Interested in Escargot recipes? We can help!

Escargot or snails are a French delicacy that are served cooked in various ways – mostly though they are served fried in butter with scallops and some herbs or spices. They are considered to be delicious, but many people are disgusted by the fact that they are snails and can’t get passed that fact. There are lots of delicious recipes available, and snails can be acquired based on whether they are pre-prepared, or fresh, depending on whom your supplier is. Often, canned escargot taste just as good as fresh when cooked, though several gourmands will tell you they can tell the difference between the two.

One of the best and easiest recipes to prepare is snails in butter which we’ve detailed below though there are several other recipes out there that can be adapted or used at home or in a small restaurant – the crucial thing is to ensure that you’re cooking the snails fully.

Snails in butter

You will need: A large shallot or several small ones – red ones are often the best tasting, though any colour will do
50gs of butter
A frying pan or dish (including a special dish)
48 fresh or a full tin of escargot, patted, dried and separated.
Fresh parsley, two cloves of garlic, salt and pepper

Place all of the snails in an oven dish; add a dollop of butter if cooking separately or in the shell, and garnish with garlic, parsley and salt. Serve when they start bubbling. Alternatively cook the butter in a pan, add the herbs and salt/pepper to taste and then cover the snails in a flat dish, and coat with butter. Serve out of shells.

Serving methods

The biggest argument about snails is whether you should serve them in or out of the shells – and there are now companies that produce reusable shells to use with canned, prepared snails to ensure the full experience is realised. It’s important however to understand that for the occasional serving or delicacy, you may want to serve them shell-less – it’s less difficult to ensure that they’ve been cooked fully, and will also allow you to see the full snail to ensure it is suitable to serve. One of the biggest issues too, with serving snails in shell can be that it’s difficult to eat them. If you’re trying them for the first time, you may find it less off-putting to try them out of the shell.

It’s critical to remember that there are several odd things in food, so trying snails isn’t as big a deal as many people might think. It’s also critical however to ensure that you aren’t easily made ill by food as a lot of people might feel sick after trying them, which can be just as off-putting for others.


Properly prepared escargot can be one of the tastiest delicacies to try while in a French restaurant, or in France. They are also easy to prepare at home.