GARDE MANGER: SNAILS AND GARLIC BUTTER

We're back on Garde Manger (the appetizer station) and nearing the end of Level Three. We'll soon be taking over as the most senior students in the school. But before I get ahead of myself we've still got to make tonight's dish, it's what many people think about knee-jerk-style along with frogs' legs when they ponder French food, escargots.

More after class on the jump...

DISH: Baked Snails With Garlic-Parsley Butter (Bourgogne), Escargots À La Bourguignonne

RECIPE:
Escargots
46 Canned Snalils, Helix Brand

The Bouillon
125 ML White Wine
125 ML Chicken Stock
Bouquet Garni
Salt and Freshly Ground Black Pepper
1 Sheet Gelatin, Bloomed in Cold Water

Garlic and Parsley Compound Butter
1 Anchovy Fillet
1 Toasted Hazelnut, Finely Chopped
225 G Butter, En Pommade
8 Tablespoons Chopped Flat-Leaf Parsley
4 Tablespoons Minced Chives
50 G Garlic, Minced
2 Tablespoons Shallot, Ciselee
1 Tablespoon White Wine
1 Tablespoon Lemon Juice
20 G Fine Bread Crumbs
1 Teaspoon Salt
¼ Teaspoon Freshly Ground Black Pepper

Assembly
2 Tablespoons Butter

Procedure:
ESCARGOTS AND BOUILLON (To be done a day in advance and refrigerated) Drain and rinse the snails and set aside. Mix all the ingredients for the bouillon except the gelatin and pour over the snails. Bring the mixture to a boil and simmer gently for 5 minutes. Add the gelatin and set aside to cool.

GARLIC AND PARSLEY COMPOUND BUTTER Place all the ingredients (with half the garlic) for the butter in a bowl and combine with a wooden spatula. Taste and adjust the seasoning. Alternatively, you may combine the ingredients in a food processor provided you retain the texture and do not overcook the mixture.

ASSEMBLY Drain the escargots from the bouillon and dry them a bit. Heat the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter in a sauteuse, add the remaining garlic along with the escargots, and saute briefly, seasoning as you go. Let cool. Preheat the oven to 375ºF. Place a small amount of the compound butter in the bottom of a sterilized snail shell, then insert a snail and a tiny bit of the bouillon. Cover the snail with more butter until the shell is completely filled. Proceed in the same manner with the rest of the snails and shells.

Place the snails on the snail plates and bake for approximately 10 minutes, or until the butter bubbles and starts to change color. If more color is desired, the dish may be finished under the salamander.

BREAKDOWN:The biggest difference between the recipe and what we actually did was that we didn't do anything a day in advance as dictated.

Now I don't know much about preparing snails or how this is done in top French restaurants but taking anything out of a can and putting it in a shell seems somewhat disingenuous to me.

Am I saying we should be dealing with live snails? Well, could we? Is it ever done that way? How did it taste? Well, thanks to the butter (Chef told us not to give it away but most students swung by to try to grab a swath of it surreptitiously) they tasted pretty good. That said, the snails themselves are pretty small and I only had one. You figure it out!

I "tested" the butter plenty of times though.