Snail Hunting!!!

Over the last couple of months, we have settled very comfortably in our new home here at the edge of the NYC metro area. In my backyard adventures, I have discovered a valuable source of wild protein....snails!









Snails are an extremely common pest here in this area, though I hardly ever saw them in Southeastern Pennsylvania. Catching Snails is real easy. First, I created a few areas of shade and dampness in the backyard. This can be done using cinder blocks, or piles of leafs/twigs and other organic debris. After a rainy night, turn over the pile and you'll find scores of snails hidden underneath. These animals are quite beautiful to look at. Their translucent shells spans the gamut of natural colors...from dull brown to spiral green and everything in between.


So I captured a score of these little critters and then I proceeded to fatten them up. This step is relatively easy. First you put the snails into a large glass jar, and put in some vegetable scraps. Then on a daily basis, the food is cleaned out and replaced. The snails themselves are taken out, washed, and put back into the jar. This is repeated every day for a week. At the end of the week, the snails will begin to produce clear to semi-translucent excrement, at that point they are ready to be eaten. I sauteed my "herd" with some garlic and butter before putting it into a pasta sauce. The snails are quite delicious, they taste like somewhat like shellfish.