Simple Baked Escargot Recipe

In a famous episode of I Love Lucy, Lucy orders escargot in a Paris bistro. When it's served, she looks aghast and says to the waiter: "This food has snails in it!" Lucy can't quite get past her disgust and asks for ketchup, which enrages the chef and leads to her arrest (but not because of the ketchup). 

If you've never tried escargot, you're missing a quintessential French experience — bathed in butter and garlic, the moist and tender snails are surprisingly delicious. Chef Molly Pisula, who promotes healthy and eco-friendly recipes on her blog Vanilla Bean Cuisine, spent the past two years in France and has enjoyed many a plate of escargot in French bistros, and this recipe is inspired by those delicious adventures.

 Traditionally, escargot are served in snail shells on a special escargot plate. But stuffing the shells with butter, garlic, and of course, the snails, is time-consuming and fussy. Pisula, however, has tossed out the shells and the escargot plate, but as she told us, she still "wanted to recreate some of that bistro experience for a home cook." Pisula's streamlined recipe takes only 20 minutes to prepare and 10 minutes to cook, which makes this elegant first course easy and approachable. 

First and foremost, you'll need to get a hold of the snails. But don't start scooping up the slimy pests that are mowing through your geraniums (though they are actually edible — but only after they've been purged of potentially dangerous toxins, as the Grit reports). Many specialty food stores sell safely farmed snails in jars or cans. Pisula told us that "believe it or not, the easiest place to find them is on Amazon!" 

And indeed, you can purchase various size cans of escargot inexpensively on Amazon. Most of these are Burgundy snails, although not all are farmed and harvested in France (per NPR). For Pisula's recipe, which serves four people, you'll need 15 ounces of escargot. The rest of the ingredients are more familiar ones — garlic, butter, herbs, some white wine — that you'll have on hand or maybe even growing in your garden.

The preparation for Pisula's recipe couldn't be simpler. Before you begin, preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Then, start by peeling and chopping two shallots and mincing two garlic cloves. Heat up one tablespoon of olive oil in a medium skillet over medium heat — and if you have a cast iron skillet, this is a good recipe in which to use it. You won't need a baking dish later on, and you could serve the escargot at the table in the skillet.

Next, add the chopped shallots and sauté them until they're translucent and beginning to caramelize, about three to four minutes. Keep stirring the shallots so they don't burn. Pour in the white wine — choose a good wine, the same one you'll be drinking with the finished dish — and continually stir the shallots until the wine has completely evaporated. This should take approximately two minutes.

When the wine has evaporated, stir in six tablespoons of softened butter, the minced garlic; chopped parsley, rosemary, and thyme; and the escargot (the escargot will be packed in water, so be sure to drain them first before adding them to the skillet).

Season everything with half a teaspoon of Kosher salt and a quarter teaspoon of freshly ground black pepper. Cook the escargot over medium heat for five minutes, stirring continuously. Transfer the escargot to a broiler-safe baking dish (this is when using a cast iron skillet really pays off!).

Escargot are almost always served with a baguette to mop up every last drop of the parsley-garlic butter. In France, the baguette (and yes, we have a recipe for a homemade version) is either sliced or served whole to give you the sensory experience of ripping off pieces and dunking them in the garlic butter. 

Pisula gives an original twist to her escargot recipe with baguette toasts slathered with garlic butter and Parmesan cheese. Start by cutting the baguette into quarter-inch slices. Line a baking sheet with foil and arrange the baguette slices in a single layer. Stir the garlic powder into the remaining four tablespoons of softened butter, and then spread each slice with the garlic butter. Sprinkle a quarter cup of freshly grated Parmesan evenly over the slices. 

Place the baking dish with the escargot into the oven and bake for five minutes. Then, remove the baking dish from the oven and move an oven rack so it's four inches from the heating element. Sprinkle the remaining quarter cup of freshly grated Parmesan over the escargot. Broil the escargot one or two minutes, until the butter is bubbling and the cheese is golden brown. The escargot can pop under high heat, so watch out for any spatters of hot butter. Transfer the baking dish to a trivet and allow the escargot to cool slightly. 

Broil the baguette slices one or two minutes, until the cheese has melted and the toasts' edges are golden brown. Keep your eye on the toasts under the broiler because they can easily burn.

The escargot can be served directly from the baking dish with the toasts on the side. Or you can plate individual servings with the escargot on top of the toasts. Either way, enjoy the escargot with a white wine, like a Chablis or white Burgundy (per somMailier), and you can serve it as a starter or even a light lunch. And now, you've conquered the humble snail, and si vous plait, keep the ketchup bottle out of sight!