How do I know if escargot is fully cooked?
I recently had escargot the first time at at buffet. It wasn't piping hot but I was able to pull the meat out of the shell easily and it was chewy. There are bits of black here and there on the meat.
Questions
1) How do I know if it's fully cooked?
2) What are the little black bits on the meat?
I asked the servers but they all said it was fully cooked and safe to eat. But how do I know?
Best Answer
By the time escargot1 are heated to serve (I presume you had the standard garlic / herb butter gratin version served in the shell?), they have already been cooked for two to three hours in total.
Escargot are killed by dumping them in their shells in boiling water, not unlike some cooks prepare lobster.2
The soft body is removed from the shell, inedible parts and mucus removed, then cooked for another two hours. Snails will always be a bit chewy (they loose about 2/3 of their weight during cooking), but shouldn't be rubbery.
After that, the meat is ready to serve or to be used in other recipes, stuffing them back in their shells with garlic butter is only one of them.
Without pictures, it's hard to tell what you mean by "black bits", from pigments in the snail's skin to flecks of herbs or peppercorns there are many options.
1 Typical cultivated species:
The Burgundy snail (Helix pomatia)
The Garden snail (Cornu aspersum)
2 Yes, some kill lobster before boiling them, but that's not the main topic here.
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Quick Answer about "How do I know if escargot is fully cooked?"
Snails will always be a bit chewy (they loose about 2/3 of their weight during cooking), but shouldn't be rubbery. After that, the meat is ready to serve or to be used in other recipes, stuffing them back in their shells with garlic butter is only one of them.Can you overcook escargot?
Make sure not to overcook the snails or they will come out tough. When the snails are done, they should smell fragrant and the butter should have fully melted. To eat escargot, use a small fork to scoop the snail from the shell.How long does it take to cook snails?
Bring a large pot of heavily salted water to a boil. Cook the snails for about 3 minutes. Drain the snails and rinse them with plenty of cool water. Use tweezers or pinchers to pull each snail from its shell.Is escargot supposed to be chewy?
Despite my initial mental hang-ups about eating snails and uncertainties about the taste, escargot is a palate-pleasing dish with a delicately chewy consistency that takes on the flavor of the sauce it is cooked in.Are escargot in a can cooked?
Yes, canned escargot are already cooked. They are then canned in their cooking juices.Extravagant Way to Cook Escargot - The Secrets of French Cuisine
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