Eating Brood X, 17-Year-Old Cicadas!

Brood X (pronounced “Brood 10”) of the 17-year periodical cicadas. That’s right, these insects are 17 years old, just having emerged after nearly 2 decades underground!

And… did I mention they taste like peanuts?!!

I was just in Louisville, Kentucky where the parkland grounds are littered in spent and molted exoskeletons and the canopies of trees are a screeching cacophony of mature male cicada-song. Gathered in great numbers, the 3 species of Brood X produce their collective jet-engine whine using an organ behind their wings called a tymbal, in an effort to attract a female mate. If she chooses him, she’ll produce a snapping sound with her wings to confirm their courtship.

Once consummated, she’ll lay her eggs in slits made in the branches of trees. After hatching the nymphs will drop to the ground, dig their way beneath, and suckle on the xylem of tree roots as they slowly grow, counting the years until 2038 when they’ll emerge to repeat the cycle of their ancestors.

While the freshly molted adults are considered the best eating, having just emerged from the nymphal exoskeletons, they’re perfectly edible as mature adults too, and that’s how we ate them.

Being surprisingly docile and easy to gather — demonstrating an almost willingness to be captured — we quickly filled our cheesecloth-topped mason jar, collecting enough for a meal. We placed them in the freezer for an hour to induce torpor, then rinsed and dried them before tossing them in oil, salt, and chorizo spices. Next, we carefully laid them on a baking sheet and roasted them at 375ºF for around 10 minutes until they were crispy.

We ate them whole — well I did anyway, some of my compatriots were more squeamish about the wings, which are my favorite part — enjoying the light, dry, crispy texture and spicy-peanut flavor.

I’d cook and eat them regularly if it weren’t for whole the 17-year cycle thing. But maybe I’ll chase down Brood XIII or XIX in 2024!!!