The French SNAIL Thread....

a reply to: MojaveBurning

Yeah ?

Then the 'purge' is right up your alley !

You do the same to certain shellfish and red fleshed fish as well as bottom feeders ie. Shovel nosed shark.

It is a yucky vomit fest ... Rod is a Vet.

He thrives on that !

But.

He is free from vitriolic tirades as he is beholden of wondrous grape juice !

originally posted by: MojaveBurning
I *almost* feel bad for them, they have no idea what's coming!

The anticipation is building, it's very neat to 'watch' the process come along. Thanks for keeping us updated! Can't wait for the next post, although it is a little disturbing that I'm excited to start my day with a 'snail progress check'! LOL.

Awwwww don't feel bad for them... do you reckon that they feel bad for you when they are having a good old chomp on those lettuces and other veggies that you may have nurtured so lovingly in your garden?

The next post will be on Sunday or Monday as I need to give them time to "empty" their stomachs so to speak which takes about 3 days with only a strict diet of water.

Kindest respects

Rodinus

originally posted by: Timely
a reply to: MojaveBurning

Yeah ?

Then the 'purge' is right up your alley !

You do the same to certain shellfish and red fleshed fish as well as bottom feeders ie. Shovel nosed shark.

It is a yucky vomit fest ... Rod is a Vet.

He thrives on that !

But.

He is free from vitriolic tirades as he is beholden of wondrous grape juice !

I am telling you Timely, even you will dribble (As the snails will not be able to do so anymore) when you see the end results (might send you a special Rodinus Red cross parcel once they are done).

All hail the wonderous grape juice...

I will recommend a nice Sauvignon with those snails when I get around to the final preparation.

ETA : I forgot to mention Timely... Your Halloween avatar is lokking pretty nifty... is that an avatar creations piece of artwork?

Kindest respects

Rodinus

a reply to: Rodinus

Indeed it is sir !
You have a keen eye - 74Templar is the Artiste du-jour ...

Cody is keeping them honest though !


Hope all is well mate !
You seem to have caught your breath ! lol ...

originally posted by: Timely
a reply to: Rodinus

Indeed it is sir !
You have a keen eye - 74Templar is the Artiste du-jour ...

Cody is keeping them honest though !

Hope all is well mate !
You seem to have caught your breath ! lol ...

They are a good bunch of folks over at avatar creations

Catching my breath is not easy these days... I have so much work on my hands with the you know what virus outbreak!

Catch you shortly mate.

Kindest respects

Rod

The rest of the story can be continued here : www.abovetopsecret.com...

Kindest respects

Rodinus

OK
So for us laymen
What makes a good edible snail, to me they just look like the average everyday garden snail.
is there any snails one needs to avoid, are all snails on the chompable list.

Are they like mushrooms, you know, they all look edible but some are poisonous.

I am awaiting the purge with bated breath, this looks doable

Please just follow the thread from A to B.

When the snails have been prepared and cooked all questions will be answered.

I have already undrelined the snails to be used at the beginning of the thread.


Kindest respects

Rod

originally posted by: borntowatch
OK
So for us laymen
What makes a good edible snail, to me they just look like the average everyday garden snail.
is there any snails one needs to avoid, are all snails on the chompable list.

Are they like mushrooms, you know, they all look edible but some are poisonous.

I am awaiting the purge with bated breath, this looks doable

Ok folks, if you want to know how I went about the following steps :

Steps five, six, seven and eight

Step nine : How to cook them

Please refer to the second thread here : www.abovetopsecret.com...

Kindest respects

Rodinus

Ok folks, I am back and did not have to take a ride to the ER room last night.

Before I go any further I would like to sincerely than DTOM for pointing me in the right direction and explaining that I should stick to just one thread... My deepest apologies to all members for the paper (snail) chase...

Right... back to the subject in question :

So....Steps 5 to 9 :

After having gone through the processus of salting (brining) the snails over a 3 day period (3 times with plenty of cold water rinsing in-between each 12 hour period) in order to get rid of all the snot and gunk, I ended up with this result before rinsing :



And this result after the 3rd and final rinsing :



Yep... no more snotty snails... even clean behind their ears...

Please note that for each rinsing period I took about 15 minutes for rinsing (with COLD running tap water) so that no more gloop was inside the snail shells or dripping off the colander (even better if you do this with the garden hose with a little pressure...)

PREPARING TO COOK THEM :

I have about 70 snails here so quite simply took a large pan and filled it with COLD water and then chucked the snails in (NO SALT as they have already been brined) :



The pan was then put on full gas and brought up to the boil for 15 minutes... Please note that when the pan starts boiling the water may turn green which is normal as this is the final stage of cleaning out the snails stomachs... you will also note a frothy gunk which will raise to the surface of the water... this should be spooned off at regular intervals (see pic below) :



I normally turn off the gas after the 15 minute boiling period and then place a lid on the pan (to save gas) and also to let them cook slowly.

