Crickets should only be purchased from reliable sources; crickets raised for bait or pet food may have higher levels of pathogens or traces of heavy metals from their feedstock.
Crickets should be treated much in the same manner as any other raw food, particularly shellfish. It’s best to keep crickets fresh as possible – so keep them frozen until you’re ready to use them.
All raw crickets should be prepped as follows prior to eating or cooking.
- Bring a pot of water to boil.
- Add a few pinches of salt. Boil for 2 to 5 minutes.
- Remove pot from boil; strain and rinse crickets with a steady stream of water. The higher the water pressure, the more legs and antenna that will fall off of the crickets.
At this point, you can either enjoy the freshly blanched crickets as they are, or you can use them in a variety of other recipes.