Escargots de Bourgogne
Tender snails nestled in garlic-herb butter and baked until golden—an elegant French classic that looks restaurant-worthy but is surprisingly simple. Serve with crusty bread to soak up every drop of the fragrant, rich sauce.
- Total time
- 35 min
- Servings
- 2
- Calories
- 285
- Protein
- 12g
Ingredients
- 12 count canned snails in brine, drained and rinsed
- 12 count snail shells (escargot shells), cleaned
- 4 oz unsalted butter, softened
- 4 clove garlic cloves, minced
- 2 tbsp fresh parsley, finely chopped
- ½ medium shallot, minced
- 1 pinch salt and pepper
- 1 tbsp dry white wine or vermouth
Instructions
- 1
Preheat the oven to 400°F and wait until the indicator light or beep tells you it has finished heating, about 10 minutes.
- 2
Pat the drained snails dry with paper towels by pressing gently against each one; set them aside in a small bowl.
- 3
Mince the garlic cloves until the pieces are smaller than a grain of rice—about the size of pencil-tip dots—and place in a separate small bowl.
- 4
Mince the shallot by first cutting it lengthwise from root to tip into thin slabs, then stacking the slabs and cutting them crosswise into tiny 1/8-inch pieces; add to the garlic bowl.
- 5
Chop the fresh parsley into pieces about the size of small peas, then chop again until the pieces are much finer; you should have roughly 2 tablespoons of bright green flakes.
- 6
Cut the softened butter into 4 equal pieces and place them in a medium mixing bowl; let sit at room temperature so it stays soft enough to stir.
- 7
Add the minced garlic, minced shallot, chopped parsley, 1 tablespoon of white wine, and a small pinch each of salt and pepper to the butter.
- 8
Stir with a fork, pressing and mixing until all the ingredients are evenly distributed throughout the butter and the mixture looks uniform in color, about 2 minutes.
- 9
Place a snail shell with the wider opening facing up on a small baking sheet or escargot dish; repeat with all 12 shells, spacing them about 1 inch apart.
- 10
Place one snail into the opening of each shell, pushing it gently into the shell with a small spoon or your fingers until it is nestled inside.
- 11
Spoon about 1 teaspoon of the garlic-herb butter into the opening of each snail-filled shell, filling it so the butter covers the snail completely and just starts to spill over the lip.
- 12
Slide the baking sheet or escargot dish into the preheated oven on the center rack and bake until the butter is bubbling vigorously around the edges and smells intensely fragrant, about 12 to 15 minutes.
- 13
Remove the baking sheet from the oven using oven mitts; the shells will be very hot, so place it on a heat-safe surface away from the edge of the counter.
- 14
Let the escargots rest on the baking sheet for 2 minutes so the butter cools slightly and sets around each snail, then carefully transfer to serving plates.
Tools you’ll need
- oven
- small mixing bowl
- fork
- small spoon or wooden spoon
- baking sheet or escargot dish
- oven mitts
- small paper towels
- cutting board
- sharp chef's knife
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