Snails - What's WRONG with you, France?!?!

I recently wrote about finding a good frozen fishmonger in an earlier post, and one of the things I picked up was frozen edible snails in a garlic and parsley butter.

I once ate snails in Amsterdam on a stag party, and I scoffed them down, telling everyone how delicious they were. This was on a stag party...In Amsterdam....I would have eaten anything.

So I decided to give snails a try in the cold light of day. Consider this an experiment.

The snails before cooking. This could be a bad idea.

Straight from the freezer, these 'Epic Seafood' branded snails come in a foil tray, with a bright green bung of garlic and parsley butter keeping the snail sealed fresh. 10 minutes in the oven from frozen, and out they come, steaming and snaily. The smell is of garlic butter, and that's about it. I'm pretty sure that fresh would be better, but for now, frozen is where it's at.

So in goes my little fork, and out comes something from a sci-fi movie:

It Came From Outer Nose!

I consider myself quite adventurous with food, but I am not looking forward to this at all. In it goes and it's a bit of an effort to chew. Not because it's chewy, but because I'm creeping close to a gag reflex just thinking about what I'm eating. If I could seperate my thoughts from my tastebuds, I probably would have an easier time of it. It's a bit like a mushroom type texture, and doesn't taste that dissimilar. Slightly earthy, with a meaty quality. I swallow, and go in for a second one. In it goes. Chew. Blurgh. Mushroomy. I consider this a very French dish. I thought those guys were supposed to know all about food?!

I ate two from the tray, and the rest are in the bin. I don't think I'll be eating snails again....

And why do I feel so.......dirty?