Cooking Garden Snails
April 10th, 2007 by Scott |
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Don’t look at me like that. If you saw this seasonal dish in a restaurant marked up as “Escargot” you’d probably be tempted. So why not try them for free at home?
The benefits are surely two fold. One one hand, you get a delicious meal that most French men would applaud. On the other, you go some way towards protecting your valuable garden veg, which is otherwise being eaten by the little critters.
First you need to find some of them. Nearly all species are edible (ha, doesn’t that fill you with confidence!), but in reality you’ll probably only find 2 species in English gardens. First is the common yellow and brown stripy helix aspersa, and the second is the rarer brown helix pomatia (“roman” snail) . Due to the rarity of the (larger) pomatia, it is recommended to eat only the aspersa, and the best time to collect them is between April and October.
Before you cook them, you’ll need to purge your snails to remove any grit inside them. A simple technique is to put them in the bottom of a bucket, covered with a breathable material – such as a pair of tights. Feed them with oats and a shallow saucer of water (both changed daily) for 5 days.
Not So Traditional Garlic ‘Escargot’ Recipe
- Place alive snails (never dead ones!) in a pot of gently boiling salted water for 15 minutes, removing any scum that rises to the surface.
- Remove snails from shells using a toothpick or similar instrument.
- Heat 100g / 3.5 oz butter in a pan with 2 chopped up cloves of garlic and a roughly chopped handful of parsley.
- Chop snails roughly (they’re less chewy this way!) and add to the pan.
- Fry for around 5 minutes until lightly browned.
- Meanwhile…prepare a couple of slices of white toast.
- Pour garlicky snails over the toast.
Now – are you enjoying it? If so, you might want to further explore this avenue of free food, or even experiment with breeding your own (and feeding them herbs for new flavours). If so, check out this herticulture website. You can also find a great recipe (and blog) here.
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This is “the look” that I’m giving you…eyeballs popping out of their sockets from pure astonishment. Wow! I love snails…errr, escargot and have been recently thinking about cooking their marine cousins ever since I watched a sea snail eating contest on tv shot somewhere along the eastern italian coast.
Great photo of the snail!
We ate moules mariniere this evening before the footie and I was explaining to dad about feeding bivalves with oats to clean them. But although we’re both fond of escargots and we’ve plenty of garden snails, I’m not sure I fancy cooking snails from a London garden, cleaned or otherwise.
I think I would only give already cooked ones a try!
Scott, did you really cook that?
I have no prob with snails, but can only dare to eat the sea snails varieties. In Vietnam, they are very popular. 
I’m not sure how my other half would react to a bucket of snails sitting on the patio for five days… you’re a braver cook than me I think!
What I love about snails is that they are essentially a vessel for garlic butter… and you can’t go wrong with that.
I read somewhere that almost all restaurants use canned escargots rather than fresh…
Rowena: If you like ‘em – then there’s really no reason why not to indulge in a free feast!
Trig: I would say the same about many a London restaurant
I’ve not heard any reason that imported (i.e. canned) snails are any better quality, though.
tigerfish: haha, can’t knock you for it. I’ll admit it was more about experimentation for me, although I’ve indulged in restaurants several times before.
Anh: Yes and no. Not the one in the photograph – that was an already empty shell, as the birds had been there first!
Richard Leader: You’re right – most in the UK do use canned snails. That has benefits and drawbacks alike – I resent paying good money for something that has been simply emptied from a can (but am not naive enough to think that everything is fresh, either).
Scott, is this for real? I’ve never known that escargot are garden snails. I’ve never eaten escargot, mind you.
As far as garden snails are concerned, i’m petrified of them. And slugs. It makes me shiver if i know that i’m standing a foot away from them. One of the reasons why we decked out our garden and only have potted plants.
Having only pots wouldn’t make any difference in my garden! I have hundreds of the buggers. Good post Scott: I have been meaning to try something like this for a while. Can anyone lend me some old tights?
Eeeeek, Scott tell me you didn’t really cook and eat a garden snail???
P.S. Cherry and I are getting emails to you bounced…is there another address where you can pick up mail?
My neighbors in Andorra collected them off the stone walls after every rain. ‘Para la sopa’.
I liked escargots better before I got a good look at the live ones.
I’ve got to get over this squeemishiness!
Mae: Absolutely real! Maybe this could be your way to get your own back on the scary little beasts? :p
Ben: Unfortunately I’m all out of old tights. Surely hundreds in your garden means a bigger meal?
Julia: Hmmn. They’re the same snails as you get in restaurants, you know? Try everything once, and all that. A bit messy, to be honest. Slime everywhere
Ah, well I’ve never eaten snails in a restaurant either, I’m such a wimp! I hang my head in shame and take my hat off to you Scott!
Given this, you would probably enjoy “The Scavenger’s Guide to Haute Cuisine,” just out in paperback. Personally, I’m all for hunting and gathering, but would be uneasy about eating any denizens of my own garden. I like the idea of having a safe haven for every creature. Of course, once they step beyond the property lines, they become fair game. ; )
Susan: Ah, they’re fair game – they don’t respect my herbs, in particular the wild rocket. Little buggers!
Doesn’t everyone like wild rocket? I suppose you are right, though. They could be picked off by birds, too, so it might as well be you.
Susan: Everyone except my wife. The variety in our garden is very strong tasting and not to her liking
Thanks for the tip about tights – I once tried purging some deliciously fat Roman snails on vine leaves but they all escaped! Meanwhile, your aside about most snails being edible aroused my curiosity. Around here (deepest Suffolk) there are hundreds of variously coloured Cepaea nemoralis – though they’re really too beautiful to boil.
Looking for a list of edible species, I found the wonderfully named Man and Mollusc website – http://www.manandmollusc.net/molluscan_food_files/molluscan_food_mp.html – with its database of edible molluscs of land and sea. Enough warnings to put anyone off though!
Nick: I found the same thing when reading a book about Mushrooms – I was scared to pick any after reading that. It even cast doubts in my mind over the “safe” boletus mushrooms such as the slippery jack. Still, the same with any food – it’s best to be safe and not sorry. Great site and thanks for posting it!
My uncle did this way back in the 80’s. Since snails are not all that popular here in the states his idea did not take off very well.
peabody: I’m not sure they’re all that popular over here (UK) either. They’re only occassional in restaurants, to be honest, rather then a regular feature.
I blogged about where I found a snail a couple of weeks ago. After that, I don’t think I’ll be eating any more of these slimy creatures, free or not
Hi meredith: Without reading your entire blog I couldn’t find that article
Love your photos though – I wish I could live there!
U need a printable version without the comments
bobhiploss: I’ll tweak my print style in the next few days so it chops the comments when printing. Thanks for the input!