a beginners guide to roasting insects

Due to the size and delicate nature of insects as a food product, they need to be roasted carefully to avoid over cooking. Most insects go black and taste bitter when overcooked, not too dissimilar to  nuts. Here at Grub we find the most effective and simple way to roast insects is to lightly coat them in soy sauce and wrap them in tin foil. Roast within the foil to begin and then open up and finish them off with direct heat. This essentially steams the soy sauce around the insects and then finishes them with a crisp before eating.

Here’s our beginner’s guide to roasting insects;

Crickets:

Pre-heat oven to 180 degrees then place the soy coated crickets, wrapped in tin foil on the top shelf for 10 minutes. Next open up the tin foil and give the insects a shake to stop from sticking. Place back in the oven for another 3-5 minutes until all are dry, golden brown, fragrant and crispy.

Grasshoppers:

Pre-heat oven to 180 degrees. Remove the legs and wings and then coat in soy sauce and wrap in tin foil. Place on top shelf of oven and cook for 12 minutes. Next open up the tin foil and give the insects a shake to make sure they’re not sticking. Place back in the oven for a further 3-5 minutes until they are all dry, golden brown, fragrant and crispy.

Mealworms:

Pre-heat oven to 160 degrees and place the soy coated worms in tin foil for 10 minutes. Next open up the tin foil and give the worms a shake to make sure they are not sticking. Place back in the oven for a further 3-5 minutes until they are all dry, fragrant and crispy. These are also very tasty if you bruise a few garlic cloves and roast it with the mealworms.

Buffalo worms:

Pre-heat oven to 160 degrees and place the soy coated worms in tin foil for 8 minutes. Next open up the tin foil and give the worms a shake to make sure they are not sticking. Place back in the oven for a further 2-5 minutes until they are all dry, fragrant and crispy. These are also very tasty if you bruise a few garlic cloves and roast it with the buffalo worms.