South Carolina dad is cooking up cicadas for meals
GREENWOOD, S.C. (FOX Carolina) - It’s cicada season, and while some find the red-eyed bugs a bit of a nuisance, one South Carolina man is proving they’re not only fascinating – they’re also a feast.
“I grew up loving wildlife, running around, catching everything, flipping over rocks, playing in the creeks,” Josh Wicker said.
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You’ve probably heard the loud humming or seen the cicadas that seem to be everywhere. Now the insects are becoming works of art.
Wicker has a degree in biology with an emphasis on wildlife behavior. His life-long ion for nature influenced him to create a video on cicadas and their lifecycles.
“Someone had commented on it and said, ‘Hey you should try eating some. I hear people do that.’ And I thought, ‘OK, we can give that a shot,’” he said.
“I love to cook. I’m a stay-at-home dad, so 90% of the time I’m cooking everything,” Wicker continued.
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A solar storm brought the aurora borealis to our region in a historic event that’s been all over social media as people have been posting about the beautiful colors in the sky.
As a result, Wicker invited several friends over to his house for a fancy dinner party inspired by Southern cuisine. The menu included “cicadas in a blanket,” bacon-wrapped cicadas, fish-fried cicadas, and praline-coated cicadas.
“[The reactions were] overwhelmingly positive. For the most part, they rated them pretty high,” Wicker said.
After watching the video on Wicker’s YouTube page “Y’all be looking,” I knew I had to give them a try. Thankfully, his kitchen was open when I arrived.
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You may have noticed a new sound in your backyard this spring. The high-pitched noise you’re hearing comes from cicadas.
In typical Southern style, we were dressed in our best. Wicker wore his gold-sequin dinner jacket and let me borrow an otter stole (No actual otters were harmed in the making of the stole!)
I was able to sample the bacon-wrapped, fish-fried and praline-coated cicadas. Although it was touch-and-go for my tastebuds at some points, overall they were pretty tasty! (For the full tasting and my reactions, be sure to watch the video.)
Due to the popularity of Wicker’s cicadas, people have been calling Wicker “brave.”
“I don’t think it’s bravery. I think calling it bravery takes away from what true bravery really is. I think what we are is curious,” he said.
Wicker hopes to inspire more curiosity and encourage his patrons to pause and take in nature’s buffet.
“Whenever we take that time, you start to see really amazing things right in your own backyard,” Wicker noted.
If you’re interested in trying cicadas, Wicker warns that anyone with a shellfish allergy should not taste the insects, as they contain the same protein that causes an allergic reaction.
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