Garden snails: the eating thereof

[Fez909]

It's about that time of the year, snail-lovers! Those slimey sausages of joy have emerged from their winter slumber and they're begging to be devoured.

I'm gonna buy some snail-housing/farming equipment next week and go collecting.

Tips, advice and experiences welcome. Who's in?

Onket

 

[nogojones]

I've never tried snails, but love garlic so why not.

What sort of capital investment is needed for snail farming? Will I need to train a dog?

 

[Cid]

1 jar.

Several carrots.

A few days.

 

[TopCat]

Get a big bucket and fill it with bran. Throw loads of snails inside and cover with muslin. Leave for four days for them to purge themselves of all the rotting shit and filth they eat. Then gently sauté with garlic butter. Throw the snails in the bin reserving the butter. Eat butter with a nice baguette and a glass of cold white wine.

 

[ringo]

I like the idea but have been put off by the amount of preparation required - lots of cleaning according to this:

http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2011/jun/29/snails-are-not-fast-food

 

[frogwoman]

is this a windup?

 

[billy_bob]

Get a big bucket and fill it with bran. Throw loads of snails inside and cover with muslin. Leave for four days for them to purge themselves of all the rotting shit and filth they eat. Then gently sauté with garlic butter. Throw the snails in the bin reserving the butter. Eat butter with a nice baguette and a glass of cold white wine.

I find the saute-ing stage unnecessary.

 

[frogwoman]

I find the saute-ing stage unnecessary.

and the snail stage

 

[Puddy_Tat]

(and i'm sure i've read somewhere that the snails here are a different sort of snail to the snails that are considered edible in some bits of the world)

 

[billy_bob]

and the snail stage

Well that's kinda what I meant frogwoman - as long as those slimy little turds don't go anywhere the butter, or anything else that you're actually going to eat.

 

[frogwoman]

(and i'm sure i've read somewhere that the snails here are a different sort of snail to the snails that are considered edible in some bits of the world)

that's what i heard - aren't they poisonous?

grim stuff anyway

 

[farmerbarleymow]

We need Onket to eat snails this year as he bottled it last year.

 

[andysays]

(and i'm sure i've read somewhere that the snails here are a different sort of snail to the snails that are considered edible in some bits of the world)

There's a variety of differnt snail species eaten in different parts of the world.

The most popular edible snail in Europe is Helix pomatia, sometimes known in Britain as the Roman snail, because it was imported by them. And apparently it's a protected species, so you could be prosecuted for gathering and eating it.

The most common snail in Britain is the Garden Snail, Helix aspersa. I suppose you could eat that, but presumably it's not so tasty as the other one. Personally I'm not inclined to try any of them...

 

[joustmaster]

here is gordon doing it at home

 

[prunus]

Done it, works fine, tastes like snails.

 

[Onket]

It's about that time of the year, snail-lovers! Those slimey sausages of joy have emerged from their winter slumber and they're begging to be devoured.

I'm gonna buy some snail-housing/farming equipment next week and go collecting advice and experiences welcome. Who's in?

Onket

Nice one.

There was a thread last year and I found some decent links. I had the snails in a couple of buckets with tights stretched over the top. They escaped several times and in the end I released them all down the park. My main aim was to get rid of the snails from my garden without needlessly killing them. So it is worth noting that I succeeded.

This year I have bought some mesh and am planning to build a box using some bits from my fence that blew down.

I am currently stripping out and refitting our downstairs toilet. So don't fucking moan if it doesn't happen instantly. The internet. Pah.

 

[Fez909]

*drums fingers*

 

[DotCommunist]

this is how its going to be after the apocalypse isn't it? snails for tea

 

[Roadkill]

that's what i heard - aren't they poisonous?

Not in themselves, AFAIK, but some of what they eat is, hence the need to keep them and feed them on wholesome stuff for a while before cooking them.

I'll eat most things once, but snails are something I'm really not inclined to try any time soon.

 

[kebabking]

this is how its going to be after the apocalypse isn't it? snails for tea

i'd rather lick my own arse. and then die of starvation.

 

[krtek a houby]

this is how its going to be after the apocalypse isn't it? snails for tea

Or coffee? Molluscwell House?

 

[geminisnake]

Get a big bucket and fill it with bran.

Doesn't that just dry them out? It does with slugs, as it's one of the methods I use for natural slug eradication(because we have visiting hogs)

 

[geminisnake]

The first reply wasn't there yesterday

 

[joustmaster]

have all the naysayers actually tried a nice freshly cooked one?

 

[gentlegreen]

Here's a film on the subject made by and starring ex-colleagues of mine :-



Warning - the star of the film is a Breton and dispatches the snails in a slightly dodgy way ...

I once owned the fridge that features in the film BTW.

 

[Fez909]

Or coffee? Molluscwell House?

Tortuous

 

[Fez909]

Just had a thought - if I feed them garlic, will they be pre-garlic'd?

 

[andysays]

Just had a thought - if I feed them garlic, will they be pre-garlic'd?

From my growing experience, snails and slugs are not that keen on eating garlic, onions etc.

Maybe try them on lemon flavoured sorrel instead

 

[DotCommunist]

I suppose serving them with salt is out of the question

 

[weltweit]

I suppose seeing as I have eaten winkels ...

But snails, .... nah give that one a miss!