Sea snails, periwinkles are infinitely tastier than garden snails, though they’re tiny, which makes cleaning and eating them a bit of a hassle. You can buy canned garden snails if you like. You could substitute minced ginger or shallots for the garlic and serve the finished snails over a bed of greens, drizzled with Vinaigrette.
If you have canned snails (escargots), just heat them in the garlic butter over low heat and serve. Slices of baguette are the usual accompaniment, for dipping in the juices.
Tips about how to Cook Fresh Sea Snail with Garlic Butter:
Ingredients:
- 2 pounds fresh snails (periwinkles)
- 1 cup cornmeal
- 2 tablespoons white or red wine vinegar or rice
- vinegar
- 8 tablespoons (1 stick) butter
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 1/2 cup roughly chopped fresh parsley leaves
Instructions:
- Put the snails in water to cover and mix in the cornmeal; soak for at least 30 minutes (1 hour is better), stirring occasionally. During this time, pour off the water once or twice and refill (leave as much of the cornmeal in the bowl as you can), mixing with your hands and rinsing as you do so.
- Drain the snails and put them in a medium saucepan. Cover with fresh water and vinegar and bring to a boil. Turn the heat to medium and cook for about 15 minutes.
- After the snails have cooked for about 10 minutes, cut the butter into pieces and melt it over medium-low heat in a small saucepan. Add garlic and cook, stir them occasionally, for about 6 to 7 minutes, or just until the garlic loses its rawness.
- Season with salt and pepper and keep warm. Remove a snail from the pot and using a pin or toothpick, try to pull the snail from its shell; if the operculum (the hard disk at the opening of the shell) falls off and the snail meat comes out easily, the snails are done. If not, continue cooking until the snails are ready.
- Drain the snails, and then return them to the pot with a couple of tablespoons of butter. Garnish with parsley and serve with pins or toothpicks to remove the snails, along with the rest of the garlic butter.
Conch with Tomatoes
Since conch is a little tougher than squid, shrimp, or clams, it requires longer cooking to become tender. But once you get the pot going, you can walk away for a while. Like snails, in-shell conch have a hard disk (the operculum) that covers their opening, though these days it’s quite common to find shelled meat frozen. Just let it thaw in the fridge before using. Serve this over plain rice or toss with pasta. You can just serve in a shallow bowl with lots of bread alongside.
Ingredient:
- 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 2 cloves garlic, slivered
- 4 or 5 small dried hot red chilies to taste
- 3 cups chopped tomato
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 1/2 pound conch meat, operculum removed, ground or chopped
- 1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley
Instructions:
- Put the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. When hot, add the garlic and chilies. Cook, stirring, until the garlic browns, for few minutes. Turn off the heat and wait for few minutes before putting the tomato. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
- Cook over medium heat until the tomato gets saucy, about 5 minutes, then add some more salt and pepper and the conch. Simmer, stirring occasionally, until the conch is fairly tender, at least 30 minutes.
- Taste and adjust the seasoning, stir in the parsley, and serve.