Cicadas

Cicada Recipes: How to Cook Gourmet Brood X Appetizer, Entrees

How to cook and eat cicadas, according to a gourmet French chef

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You’ve probably heard of the Brood X cicadas that have emerged after 17 years underground — maybe you’ve even heard them singing in your own yard.

Did you know cicadas are edible? That's right, Brood X is on the menu.

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If you want to eat a cicada, it's best to grab them when they emerge from the ground as nymphs. Or, remove the hard, crunchy shell.

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Eating cicadas is safe (unless you have shellfish allergies), entomologists and food experts say.

Xavier Deshayes, executive chef for the Ronald Reagan Building, shared his Brood X cicada recipes so anyone can try Caesar salad with crispy cicada croutons, cicada and beef chili dogs or cicada-rubbed grilled flank steak topped with crispy onions and cicadas.

Caesar Salad With Crispy Cicada Croutons Recipe

Cicada and Beef Chili Dogs Recipe

Cicada-rubbed Grilled Flank Steak Topped with Crispy Onions and Cicadas Recipe

Storm Team4 Meteorologist Doug Kammerer tried all these recipes. Check out the videos here.

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