What Are Snails and How Can I Use Them?
Snails is easier to cook with than it looks. Here's how to choose, use, and store them, what to substitute, and 32 recipes to get you started.
Key Points
- Edible land mollusks, the French escargot, with firm earthy meat like a mushroom or clam
- Sold canned and pre-cooked, so you only heat them through, not re-cook them
- Classic dish is baked in the shell under thick garlic-parsley butter, about 10 to 12 minutes
- Overheating turns the meat rubbery and squeaky; the butter must be boldly garlicky
- No exact swap; baked mushroom caps, periwinkles, or whelks come closest
What are snails?
Snails are the edible land mollusks the French call escargot, and they are one of the oldest delicacies in European cooking. The meat is firm and a little chewy, with a clean, earthy taste closer to a mushroom or clam than to anything fishy.
Most cooks never touch a live snail. The classic Burgundy snail comes canned, already purged and cooked, often with a separate bag of empty shells for serving. That is what turns escargot from a fussy project into a weeknight-possible appetizer.
The shells are just vessels. You tuck the snail back in, then pipe in garlic butter and bake.
How to Cook Snails
The defining dish is escargots a la Bourguignonne: snails baked in their shells under a thick garlic-parsley butter until it bubbles and browns. Escargot a la Bourguignonne and the puff-pastry-topped Escargot En Croute both build on that same butter.
If you skip the shells, special escargot dishes with little dimples hold the snails upright so the butter pools around each one. Mushroom caps do the same job and add their own flavor, the way Escargot in Mushroom Caps does.
Snails are sold pre-cooked, so the cooking is really just heating them through and melting the butter, about 10 to 12 minutes in a hot oven at 400°F (200°C). Push past that and they tighten into rubber.
Beyond the French butter route, snails go into stews and fritters. Snails, Portuguese Style simmers them with garlic and herbs, and Snail Fritters batters and fries them.
Cooking and Pairing
Garlic, parsley, and butter are the holy trinity of escargot. Shallots and a little white wine round the butter out, and a pinch of nutmeg adds warmth. The earthy meat also loves mushrooms, which is why so many recipes pair them.
Serve escargot with plenty of crusty bread; half the pleasure is mopping up the spiced butter left in the shells. A dry white wine like a white Burgundy is the traditional glass.
The most common mistake is overheating. Snails are already cooked when you buy them, so you only want them warm. Leave them in a hot oven too long and the firm meat goes tough and squeaky.
The second is underseasoning the butter. It carries the whole dish, so make it boldly garlicky and well salted.
Substitutes
There is no exact swap for the snail's particular bite, but the garlic butter is the real draw and it works on plenty of stand-ins. Cremini or button mushrooms baked under the same butter give a similar earthy, chewy bite and are the closest meat-free match.
From the sea, periwinkles and whelks bring a comparable firm, briny chew. For the full bistro experience without snails, bake mushroom caps in escargot butter and serve them exactly the same way, with bread for the butter.
Buying and Storing
Canned snails are the standard, sorted by size from petit-gris to the large Burgundy (Helix pomatia). A tin usually holds two to four dozen and may come with a bag of cleaned shells. Check that the can is not bulging or dented.
An unopened can keeps in the pantry for years. Once opened, move leftover snails to a covered container with their liquid and use within 2 days.
You can also buy them frozen, sometimes pre-stuffed in shells with butter and ready to bake straight from the freezer. Fresh live snails need days of purging before cooking and are a project best left to the adventurous.
Nutrition
Nutrition Facts
Serving Size unknown (100g)Quick facts
Where to find snails: Snails are usually found in the canned goods section or aisle of the grocery store or supermarket.
Food group: Snails are a member of the Finfish and Shellfish Products US Department of Agriculture nutritional food group.
- In Chinese
- 蜗牛
- British (UK) term
- Snails
- en français
- escargots
- en español
- caracoles
How much do snails weigh?
| Amount | Weight |
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Related
Finfish and Shellfish Products
Recipes using snails
There are 32 recipes that contain this ingredient.
Saussarelle D'Escargots
Saussarelle d'escargots with snails in red wine, tomato, and espagnole sauce finished with brandy and fennel, served in artichoke bottoms. A refined French appetizer.
Funghi Ripieni Con Lumache Lello
Italian stuffed mushrooms with escargot and garlic-lemon butter, browned under the broiler. Old-school continental appetizer that turns canned snails into elegance.
Snails Bourguignonne / Escargots a la Bourguig
Escargots a la Bourguignonne served in large mushroom caps instead of shells, filled with canned Burgundy snails and topped with garlic-herb snail butter. An elegant French appetizer.
Snails Cauderan
Snails Cauderan is a traditional Bordeaux escargot recipe braised with country ham, shallots, white wine, and bouquet garni. Petit-gris snails cooked low and slow in a rich, savory sauce.
Snails with Frogs' Legs
Chopped snails simmered in wine with shallots and chives, then united with butter-sauteed frogs' legs. A bold French main course for adventurous home cooks.
Snails Cauderan / Escargots a la Cauderan
Escargots a la Cauderan: petits-gris snails braised in a ham, shallot, and white wine sauce from the Bordeaux tradition. A rustic French appetizer cooked low and slow.
