How to Prepare & Cook Crickets: Fry, Roast & More

Like many foods, crickets from a safe, reliable source, can be eaten raw. However, also like many other foods, cooking crickets (frying, baking, or roasting, etc.) tends to intensify the flavor and improve texture to create a finished product that is more enjoyable.

Assuming you’ve already read our article about why you should eat crickets, let’s dive right into what to do with these tasty little hoppers, once you have them in hand (or, at least, in a bag!)

How to Prepare Crickets

There are a few steps in getting your crickets ready to cook:

• Freeze your crickets: First thing to do (if your crickets arrive alive) is to euthanize them. The most humane method of doing so is to place the entire container into the freezer for 2-3 hours, this will put them into hibernation before they actually freeze.
• Rinse your crickets: Rinse frozen crickets in cool water to thaw (and clean) them, discarding any detritus that washes loose.
• Dry your crickets: Lay out your crickets on paper towels and gently pat dry.

Congratulations, your crickets are now ready to roast!

Frying Crickets

Pan frying crickets is a common method of cooking.

• Heat equal parts vegetable oil and butter in a pan.
• Toss crickets with your preferred spices (I like garlic-salt and chili powder) .
• Place your crickets in the hot liquid and fry them until they are brown and crispy.
• Drain the crickets, season to taste, and enjoy.

Instead of just frying you can also create a delicious and healthy sauté.

Add onions, peppers, mushrooms, chilies or any vegetables you like while frying the crickets. When done, tastes and season, as needed, with salt and pepper.

When it comes time for cricket eating, you can serve your sauté alone or on a bed of rice or noodles.

Deep Frying Crickets

Deep fried crickets are amazing, a crunchy, smoky treat!

• Heat the oil to 350 degrees.
• Prepare your favorite tempura batter (or see ours, below), dip each cricket in the batter, the drop each into the hot oil.
• Deep fry until golden brown.
• Drain on paper towels and serve .

Chef’s Note: A pair of take-home chopsticks are perfect for batter-dipping and moving crickets around in the pan.

Roasting Crickets

Roasting crickets is probably the simplest and most popular method.

For roasting crickets, spread your cleaned critters evenly on a non-stick cookie sheet, or sil-pat, and season.

Roast crickets in a pre-heated 200F oven for one to two hours until they are dry and crispy to your liking, but not burnt. They can also be cooked via off-set heat on your grill or smoker (delicious!)

In my opinion, the best way to cook a cricket is to sauté it with garlic, olive oil and salt. This brings out and complements their delicious, light, nutty shrimp flavor. (Read more about what crickets taste like) .

Begin by sautéing crickets in olive oil just as you would any other type of meat. Once they start to become a little golden and crispy-looking, you can add in the garlic (crushed or chopped) and salt.

I like to sprinkle them over fresh-made guacamole and serve with warm tortilla chips.

Here are a couple more of my favorite recipes…

Chef Perry’s Tempura Crickets

Ingredients:

• ¾ C. of AP flour
• ¼ C. EXO Cricket Protein Powder
• 2 Tbsps cornstarch
• 1 ½ C. cold seltzer water
• 1 tsp garlic salt
• 1/2 cup of additional AP flour
• 50-60 crickets, cleaned and allowed to dry completely.
• Canola Oil

Garnishes:

• Red and green chili de agua peppers, chopped & seeded (optional)
• Fried epazote leaves
• Hot Sauce

Mix garlic salt, cornstarch, 3/4 cup of flour, and EXO Cricket Powder in a mixing bowl.

Add in the seltzer water (very cold) and gently whisk. Do not overmix. If not using immediately, place the bowl of batter into a bigger bowl filled with ice to keep it very cold.

Heat enough oil to have completely submerge your crickets, roughly three or more cups, depending on the size of your pan/wok.

Heat to 350F.

Toss a handful of crickets in a bowl with the remaining flour, dip each into the batter to completely coat, then add to the hot oil. Remove when golden brown.

Use a slotted spoon or chopsticks to move cooked crickets to paper towels to drain.

Repeat in batches until all of your crickets are cooked, then serve (warm) with lime wedges, garnishes, and hot sauce.

Chef’s Note: To eat, wrap a cricket or two in an epazote leaf, along with a thin slice of chili pepper, dip just the tip in hot sauce, and chow down!