Ingredients
Snails
- 3dozen live edible snails, Helix aspersa, bought purged if possible
- 2 tbspcoarse salt
- 2 tbspplain flour
- 1 sprigrosemary and 1 bay leaf
- a wide net-covered box or bucket, for purging
To cook
- 4 tbspolive oil
- 2 tspcoarse salt
- 1 tspcoarsely ground black pepper
- 1 tspsweet paprika (optional)
- 1 sprigthyme
Allioli
- 6garlic cloves
- ½ tspcoarse salt
- 200 mlmild olive oil
- 1egg yolk, if you want the easier emulsion
- a few drops of lemon juice
Directions
- Purge the snails first: keep them for 5 to 7 days in a ventilated box with a little flour and a sprig of rosemary, and no other food, so they empty themselves. Rinse them daily.
- Wash the snails in several changes of water with the coarse salt, rubbing them against each other, until the water runs clear and there is no slime; discard any that do not retract when tapped, as they are dead.
- Blanch them for 5 minutes in boiling water with the bay leaf, drain and rinse. Some cooks skip this and go straight to the tin, but blanching makes the snails easier to handle.
- Make the allioli by pounding the garlic and salt to a paste in a mortar, then adding the oil drop by drop while turning the pestle steadily in one direction until it thickens into a stiff emulsion; add the egg yolk at the start if you want insurance against splitting.
- Light a fire of vine cuttings or hardwood and let it burn to steady embers, then set a flat metal tray, the llauna, over the grill to heat.
- Arrange the snails on the hot tray with the openings facing upwards, so the juices stay inside the shells, and season them with coarse salt and pepper.
- Cook for 10 minutes without moving them, until they stop hissing and the foam at the mouth of the shell subsides; this first stage kills them quickly and cleanly.
- Drizzle over the olive oil, add the thyme and paprika if using, and cook for a further 15 to 20 minutes, shaking the tray occasionally, until the snails have shrunk slightly, smell nutty and pull cleanly from the shell with a pick.
- Serve the tray straight to the table, very hot, with the allioli alongside and plenty of bread to mop the seasoned oil; eat them with a toothpick or a snail fork, dipping each one in the garlic sauce.
Technique
- Purging is not optional. Snails must be emptied for several days before cooking, and any that have fed on unknown plants should never be eaten at all.
- Cooking them shell-up on the flat tray keeps the juices inside; turned the other way, they empty onto the metal and end up dry.
- The seasoning is deliberately spare, just salt, pepper and oil. All the flavour comes from the snail, the embers and the allioli.
- Discard any snail that will not come out of its shell, and never cook one that was already dead before it hit the heat.
Substitutions
- Good-quality tinned or frozen cooked snails work: drain, dry, and finish them in a very hot dry pan with oil, salt and pepper for 8 minutes.
- No fire: a heavy roasting tin under a preheated grill on the top shelf, or a cast-iron pan on a hot hob, gives a respectable result.
Variations
- In Lleida, where the dish reaches festival scale at the Aplec del Caragol, the snails are also served gormands, stewed with tomato, cured ham and chilli.
- A sauce of pounded almonds, garlic and parsley replaces the allioli in some valleys.
- Cargols a la gormanda simmers the purged snails in a rich sofregit rather than grilling them.
History
Snails roasted on a metal tray, a Catalan Pyrenean custom celebrated each May at Lleida’s Aplec del Caragol festival.
Frequently asked questions
What is Cargols a la llauna?
Cargols a la llauna is a main from Andorra: snails grilled on a tin with garlic, aioli. Snails roasted on a metal tray, a Catalan Pyrenean custom celebrated each May at Lleida’s Aplec del Caragol festival.
How long does Cargols a la llauna take to make?
Cargols a la llauna takes 30 min plus several days purging of preparation and 35 min of cooking. The recipe makes 4 servings as a starter. It is rated medium to make.
What can I substitute in Cargols a la llauna?
Yes, within limits. Good-quality tinned or frozen cooked snails work: drain, dry, and finish them in a very hot dry pan with oil, salt and pepper for 8 minutes. No fire: a heavy roasting tin under a preheated grill on the top shelf, or a cast-iron pan on a hot hob, gives a respectable result.
What is the most important thing to get right in Cargols a la llauna?
Wash the snails in several changes of water with the coarse salt, rubbing them against each other, until the water runs clear and there is no slime; discard any that do not retract when tapped, as they are dead.