Favourite Snails Bourguignonne
Snails bourguignonne, served in mushroom caps instead of shells: roasted caps stuffed with tender escargots and blanketed in garlicky parsley snail butter, then baked bubbling. A classic French bistro appetizer made easy.
Favourite Snails Bourguignonne
Snails bourguignonne, served in mushroom caps instead of shells: roasted caps stuffed with tender escargots and blanketed in garlicky parsley snail butter, then baked bubbling. A classic French bistro appetizer made easy.
Snails Menetrel / Escargots a la Menetrel
Escargots baked in their shells with anchovy-spiked garlic herb butter, quatre-epices, and a breadcrumb crust. A bold French twist on classic Bourguignonne snails.
Escargot & Chanterelle Pizza
Luxe French-Italian pizza topped with garlic-butter escargot, earthy dried chanterelles, and melting raclette cheese on French bread dough. A white-tablecloth pizza for special occasions.
Awesome Snails Sommeroise
Snails Sommeroise is a rustic French escargot dish: snails simmered with herbs, then browned in a savory tangle of bacon, ground walnuts, anchovy and garlic and served over a bed of wilted spinach.
Snails Menetrel
Snails Menetrel are classic French escargots packed into shells with a garlic, parsley, shallot, and anchovy butter, sprinkled with breadcrumbs, and baked until bubbling. A traditional French bistro appetizer.
Ma'Oa & Pahua Tairo (Tahiti)
Traditional Tahitian ma'oa and pahua tairo combines fresh snails or clams with taioro (fermented coconut-shrimp sauce), onions, and garlic. An authentic South Pacific delicacy.
Feuillete D'Escargots Et Cepes Au Santenay
Feuillete d'escargots et cepes, Burgundian puff pastry shells filled with escargot, chanterelles and cepes in a Santenay wine sauce. Classic French bistro appetizer at its finest.
Escargots En Cercueils
Elegant French escargot appetizer baked in puff pastry "coffins" with white wine butter sauce and toasted hazelnuts for sophisticated entertaining.
Snail Fritters / Beignets D'Escargots
Beignets d'escargots: snails soaked in herbed olive oil, coated in airy egg-white batter, and fried until shatteringly crisp. A classic French appetizer worth the effort.
Snails, Sicilian Style
Sicilian-style land snails boiled in salted water, then served hot with a cold dipping sauce of crushed garlic, olive oil, and fresh lemon juice. Simple, briny, and bright.
Snails, Portuguese Style
Traditional Portuguese snails simmered for two hours with oregano, bay leaf, garlic, and olive oil. Served warm in saucers with bread for dipping in the aromatic broth.
Escargot in Mushroom Caps
Escargot baked in mushroom caps with garlic butter, sauteed onion, and a squeeze of lemon. An elegant French appetizer using canned snails.
Caracoles Con Frijoles Colorados
Sautéed snails with red kidney beans, shallots, garlic, fresh chilies, and a splash of Pernod in beef stock. A bold masterchef-level Spanish-inspired dish that serves 8.
Delicious Snail Omelette
French snail omelette with escargot simmered in fennel and fig leaf, then folded into a fluffy whipped-white omelette. A rustic Poitou farmhouse classic.
Escargot & Spinach Traume
Escargot and spinach: tender snails sauteed with garlic, pine nuts, feta, and a splash of Pernod, then chilled. An elegant make-ahead French appetizer with a Mediterranean, anise-kissed twist.
Escargot- Chanterelle Stew
Escargot and chanterelle stew simmered in white wine and chicken stock with herbs, finished with an egg yolk and cream liaison for a silky, rich French-inspired broth.
Escargots on Mushroom Caps
French-style escargots baked on mushroom caps with a white wine, garlic, parsley, and butter sauce. A classic bistro appetizer served with crusty bread for sopping up the pan juices.
Escargots De Montpellier
Escargots de Montpellier served over garlic croutons with pancetta, walnuts, anchovy, parsley, and a splash of Armagnac. A rustic French snail appetizer.
Escargots Bourguignonne
Classic escargots bourguignonne baked in their shells with garlic-herb butter, shallots, parsley, and a splash of white wine. The iconic French appetizer done right.
Mushrooms Stuffed with Escargot
Mushrooms stuffed with escargot in garlic-shallot herb butter, baked until bubbling. A classic French appetizer that swaps snail shells for tender mushroom caps.
Snail Fritters
Herb-marinated snails dipped in a light egg-white batter and fried golden. A crispy French appetizer with tarragon, chervil, chives, and parsley.
Escargot a la Bourguignonne
Classic escargot a la Bourguignonne baked in garlic-parsley-shallot butter with brandy. The iconic French appetizer, simple to make at home with canned snails.
Escargot a la Bourguignonne
Classic escargot a la Bourguignonne baked in garlic-parsley-shallot butter with brandy. The iconic French appetizer, simple to make at home with canned snails.
Escargot En Croute
Escargot en croûte tucks snails into garlicky herb butter with Pernod and anchovy, sealed under golden puff pastry domes. A French appetizer with a dramatic tableside reveal.
Escargots
Instead of going to a fancy restaurant, make this dish at home and add some sophistication to your kitchen.
