Escargot is a fancy word for snails. You either love ’em, hate ’em, or haven’t tried ’em. I find that most haters have never tried them. That’s their mistake because who doesn’t like butter, garlic, cheese and fresh bread? The escargot are just a vehicle to transport the good stuff into our bellies!
My first snail was eaten at the home of a high school friend circa 1967. His mother served them at a posh party and always included her son’s friend, which meant me. These were the type found at the grocery in a plastic tube with a can of snails and shells. You stuffed the snails in the shells, added a little butter and baked. If the truth be told, I remember them as a very, very, very chewy.
A decade or two passed and as an adult I found them on the menu at a French restaurant. This was an entirely different, transcendent experience. These tender morsels disappeared far too fast. Today I can’t find them on a local menu, but love to make them at home. I have introduced this recipe to many escargot noobies and all come back for more.
Making Escargot
Here in the U.S. it is illegal to possess live helix snails, so that means using canned imports. Begin with high quality French Burgundy escargot from a reputable dealer such as iGourmet. They will be fresh and tender. Then follow my recipe. It’s foolproof!
If you love these, take a look at my Snail Porridge.
Farming the Helix specie of escargot is a $300 million/year business. Push that image of your common garden slug out of your mind. These are the Kings of the snail world! Print
Escargot
Burgundy snails baked in garlic butter and topped with parmesan
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Total Time: 45 minutes
- Yield: 4 1x
Ingredients
- 24 escargot
- 1/2 stick softened butter
- 1/8 tsp fresh ground black pepper
- 2 cloves garlic – minced
- 1/2 paper thin slice of onion – minced
- 2 slices bacon – cooked but not crisped
- 1 french baguette
- 4 oz fresh grated parmagiano-reggiano cheese
Instructions
- Pre-heat oven to 350 and thoroughly mix butter, garlic, onion and pepper
- Fry the bacon to render the fat. Place a drop or two of the fat into each depression of the baking dishes with a teeny tiny piece of crumbled, chopped bacon
- Rinse and pat the snails dry, then pack each baking dish hole with a snail and butter mixture
- Divide the cheese equally and cover each dish completely
- Place the baguette in the oven with the escargot and bake about 12-15 minutes until cheese is bubbling and browning on top
- Remove the escargot and slice the baguette into 1/2″ pieces on the bias
- Serve together using the baguette to sop up the remaining butter sauce