Processing and preparation of grape snails. Cooking grape snails at home

2024 Author: Isabella Gilson | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:14

Cooking snails doesn't take much time. But if you have never made such a dish yourself, then you will have to try hard to make a really delicious and nutritious lunch.

General information

A modern citizen of our country associates snails (the recipe will be presented later) more with the sea or an aquarium than with cooking. However, it should be noted that in many Asian and European countries, this is a common item on the menu of cafes and restaurants. Snails are bred on special farms, sold frozen or live.

Cooking grape snails at home became fashionable only in the 20th century. In those days, a dish using this product was considered a delicacy. Although even now in Russia not everyone makes such a dinner for an ordinary family table. Snails are prepared only on major holidays and only if you really want to surprise your guests.

Product benefits

Usefulwhether grape snails? The method of preparation of this product is such that it retains almost all the nutritional components. It should be noted that snail meat is often recommended for those who are on a diet. Indeed, in 100 g of this product there are only 90 calories, as well as 2-3% fat, 15% protein and no cholesterol. In addition, snails contain unsaturated fatty acids. They are rich in phosphorus, zinc, magnesium, calcium, potassium, copper, iron and vitamins B, A and E.

The fastest cooking

Quick preparation of grape snails is especially popular with tourists who, upon an unexpected encounter with these river animals, can diversify their diet in a matter of minutes. After all, it often happens that for some reason, snails begin a mass migration and crawl out onto the roads. In half an hour, tourists are able to collect several kilograms of a living product, and in another quarter of an hour they can get a hearty and nutritious lunch.

Of course, cooking snails at home requires the use of special ingredients. But if it is decided to make such a dish outdoors, then you can get by with a modest set of products.

To make a delicious meal, freshly caught river animals are thoroughly washed and then placed on a grill over the coals with the holes up. At the same time, a small pinch of table s alt and pepper is added to each shell, and a little sunflower oil is poured in or a piece of lard is put in. In this form of grape snailsbake for about ten minutes.

After the meat is cooked, it is picked out of the shell with a toothpick, separated from inedible elements and eaten with a slice of bread.

Cooking snails in boiling water

Cooking grape snails in field conditions may involve the use of different types of heat treatment. If you do not want to bake them, then for this you should prepare a few liters of boiling water. All snails are lowered into it at once and boiled for about 3-5 minutes after boiling.

This procedure will allow you to quickly clean the snails from the existing mucus, and also greatly facilitate their extraction. After the meat is taken out of the shell, it is butchered, leaving only the fleshy cephalopod. In the future, cooks act at their discretion. Some of them continue to cook the product in s alted boiling water with various vegetables, getting a full-fledged soup, and some fry it in lard or sunflower oil along with garlic and onions. In the latter case, you will get a very tasty snack that resembles white meat or mushrooms.

Cleaning the product at home

How to prepare snails for cooking? If you have enough time, and also have a complete set of kitchen utensils, there are several options for how to make a delicacy from a river product. But for this it must be properly cleaned.

To do this, some cooks keep snails in the refrigerator in an empty pan fromthree to ten days, washing them periodically. Other housewives recommend leaving the product for several days on bran, flour, or aromatic herbs such as fennel and thyme. With this method, already on the third day, the snails will be cleaned and acquire a natural aroma.

In the Mediterranean countries, live snails purchased from the markets are not subjected to a purification procedure. This is due to the fact that on farms they are already prepared for consumption. As for our country, unfortunately, such a product loses its taste quite strongly without preliminary cleaning.

After completing the cleaning procedure, you should make sure that there are no dead snails among the living snails. To do this, they are placed in water and those who have not shown any signs of life are removed.

After the implementation of the described actions, the snails are boiled in boiling water right along with the shells, and then washed well. Only after that the product becomes suitable for culinary experiments.

M altese stew

Processing and cooking snails at home is a quick and easy process. After the product is cleaned and scalded with boiling water, it is immediately used to create culinary delights.

So, to make a delicious M altese dish, we need:

• dry red wine - 1 glass;
• blanched snails - about 500g;
• olive oil - 45 ml;
• fresh mint, marjoram and basil to taste;
• pepper and s alt - apply according totaste.

Cooking process

How are snails stewed? The recipe for this dish requires the use of a saucepan. Olive oil is poured into it, and then the previously processed snails are laid out. After frying the product a little (right in the shells), it is poured with dry red wine, and then s alted, peppered and stewed over low heat for about ¼ hour.

Shortly before turning off the stove, add finely chopped greens to the saucepan and mix all the ingredients well.

Serve ready-made snails in shells to the table, preferably hot, after pouring them with the remaining sauce in the saucepan.

Cretan fried snails (with rosemary)

Cooking grape snails at home will take you about ¼ hour. But this is only if you follow all prescription requirements.

So, to make Cretan snails, you need to purchase:

• blanched snails prepared - at least 500 g;
• olive oil - about 100 ml;
• wine vinegar - 2 large spoons;
• rosemary - large spoon;
• table s alt - add to taste.

Cooking method

Before frying the snails, a thick-walled frying pan is very hot, and then a thin layer of table s alt is added. Next, put the entire processed product into the dishes with the holes down and let it dry.

After all the excess moisture is gone, olive oil is poured into the snailsoil, stir and fry for 3-5 minutes. Then rosemary and wine vinegar are added to them. All ingredients mix well and remove from heat.

Serve snails in shells for dinner only after they are doused with the oil in which they were fried. The meat of river animals must be pulled out with a toothpick. Be sure to remove the dark tip before using it.

Step-by-step recipe for cooking snails at home

The most exquisite dish of grape snails is the French escargot dish. To make it at home, you do not need much time and effort.

So, the classic recipe for cooking grape snails involves the use of the following components:

• canned grape snails - about 1 kg;
• fresh baguette - 1 pc.;
• high quality butter - approximately 300g;
• fresh garlic - 1 head;
• olive oil - about 30 ml;
• lemon juice - apply to taste;
• parsley, fresh herbs, s alt - apply to taste.

How to cook?

Before all snails are cooked, their meat is carefully removed from the shells, and then cleaned of inedible elements. Next, put it in a pan and fry for 3 minutes using olive oil.

While the snails are fried, wash and dry all the shells well. In the future, they return the heat-treatedmeat. After that, take the butter, cut it into small pieces and add crushed garlic cloves. Then lemon juice and finely chopped greens, including parsley, are poured into the same bowl. All ingredients are s alted, peppered and ground with a blender. The shells are sealed with the resulting mass, after which they are laid out on a dry baking sheet with holes up.

Filling out the sheet, it is sent to the oven. At a temperature of 240 degrees, the snails are cooked for 3 minutes (no more).

Proper serving at the dinner table

Escargot is a very popular dish in Europe. To serve it to the dining table, even special devices were invented: a metal tray with small recesses for shells (that is, an escargot), tongs that allow you to hold the shell, and a fork with two long prongs, with which the contents are taken out.

In France, escargot is served as an appetizer before dinner. As for Australia and the USA, in these countries this dish is considered the main one.

After the snails are cooked in the oven, they are laid out on a metal tray and brought to the table along with tongs and a fork. They also cut a fresh and crispy baguette separately, which they enjoy eating a creamy meat dish.