Let´s talk about snails - Snails Portuguese style

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Let’s talk about caracóis, this Portuguese delicatessen. I know, lots of countries don’t eat it, and might find it a bit disgusting, but I can tell you, they are delicious. This summer snack can be eaten between May and August (All months that in Portuguese don’t have the letter “R”), served with toasted slices of buttered bread and a small glass of bear. Yes, in Portugal you get small glasses of bear rather than big pints, so you can enjoy a cold drink rather than a tepid soup.

We don’t like to queue in Portugal, but for a good pires de caracóis,(plate of snails) we will do. And we will also wait for another pot to cook, because the previous one is finished. We all know where the best snails are, and we organise excursions, just for that purpose. We also remember our friends that the season is open!

When I was young my mother would take me with my sister to pick up snails in our lands. They were hidden in the cabbages leaves, walls and trees. But people can get them from the shops.

We didn’t like to pick the big ones (caracoletas), just the small ones and if they had stripes even better. Then we would beg my mom to cook them, but she wouldn’t, say that they had to be hanging from a net bag for a few days, without food, so they could clean, and then they wouldn’t taste bitter or bad.

My mother comes from Madeira island, and there they absolutely hate the idea of eating snails, but she said that she overcome that feeling, when she realises how happy we were eating them with our father.

She also taught me a trick. She said when we cook snails, you need to start with cold water and low heat, so, as the heat increases, they slowly came out their shells, so once cooked you don’t need to pick them it a tooth pick.



Ingredients:

·         Around 2 kg of snails (very well washed in many cold waters)

·         2 or 3 table spoons of Olive oil
3 garlic cloves crashed
1 medium onion in quarters

·         1 bay leaf

·         Salt and white pepper o taste

·         Dried oregano to taste

·         1 red chilli cut in half or chilli powder to taste



Preparation:

Mix all the ingredients and cover with cold water (2 or 3 fingers above the snails).

Start with low heat and once is boiling, increase for medium heat low heat. Cover the pot.

Once in a while remove the foam that is created on the top.

Let it cook for around 2h to apurar (release the flavours). They will be cooked before that, but won’t have the taste of the other ingredients.

Serve hot with some broth, buttered toast bread and a cold bear.