Petit-gris snail

Petit-gris

What it is

In the 1850s a French nurseryman named Delmas turned petit-gris loose among his vines on the banks of the Guadalupe river at San José, because Gold Rush California had no escargot to speak of. They are now among the worst garden and citrus pests on the American West Coast.

In the kitchen

Fast them a week, blanch two minutes, pull them from the shell and cut off the dark spiral tip — that gland is what makes an escargot taste of earth and mud. Then simmer an hour and a half in a white wine court-bouillon before they meet any sauce at all.

Goes with

Garlic Parsley Butter Thyme Shallot Bay leaf Smoked cured pork belly Tomato

Same species

Snail eggs

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