Live Snails Care
The snails you have received are indoor reared and are fully prepared
and ready to cook.
Unlike wild snails they do not require purging from grit.
They have been washed for 4-5 days during the past week without being
feed and their digestive system has been fully eliminated.
They are now ready for blanching in boiling water and the rest is up to
you.
PLEASE DO NOT FEED THESE SNAILS to keep them alive for longer.
If you wish to extend
their "shelf-life" they should be kept in between
5-8 degrees centigrade. This should "hold" them for up to 48 hours.
They will not keep indefinitely at this temperature but it will allow
you some breathing room.
However if you do feed or keep these snails for any length of time, we
cannot guarantee their freshness and your statutory rights will be affected.
There is generally
a 1 - 2% mortality on live snails and we have included
extra snails to cover this.
A dead or dying
snail will generally be very orangey in colour and may smell bad. A
slight orange colour is normal after purging. Please prod the snail
to see if it reacts if you are not sure. Bear in mind that chilled
snails are in semi-hibernation so do not expect a quick reaction.
Cooking
Please check your snails before blanching to ensure that no dead snails
enter the cooking pot as it will ruin the whole batch.
We prefer to cook our snails in this dormant state for two reasons.
1 - it is more
humane,
2 - once cooked
there are no off putting feelers showing.
After blanching we de-shell the snails. Shells from farmed snails are
not generally sufficiently strong to support use for presentation and could
result in small pieces of shell forming part of a guests mouthful!!!
Please let us know if you require presentation shells which we import
and can supply you with at cost (8 pence each)
We cook our snails in a fresh court bouillon stock for 1 hour 20 minute
and allow them to cool off in the liquor for 20 minutes.
This will result
in a tender snail with just a little "bite" to it.
If you are not used
to cooking snails, a simple rule of thumb is to treat them similarly
to squid or octopus and you shouldn't go too far wrong.
Bon
Appetit!
