June Bugs: The other dark meat

Yep, they are edible.



-Blast

Yuck!!!

Nice one Blast, they don't look too bad with the wings and legs off.

I do not know though, there still bugs; you have brave kids, I know my girls would not eat them!

Mike

Mmm, crunchy. Just sprinkle some cayenne on those, I'll bring over a jug of good hooch, and we'll have ourselves a time!

Those look a lot more like food than the drive-thru slop I got at the "clown place" a while ago.

Seriously, in wilderness or survival situations, there are many times more calories available at the bottom of the food chain than at the top.

Good for you, Blast.

No comment on how they taste?

They tasted like squirrel, kind of meaty-nutty in flavor.

-Blast

Interesting... Any odd things you have been eating as of late?

Yummy! Maybe use popcorn oil to fry them, add a buttery flavor. One thing I remember from a AF survival school, "don't eat fuzzy bugs." Being able to fry them would be a definite plus. Raw bugs are not good...

I might be pursuaded to eat them after drinking half that jug of hooch mentioned by Dougwalkabout or if I were starving - other than that... You go Blast.

Good blog post, Blast.

wow... are there even junebugs were I live??

Yet another great, highly entertaining blog Blast. I really enjoy reading your (mis)adventures. Don't know if I'm brave enough to try them when I don't have to, but at least I know how to gather and cook them if the need arrives. Assuming they are in my area locally.....maybe I'll try hunting up some just to see.

-Bill Liptak

So, how do you prepare and cook junebugs?

I'm thinking you remove legs, wings and casings, and head - but I don't know if Blast would even bother with that.

Yup, there are...

When you heat the June Bugs they kind of pop like popcorn. The wings and legs stick straight out away from the body so they are easy to grab (though small) and pull them off from the thorax.

I sauteed them in oil, but next time I'll either toss them in a hot pan or roast them in the toaster oven. DW hid the popcorn popper... Native American just toss them onto hot coals. I might try that this weekend if I catch some on my camping trip.

-Blast, because God didn't give everyone equal senses of self preservation...

I can't believe nobody suggested coating them in chocolate?

But if you panfry them, lets add some onion and maybe a touch of garlic.

Some carmel might be right tasty...

What is the right wine to serve with junebug?

Since it is "dark meat," red wine would be called for, imo. But I almost always prefer red wine.

Do you have a favorite website or book on eating "bugs"?

Are any "bugs" actually good tasting?

Thanks.

Blast in the East: Eating things in China

In my experience, crickets, grasshoppers, scorpions and the beetles I've tried are suprisingly good. The "worm" type creatures are a much more acquired taste. I haven't tried spiders, moths, termites or grubs yet.

There are a couple of websites I use as references but I'm too lazy right now to look them up. Google "eating bugs" and you'll get all sorts of links.

-Blast

Fixed it for you, Blast.

My sentiments exactly. It took me a lot of Mezcal to eat the worm at the bottom of that bottle, so I'm not sure about this....

That's a delightful picture of Miniwether in the blog entry, Blast. Her shining face really tempers the shuddering I'm doing right now.

I used to cook bugs with a magnifying glass when I was a kid, but I never ate any. Our dog, however, found them quite tasty.

Tim

DW wouldn't let me put up the picture of Miniwether showing off her mouthful of partially-chewed beetles. She was afraid we'd end up arrested by Child Protective Services.

It was a really good picture.

-Blast (Note to self, next time I go to Minnesota bring lots of tequila)

So, I know that bugs have more protein than beef. Which begs the question: How many ounces of june bugs do you have to eat to get as much protein as you have in a 6 ounce steak?

Also, my wife, ever the detail hound, questions whether you could call it "meat". She also gets irritated when I call the edible part of a nut the "nut meat".

Feel free to email me the pic of Miniwether's munched bugs. I promise it will go no further.

So does peanut butter and it’s a lot more appealing then bugs…


And probably taste better.

Hey Clark, it's about time you showed up here, welcome to the fire! People, let me introduce you to my partner in adventure, Clark! This guy actually enjoys hanging out with me in the woods, on the water, and in creepy old deserted buildings. Damn good reflexes on him, too.

To answer your question, according to this website 100g of june bugs have 13.4g of protein, 1.4 g of fat, 2.9g of carbs, 22.6mg of calcium and 3mg of iron. 100g of lean ground beef has 27.4g of protein, so you'd need about 10-12oz of june bugs to get the protein of your steak.

Tell K that "meat" is the proper term. Think, it's called lobster meat and crawfish meat. They are bugs, too.

-Blast

p.s. I'll e-mail the shot of Miniwether. I think the princess tiara she's wearing in the picture goes exceptionally well the tonuge covered in beetle goo.

Hi Clark, welcome to the fire!

There is no right wine for anything...

Now you're talkin'. Wine bad. Ta-killya good. And some has that worm in it, more goodies to munch on...

Blast is living the good life... Talk about doing being just a big kid. And even better, getting his little ones to mimic him.

Why is it that wives just don't understand. Not all... just some...

Hello Everyone

Yeah I should have been here sooner, it seems that this forum has a lot of good info.

Tell me, if you fry them on a high heat, when they are fresh and juicy, do they puff up like popcorn? That would be super cool.

By miniwether's 7th birthday party you won't have to spend a penny on food. (envisions big bowls of false onion, fried bugs being washed down with pine needle tea, etc)

Actually, that sounds like a good thing to do with the local primitive skills group any day.

Welcome Newguy!!!

Hi Clarktx,

Welcome to the group!

Mike

Blast, how about Japanese Beetles? Are they edible? Mine are organically grown and fed only the finest fresh grape leaves.

thseng,

Japanese beetle pupae are edible, but I'm not sure about the beetles themselves.

-Blast