Ingredients
Grasshoppers
- 500 gchapulines, from a reputable supplier
- 4 litreswater
- 3 tbspsalt
To season
- 4 clovesgarlic, crushed
- juice of 4 limes
- 2 tbsplard or oil
- 1 tbspground chile de árbol
- ½ tspsalt, to finish
Directions
- Source matters more than technique here. Buy from a supplier who can tell you where the insects were harvested, because grasshoppers concentrate whatever was in the field they came from.
- Wash them thoroughly in several changes of cold water.
- Pull off the hind legs and the wings, which are spiny and lodge unpleasantly in the throat. The larger grades need this far more than the small ones do.
- Boil them in the salted water for 10 minutes, then drain. This is not only for flavour: thorough cooking is what deals with any parasites, and chapulines are never eaten raw.
- Toss the drained chapulines with the garlic and lime juice and leave them for 15 minutes.
- Heat the lard in a wide pan or on a comal and toast them over a medium heat for 8 to 10 minutes, shaking almost constantly, until they turn deep red-brown.
- Keep going until they are genuinely crisp all the way through. Any softness left in the middle means moisture, and they will turn leathery within the hour and will not keep.
- Toss with the ground chilli and a final pinch of salt while they are still hot.
- Cool completely and store in an airtight jar, where they keep for several weeks.
- Eat by the handful, folded into a taco with guacamole, or crumbled over a tlayuda.
Technique
- Chapulines carry the same allergen risk as shellfish. Insect and crustacean tropomyosins are closely related, so anyone with a shellfish allergy should treat them as off-limits rather than as an experiment.
- Public health authorities in California have repeatedly warned about elevated lead in chapulines imported from parts of Oaxaca, traced to processing rather than to the insects. Buy from a supplier who tests, and do not give them to young children.
- They have been harvested from the alfalfa and maize fields of Oaxaca’s Central Valleys since long before the conquest, and markets in Oaxaca city still sell them graded by size, with the smallest the most prized.
Substitutions
- Frozen chapulines, already cleaned, which are what most suppliers outside Mexico sell.
Variations
- Toasted with a sprig of epazote alongside.
- Ground into a salsa with roasted chillies, garlic and tomato.
- The smallest grade eaten plain with nothing but lime.
History
Harvested from alfalfa and maize fields in Oaxaca’s Central Valleys since pre-Hispanic times; markets in Oaxaca city sell them graded by size.
Frequently asked questions
What is Chapulines?
Chapulines is a snack from Mexico: toasted grasshoppers seasoned with lime, garlic and chili, eaten by the handful. Harvested from alfalfa and maize fields in Oaxaca’s Central Valleys since pre-Hispanic times; markets in Oaxaca city sell them graded by size.
How long does Chapulines take to make?
Chapulines takes 30 min of preparation and 25 min of cooking. The recipe makes 500 g. It is rated medium to make.
What can I substitute in Chapulines?
Yes, within limits. Frozen chapulines, already cleaned, which are what most suppliers outside Mexico sell.
What is the most important thing to get right in Chapulines?
Boil them in the salted water for 10 minutes, then drain. This is not only for flavour: thorough cooking is what deals with any parasites, and chapulines are never eaten raw.
