Heston Blumenthal's snail porridge

This is a small clip from "full on food". A program which used to be on uktv food. Recipe below..........

Snail porridge
Heston Blumenthal


Serves 6



Ingredients

For the snail butter
25g/1oz garlic cloves, peeled
40g/1½oz button mushrooms, finely chopped
40g/1½oz shallots, finely chopped
200g/7¼oz butter, at room temperature
25g/1oz Dijon mustard
20g/¾oz ground almonds
5g salt
100g/37frac12;oz flatleaf parsley, chopped
40g/1½oz Parma ham

For the snails
72 cooked snails (this allows for about 12 per person, but can be reduced)
1 carrot, peeled and thinly sliced
1 onion, peeled and thinly sliced
1 fennel bulb, finely sliced
1 stick of celery, finely sliced
100g/3½oz button mushrooms, finely sliced
2 garlic cloves
bouquet garni made from bay leaves, thyme and rosemary

For the porridge
10g/½oz Parma ham
1 small fennel bulb
200ml/7¼fl oz snail cooking stock
60g/2¼oz porridge oats
70g/2½oz snail butter
the cooked snails
knob of butter
1 tsp sherry
3 tsp walnut oil

Method
1. For the snail butter, blanch and refresh the garlic three to four times.
2. Heat 50g/1¾oz of the butter in a frying pan, and sweat the mushrooms and shallots for 5-10 minutes until softened. Keep to one side.
3. Put the remaining snail butter ingredients in a food processor and purée until smooth.
4. Rub the mix through a fine-meshed sieve, then mix in the Parma ham, mushrooms and shallots.
5. Mix in the Parma ham, mushrooms and shallots.
6. Place on a sheet of cling film and roll into a cylinder. Store in the fridge to harden.
7. To cook the snails, add them to a pan of boiling water and bring it back to the boil. Skim the surface and reduce the heat so that the water simmers very gently.
8. Add the rest of the ingredients and simmer for three hours, remove from the heat and leave to cool a little before straining through muslin.
9. Reserve the snails.
10. Finely shred the Parma ham, and slice the fennel as thinly as possible.
11. Heat the stock in a saucepan and when it's simmering add the oats. Stir until all of the liquid has been absorbed. Remove from the heat and beat in the snail butter.
12. Season generously.
13. Sauté the snails in butter and drain.
14. To serve, spoon the porridge onto the plates and top with the sliced ham. Top the porridge and ham with the sautéed snails. Toss the fennel with the vinegar and walnut oil, and season. Place the fennel on top of the porridge and serve.

• Category

  Entertainment

[Ge1Ninja]

I love snails... I don't see why people are so disgusted by eating meats other than the norm; pork, beef, chicken, (fish?). They're all bred to be eaten...and its natural to eat them. Let's not be so precious. Its time to open up our minds. Personally, I prefer kangaroo over cow, crocodile/dog over pork although that's real pushing social acceptance, quail/pigeon/any bird, turtle, insect that's beneficial, or seafood, etc that will satisfy and won't potentially kill me if I eat it.

[TheAdimz]

Squeeze Bottle, you can find them at walmart for like 97 cents in the cooking isles.

[poopfeast940]

turtle arents bred to be eaten you stupid idiot they just exist in the natural world. by your logic canabalism is acceptable

[MrAndyroo999]

Exactly, its all about social acceptance that's right! People probably wouldn't be so disgusted of the Chinese eating dogs if we didn't have them as pets, yet eating baby cow and sheep is ok? And eating eggs which is eating the potential for life is ok also? Just eat what you enjoy for goodness sake,we are far too hypocritical at times!

[lumpfish99]

i ate in fat duck....not bad...service better than the food though...

[lumpfish99]

i prefer soylent green

[8kcht3]

You're so out there and hip! I Hope everybody else can be as good as you one day!

[icniVaD DaVinci]

i would eat you

[Steamfish357]

There's more garnish and stuff than the actual porridge. -_-

[Steven Giles]

Oh and the serving is considerably bigger! You get quite a nice bowl of it.

[Steven Giles]

It's part of a 16 course tasting menu. The portions are small but packed full of flavour. You will leave the restaurant feeling absolutely full after all the courses, I assure you.

[icarus0206]

Most of the time when I eat snails I think I'm eating garlic more than snail