Frogs' legs paired with bourbon on D is for Dinner

An Ottawa chef will be on D is for Dinner on CBC Radio's All in A Day Wednesday to talk about how to pair the French delicacy frogs' legs with bourbon.

Randy Fitzpatrick, owner of Petit Bill's Bistro, is a sommelier and a bourbon aficionado who says he has one of the largest personal bourbon collections in Ontario with more than 80 different labels.

Petit Bill's Bistro is hosting a tutored tasting of five American whiskeys on Monday — each matched with a food pairing featuring frogs' legs as one of the pairings.

He shares his recipe for frogs' legs below.

Frogs' Legs

Ingredients

• 4 tsp paprika.
• 3 tsp Cajun spice.
• 2 tsp chilli powder.
• 1 tsp granulated onion.
• 1 tsp garlic powder.
• A pinch cayenne pepper.
• 2 cups flour.
• 4 frogs' legs.
• 1 cup buttermilk.

Directions

1. Soak frog legs in buttermilk for at least 1 hour.
2. Place all remaining ingredients in mixing bowl and combine well.
3. Remove frog legs from milk and toss in flour mixture (dredge) to coat.
4. Cook in pre heated deep fryer (350 degrees) for approximately 1.5 minutes or until they start to float and are golden brown.
5. Serve with savoury tomato jam.

Savoury tomato jam

Ingredients

• 3 lbs tomato.
• 1 Spanish onion.
• 1/2 cup sugar.
• 1 tbsp. fine diced thyme.

Directions

1. Saute onions in oil until soft.
2. Boil a pot of water and score tomatoes.
3. Blanch tomatoes in boiling water for 1 minute.
4. Remove tomatoes from water and let cool for 12 minutes.
5. Peel skins from tomatoes.
6. Add to onion and saute with sugar.
7. Cook on low heat until 2 minutes before it turns to caramel.
8. Puree, let cool and stir in thyme.

Whiskey pairing

• Knob Creek Bourbon Whiskey.
• Nose: caramel, vanilla and aromas with a touch of sweet apricot.
• Flavours: rich & full-bodied with caramel favour and sweet oak in the finish.