How To Prepare Giant Land Snails

The giant land snail is a delicacy in parts of West Africa, particularly in Nigeria and Ghana. An individual snail can weigh up to 1kg and only the foot is eaten (the part the snails crawl on).

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They need a fair amount of preparation, but because they are a classic ingredient, here is the way to prepare them.

Ingredients:

• 6 giant African land snails (Achatina spp)
• 1 cup Wood ashes or flour mixed with coarse sea salt, or more

Procedure:

• About 30% of the weight of a typical African giant land snail is the shell. To prepare the snail you need to first remove the shell
• Crush with a hammer or a rolling pin. This kills the snail and allows you to peel off the shell, the flesh from within and the viscera
• Take a sharp knife and cut off the foot (this is the fleshy part the snail crawls on)
• Clean the inside of the foot then rub the foot liberally with wood ashes or with flour mixed with coarse sea salt
• Wash under cold running water then repeat the rubbing and washing process until there are no traces of mucous
• At this point, make sure you have removed all traces of intestines then cut off all the black parts and the head
• The snails are now ready for cooking. Typically, they are boiled for several hours to soften then cut up and use as an ingredient in pepper soup or they are smothered in hot sauce, grilled an served

In Africa the viscera and shells are not wasted. They are ground, dried and then mixed at a 1:9 ratio with poultry feed to make snail food.