| Author | Content |
bluekat76
Ijamsville, MD (Zone 6b)
May 6, 2009 1:21 PM Post #6511827
| Thanks for the article Darius! I usually don't have a snail or slug problem but with all this rain this might be the year:( My tomatoes are taking over my office since I can't put them in this wet cold ground.
I do like escargot - the garlic butter and bread don't hurt either! My mom used to make them at home. She would take them from the can and put them in shells - they used to sell the shells but I haven't seen them in a long time- top with bread crumbs and the garlic butter and bake. There is something to say about presentation when you are eating a snail.
-Kim |
darius
So.App.Mtns.
United States (Zone 5b)
May 6, 2009 1:51 PM Post #6511967
| Oh yeah... gotta have the shells! I remember seeing them packed in a clear tube on top of the canned snails. |
bluekat76
Ijamsville, MD (Zone 6b)
May 6, 2009 2:45 PM Post #6512214
| Yep, those are the ones! They banned them from restaurants a long while back because "they" couldn't guarantee the insides were completely clean cause of all the spirals. We will have to watch Pretty Woman to remember them and those awkward utensils that went with them. |
darius
So.App.Mtns.
United States (Zone 5b)
May 6, 2009 3:25 PM Post #6512378
| LOL, that WAS a funny scene! I think I still have the proper 'tongs' somewhere... not sure of the proper name. |
woofie
Chewelah, WA (Zone 5a)
May 6, 2009 11:11 PM Post #6514191
| Oh my, I think I have some of those shells somewhere! Best ones I've eaten were served on broiled mushroom caps. Yum! They're good on puff pastry shells, too. |
darius
So.App.Mtns.
United States (Zone 5b)
May 7, 2009 12:10 AM Post #6514413
| Hey Woofie! How ya been? I haven't seen you around lately... probably because I don't get to many forums anymore. |
fancyvan
Calgary, AB (Zone 3a)
 May 7, 2009 2:40 AM Post #6515209
| Love em! I started out with all the snail paraphrenalia,(?sp) shell, special holders etc and then graduated to the snail plates ( got tired of trying to get all the garlic bits out of the shells) and now I just spread garlic butter in a small cast iron pan , press the snails in and put more butter on top.Pop them in a hot oven for 10 minutes or so. Voila! A loaf of good warm French bread and a glass of wine - great! ( and the cast iron pan keeps everything hot )
(Actually I confess I think I would be just as happy with the bread and the garlic butter!)
This message was edited May 6, 2009 7:41 PM |
pajaritomt
Los Alamos, NM (Zone 5a)
May 7, 2009 4:12 AM Post #6515588
| Okay, this article gives me the courage of my convictions. I decided at least two years ago that the snails in my garden were the edible, Helix aspersa - at least by a visual inspection. I looked up the methods of purging them and preparing them for cooking but in the end I chickened out. This article has convinced me to go ahead and purge them then cook them. I have always enjoyed escargot.
I can't say it isn't the butter, bread, and garlic that I enjoy the most, but I am happy to hear that escargot contain healthful substances. I have always thought the best revenge on garden predators was to eat them, but I am not up to cabbage loopers or tomato horn worms.
Your article confirms what I have long suspected and what Paula Wolfort long ago recommended -- eat them instead of running over them in your driveway! |
darius
So.App.Mtns.
United States (Zone 5b)
May 7, 2009 11:25 AM Post #6516106
| Hey, go for it!  The ones around me are too tiny to consider preparing. |
bluekat76
Ijamsville, MD (Zone 6b)
May 7, 2009 12:58 PM Post #6516371
| You go girl! I would consider eating a groundhog... |
darius
So.App.Mtns.
United States (Zone 5b)
May 7, 2009 1:08 PM Post #6516411
| LOL, Kim. Actually I understand they are tasty. I have no squirrel problems because my neighbor likes squirrel stew... |
pajaritomt
Los Alamos, NM (Zone 5a)
May 7, 2009 2:00 PM Post #6516684
| Our snails get quite large around here. I have been considering eating them for years. This is the year.
I wish I knew someone who liked to eat gophers. But gophers are hard to catch and that would make getting enough for a meal difficult. On the other hand snails are slow. |
bluekat76
Ijamsville, MD (Zone 6b)
May 7, 2009 2:30 PM Post #6516906
| Yes, you will be eating long before I am for sure. Give us a report after the big meal! |
woofie
Chewelah, WA (Zone 5a)
May 7, 2009 2:40 PM Post #6516945
| Hi darius, no I haven't been in too many forums lately either. Mostly just cruisin' and looking things up in the PF.
Hey, I like the idea of a small cast iron pan...and I just happen to have one, as well as an unopened (uh, VERY large) can of escargot. And speaking of that very large can, anyone know if what I don't eat after I open it can be frozen successfully?
|
darius
So.App.Mtns.
United States (Zone 5b)
May 7, 2009 2:58 PM Post #6517019
| No clue, woofie. Sorry. Invite some friends over? |
woofie
Chewelah, WA (Zone 5a)
May 7, 2009 3:27 PM Post #6517154
| Ha! I don't think I know that many people who would be willing to snack on snails (tee hee, new meaning for S.O.S.). Can says "6 dozen extra large escargot." Wanna come visit? |
darius
So.App.Mtns.
United States (Zone 5b)
May 7, 2009 3:32 PM Post #6517177
| Whoooeee! That'll take a LOT of garlic, LOL. |
fancyvan
Calgary, AB (Zone 3a)
May 7, 2009 4:09 PM Post #6517339
| I freeze them! A whole can is too much for me! |
bluekat76
Ijamsville, MD (Zone 6b)
May 7, 2009 10:14 PM Post #6518847
| I have bought them frozen with pats of garlic butter already on each one so I say go for it! |
woofie
Chewelah, WA (Zone 5a)
May 7, 2009 10:43 PM Post #6518960
| Hmmm, come to think of it, the ones with the puff pastry came frozen, too. Yeah, maybe I'll freeze some with the butter and garlic mix.
I tried collecting and cleaning some of the garden snails once (when I lived where we had them) and yuck, the purging process was kind of disgusting. Maybe there's a better way than the method described in the book I bought---this was in pre-internet days, probably 30 years ago. |
pajaritomt
Los Alamos, NM (Zone 5a)
May 8, 2009 2:02 AM Post #6519821
| I have a friend who has done it with snails purchased at a market in the DC area. She said it worked great. Don't know what her process was, but it is described in one of Paula Wolfert's Mediterranean Cookbooks. I will try, but ours aren't up yet. |
fancyvan
Calgary, AB (Zone 3a)
May 8, 2009 2:24 AM Post #6519910
| A whole lot simpler to buy a can at the store! |
pajaritomt
Los Alamos, NM (Zone 5a)
May 8, 2009 2:34 AM Post #6519942
| But to me there is a sweet revenge in eating the critter that eats one's garden. And surely fresh is better! |
bbrookrd
nantucket, MA (Zone 7a)
May 11, 2009 2:41 PM Post #6533557
| Darius, nice article, as always most informative. My son is a chef in New Orleans and is serving snails that are farmed raised basil fed ones. They are apparently very delicious.when they are fed a basil diet. Patti |
pajaritomt
Los Alamos, NM (Zone 5a)
May 11, 2009 2:48 PM Post #6533587
| Wow! What a good idea. I will have to feed mine basil! |
enyeholt
Village of Port Clem
Canada
April 18, 2010 7:05 PM Post #7716570
| So... what was the result of your home grown escargo PAJA?
I may not write much, but I am watching. |
