Last year (April 29, 2012) I
wrote about snails (escargots) when we went to a snail farm called Les
escargots de l'enclave
– snails from the Enclave (owned by the Pope back in the 1300s). Little did I know that our neighbor has a
snail ranch right in her back yard! She
has “free-range” snails; no corrals or fences, just snails à la nature.
Our dear visiting friend Dan made this discovery when he was helping our
neighbor Jane do some yard work. As soon as he realized that there were a lot
of snails, he thought about menus and suggested that we could have snails as an
appetizer for his big homemade meal before heading home.
First he had to collect the snails – sort of a snail round-up. He
created a corral/stockyard (a large clay pot turned upside down) and then put
the snails on a regimen of basil and other herbs, spinach, leaves, grass and
water.
For the next few days, the snails ate and drank their fill. They seemed
to love the basil and spinach. Dan tried to exercise them by taking them for a
walk but after three days of walking they had only gone 30 meters.
When we decided the date for our dinner aux escargots, Dan changed their diet. In fact, put them on a water
only diet so that they could clear their systems. Jane’s gardener came one
afternoon and saw the snails and heard about Dan’s menu plans and affirmed that
Dan was going through the right steps. (Dan had read a number of articles on
preparing snails so he knew what he was doing.) Step 1: jeûner (fast, abstain from eating) for three days. The snails had
only water during this period. Step 2: cleaning/de-sliming the snails with
water and salt. After that, it was clean again, cook and serve. Dan chose to
serve them in a butter-based persillade (garlic, shallots and parsley).
The dish was excellent. The presentation was attractive, the texture of
the snails was perfect and the flavors were wonderful (what’s not to like when
the ingredients include garlic and butter and parsley).
I am no expert but I think that free-range snails that Dan made actually
tasted better than those raised at the snail farms….
