Snail Farm anyone??

Mirtos

texture wise, it depends on how you cook them. Somewhere between mussels and really tough mussels! They aren't slimy at all, but if you serve them with a lot of butter or grease, they can seem so to a nervous first timer. The stifado is great as the juices are so tasty, it'll convince most people!!!

misty

Just out of interest - not that i am going to do it - although the stifado had me momentarily thinking about it - when you say whack them in the pan - do you mean still in the shells? Do they always get cooked in the shell and picked out after?

zombiecazz

They're much like a large winkle. Used to eat loads of these when I was younger.
I had a search through my garden today and I don't have any snails. Fortunately I've gone on Freecycle and there seems to be some people willing to let me have their garden snails.
Here's hoping that this time next week I should have enough for a meal.

Smashing

I don't know what's worse, this or Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall and his placenta pâté. :shocked:

lizzie12_2

Thought I was eager to try anything once.......... not snails.... ugh

thecornflake

Mirtos wrote:

One thing though, when you cook, please make sure the pan is hot BEFORE YOU put them in, so it is at least quick! If you're making something that requires a low heat, drop them quickly in boiling water first!

On the F word, Gordon put them in his fridge for some time (1-2 days???) and apparently that sends them into a nice deep sleep. Then he dropped them into boiling water. Presumably this is a little more humane.

I should have guessed there would be a thread on here about this after watching it!

I'm tempted to try it - went out to have a look in the garden today but no luck. May have to try the methods suggested so far.

I know the idea is disgusting but then how do you know what they are like until you try them? I'm fairly open minded about things like this so I'm willing to give them a go.

I'll post any good or bad results here!

Mirtos

misty wrote:

Just out of interest - not that i am going to do it - although the stifado had me momentarily thinking about it - when you say whack them in the pan - do you mean still in the shells? Do they always get cooked in the shell and picked out after?

Yes still in the shells. Whack em in whole (rinse under tap first!!!)

Mirtos

thecornflake wrote:

On the F word, Gordon put them in his fridge for some time (1-2 days???) and apparently that sends them into a nice deep sleep. Then he dropped them into boiling water. Presumably this is a little more humane.

I should have guessed there would be a thread on here about this after watching it!

I'm tempted to try it - went out to have a look in the garden today but no luck. May have to try the methods suggested so far.

I know the idea is disgusting but then how do you know what they are like until you try them? I'm fairly open minded about things like this so I'm willing to give them a go.

I'll post any good or bad results here!

Yes, putting them in the cold sends them to sleep (rather like lobsters and crabs)I used to pop them in the freezer for 10mins, which does the same job but quicker, but then one day I forgot them and ended up with snail ice lollies!!!

schoolfundraiser

Couldn't bear to eat snails - prefer to drown them in my beer traps. Far too many of them round here eating my plants so would be useful if I could bring myself to eat them but what about the eyes/antennae? They are bad enough stretched out in the beer! Yuck

chubberdog

Mirtos,

One thing you don't mention is how to eat them 'Greek style', ie as taught by my chum in Chania, instead of hooking them out through the natural hole, which brings the tough squidgy foot bit first, hold them 'big hole' downwards, tap the second to last (plumpest) turn of the shell with the part of your fork nearest the handle to break an entrance, then spear and pull the flesh underneath out through the hole you have just made. Result, no pale squidgy bit, the very fine clear membrane gets left in the shell, and if the snail had been taken from a gritty place, like the path beside his restaurant, you don't get the grains of sand that become glued to the entrance to the shell, no matter how well you wash or clean them. Yassoo!