remove any rainbow grasshoppers or Mexican generals (large black species). These species eat poisonous plants and are therefore toxic.
Keep the hoppers in a cage or bucket with a lid for 24 hours to allow them to empty their guts; you probably don’t want to eat partially digested plant material. Place them in a bag and freeze. Rinse before (if you’re quick) or after you freeze. When they’re frozen, shake in a big jar to break off spiny back legs.
Fry in butter or olive oil with garlic and rosemary (or Old Bay!) until crispy. Or place on a jelly roll pan and toast in the oven at 200 degrees for six to eight hours or until crispy brown. Grind the toasted bugs into flour using a coffee grinder. Keep the flour in a sealed container in the fridge. When baking, Jason Botz likes to mix one part of this high protein, nutty, and slightly sweet flour with three parts of wheat flour. Makes excellent chocolate chip cookies!