I have just received this email from John Scott and feel I need to share…….
As I was putting three slugs into the bin tonight, I thought what a waste, when there seems to be so much ‘eating’ on them, and I was going to ask you if you’d ever come across any slug recipes, but I’ve actually found one – on the Rick Shaw Unschooling blog here.
“They were like a cross between chicken and calamari. A bit like escargot, although I’ve never experienced deep-fried escargot, so I can’t say, exactly! Certainly they were delicious, and the combination with green tomatoes was lovely!”
So there you go – a simple alternative form of meat for those who are allergic to everything else, though the comments that follow the post above seem to cast some doubt on whether European slugs are such suitable fare. I suppose one could import “banana” slugs and cultivate them…
I must admit that I thought I had a pretty strong stomach – and I do hate slugs so eating them would be a suitable revenge – but having read Emily’s post…… Judge for yourselves…
PS. The picture is of Emily’s son at the ‘soak in hot water and vinegar for 10 minutes to kill and remove slime’ stage!
Oh. Thanks for that! I feel sick.
Errr…. Not the only one!
Hi — I’m Emily, the person who wrote the blog-post you refer to. Thank you so much for your post and feedback!
That photo you reposted is actually my son, harvesting the slugs. The blog is called Rickshaw Unschooling because the name of the house we live in is the “Phantom Rickshaw” … no Ricks or Shaws here! :–)
Some notes on eating slugs; they’re basically the same as escargot; same family of animals; same preparation methods would apply, etc. You do need to be careful with them, though, since they can carry toxins, parasites, and harmful bacteria/etc. To use them safely, you should first cleanse their systems by keeping them in a container with plenty of air and fresh edible veggies for a week or so, to be sure they’ve not recently eaten anything which could be poisonous to us. Then, COOK THEM. Many people eat them raw for a bit of bravado, but many also get very ill from the parasites and other nasties they pick up by doing so. I don’t recommend it.
Emily – hello – How lovely to hear from you!! And many apologies to your son….. Will alter immediately!
It makes absolute sense that you should be able to eat slugs perfectly successfully – I think it is the slime factor that puts most people (including me!) off… But reading your post it did sound like rather a lot of hard work for something which might not be that exciting when you have finished. Personally I have always found escargot a bit of a disappointment – pretty chewy and really only redeemed by the garlic butter – so I was not sure that, even if it ensured ultimate revenge on the slugs who ate my parsley – I was up for a slug dinner. But maybe I am just being wimpish!!
Anyhow, thank you so much for your post – and for the warning about not eating them raw. Happy further foraging!!
My father, who used to be a pharmacist, once told me about this old cough remedy made with slugs! Here’s an interesting link to a blogger’s research on the subject.
Why not adapt it using our native gastropods? Any takers? 😉
Mmmmm – yes…. Thank you Nathalie! Think I might need to be fairly desperate….
However, I was reminded today that slugs are said to love beer and that one of the best ways to get rid of them is to offer them a large tankard of beer and let them drown in it… Would the cough remedy be even more effective if they had been pickled in beer?….
Wish I had a large tankard of beer to drown in.
Oh no…. Can’t have that! who would organise our beer judging, taste our awards and take our pictures?…..