No. 1015

Edible Snails a la Bourguignonne

Escargots a la Bourguignonne

After the snails have been prepared according to No. 1013 put a little clear gravy (No. 404) into each shell, then one or two snails from which suppress the thin and pointed end; close the opening with a thick layer of fresh butter, mixing in with it salt, black pepper, parsley and chives both chopped, lemon juice and a little fresh bread-crumbs. Arrange the shells on a metal dish provided with a grater for the purpose of upholding the snails, let cook for a few moments and serve them very hot accompanied with a silver skewer to remove the snail from its shell. Metal or earthen dishes are expressly made having the bottom indented to receive the snails.

← No. 1014 Edible Snails, Bordelaise and Saintonge Edible Snails No. 1016 Edible Snails, Provencal, and with Provencal →

For the Modern Kitchen

Ranhofer writes this as one link in a chain: the snails themselves are cleaned and cooked at No. 1013, and the "clear gravy" is a separate preparation at No. 404. Filling in those two blanks is most of the work of translating this into a modern kitchen.

The cross-referencesNo. 1013 covers the preliminary cleaning and cooking of the snails, and No. 404 is Ranhofer's clear gravy, a strained meat-stock jus. A well-reduced brown stock or a good demi-glace stands in for the latter, a teaspoon or so per shell.
Canned snailsAlmost no one starts from live Helix pomatia now. Tinned Burgundy snails, drained and rinsed, are the normal starting point, with shells sold separately by the dozen; they arrive already cooked, so the oven stage is only about heating them and browning the butter.
"Suppress the thin and pointed end"This appears to mean cutting away the dark coiled tail before the snail goes back in the shell; some cooks leave it on for flavour. Canned snails may or may not come trimmed.
"A grater"A translation slip for the escargot plate, as the last sentence makes clear: a metal or earthenware dish with dimpled hollows that hold each shell upright so the butter cannot run out. A muffin tin or a bed of coarse salt in a sheet pan does the same job.
The butterFigure roughly 8 oz of softened butter, well seasoned, for four dozen snails, worked with the parsley, chives, lemon and crumbs into a paste and packed in firmly. Ranhofer's version has no garlic at all, which sets it apart from the garlic-heavy escargot butter most people now expect.
"Let cook for a few moments"The original gives no oven or temperature and asks only for brief cooking: heat in a hot oven or under a salamander just until the butter bubbles and the crumbs take a little colour. Longer and the snails tighten to rubber, having already been cooked.
Yield and serviceSix shells is a light first course, a dozen a generous one. Serve the plates straight from the oven, blisteringly hot, with bread for the butter; the "silver skewer" is the escargot fork, though a cocktail fork works.

A Little History

Escargots s to the vineyard country of eastern France, where the large Helix pomatia, the Roman or Burgundy snail, is a familiar pest of the vines and was long gathered as free food.