After this total of 30 minutes you should obtain this :



The snails should then be taken out of the pan and rinsed thouroughly under running cold water and left to dry with their arses downwards on a dry kitchen cloth such as depicted below :



To be continued in the next post...

NOW HERE COMES THE BEST PART :



COOKING THE SNAILS :

I use simple ingredients such as pink garlic (can be found in the provence area of France... BUT any old garlic will do), add to this NON salted butter (snails already brined) and if possible fresh parsley from your garden (I freeze mine) but failing having a garden you can purchase a sprig from your local supermarket. (DO NOT USE DEHYDRATED PARSLEY as this will burn up during cooking)

First of all prepare your snails in a dish like this with the arses pointing upwards so that all the butter will drip into them :



Following on, cut up a clove of garlic and either smash the garlig with the edge of a knofe or use a garlic crusher and sprinkle all over the snails, making sure that the garlic also drops into the snails too... Like this :



And this with the garlic evenly spread :



Then... sprinkle the Parsley all over the snails like this :



Following the sprinkling of Parsley, cut slices of butter (about 3 mm thick) and evenly spread over the snails in order that it will penetrate into each snail, add extra parsley to the top of the butter... Like this :



If you have the time you can also chop up a clove of garlic and mix with the butter and parsley and just spread into each snail until the snail is full of the mixture... If you are patient enough... but I was hungry...

The final stages...

To be continued....

a reply to: Rodinus

Waiting with bated breath for the GF mate !!

That butter /garlic /parsley - almost had me !

Almost !

I've enjoyed this.

Great job, a fun thread!

a reply to: beezzer

Off topic\

Nice avvy beez ... the nod to your young bloke, is a nice thing !/

We need smellnet ...

originally posted by: Timely
a reply to: beezzer

Off topic\

Nice avvy beez ... the nod to your young bloke, is a nice thing !/

We need smellnet ...

I know, I'm practically drooling over here.

I'll pass on the complement! Thanks.

Now that we're past the snotty stage, how awesome! It's looking a little like food again!

originally posted by: beezzer

originally posted by: Timely
a reply to: beezzer

Off topic

Nice avvy beez ... the nod to your young bloke, is a nice thing !/

We need smellnet ...

I know, I'm practically drooling over here.

I'll pass on the complement! Thanks.

You will not be drooling as much when I go on about my freshly hunted rabbit marinated in Alsacian white wine and mustard recipie

Bwahahahahahahaha...

Kindest respects

Rodinus

Ps. I miss the rabbit with Myxomatosis avatar... Just wanted to make me pick it up and stick drops in its eyes...

a reply to: Rodinus

Omg you live in France?!!!!!

I have to say I am so beyond jealous. France has been my favorite country since I was a kid. I've alwyas wanted to live there. I dream often that I do but alas it's just a dream. I love every single thing about France. If I could find a way to live and work there with my family I would but it's not easy from what I've researched. I would honestly give up my American citizenship to live there.

As for your thread. I've had snail once and it was at a popular French restaurant that use to be here. It was true French cuisine and I loved it only it was so expensive to eat there but worth it. I loved it because they had a dress code which was formal so it was always a nice reason to dress up.

I don't really remember how the snail was prepared but it wasn't bad. I do believe lemon and dill were involved.

Also I'm down for the carnage!!

originally posted by: beezzer
I've enjoyed this.

Great job, a fun thread!

Thanks Beez...

Much appreciated

Kindest respects

Rod

originally posted by: mblahnikluver
a reply to: Rodinus

Omg you live in France?!!!!!

I have to say I am so beyond jealous. France has been my favorite country since I was a kid. I've alwyas wanted to live there. I dream often that I do but alas it's just a dream. I love every single thing about France. If I could find a way to live and work there with my family I would but it's not easy from what I've researched. I would honestly give up my American citizenship to live there.

As for your thread. I've had snail once and it was at a popular French restaurant that use to be here. It was true French cuisine and I loved it only it was so expensive to eat there but worth it. I loved it because they had a dress code which was formal so it was always a nice reason to dress up.

I don't really remember how the snail was prepared but it wasn't bad. I do believe lemon and dill were involved.

Also I'm down for the carnage!!

You are welcome to come across to France anytime you want and spend some time at the Rodinus household so that I can share some of the gastronomic delights and our hospitality...

Just give me a shout.

Kindest respects

Rodinus