Are slugs edible?

635144 Are slugs edible? Thu Jul 09 03:39:08 -0700 2009 62 27 General Chowhounding Topics 0 4842222 They can get pretty amazingly large in the Northwest. Escargots sans cloche anyone? (Pardon my Franglish). Thu Jul 09 03:39:09 -0700 2009 13619 Sharuf 1 4842228 We are having record rainfall in Maine and slugs are decimating our garden. We hand pick hundreds every day. I've thought of cooking them battered deep fried, but don't know if they are edible. If the birds don't eat them, what does that say? Maine escargot??? Thanks for the post, I'm eager to know the answer. Thu Jul 09 03:49:28 -0700 2009 4842222 93538 Passadumkeg 2 4842928 You said some of your slugs were 2-3 inches long and we have those sizes in British Columbia. The get to over a half inch in diameter. I would sure like to know if these can be as tasty as escargot. I get tired of eating trout, salmon, oysters and fresh seafood all the time... Thu Jul 09 08:31:58 -0700 2009 4842228 137946 Scargod 3 4848125 Oh Scargod, just shoot me already! For what it's worth, we had a small backyard flocks of hens for several years. They always pecked a few leaves off the basil and other herbs as they walked by on their daily backyard outing, and ate some caterpillars and other bugs we threw them. I gave one of them a slug once. She looked at it for a long time, pecked at it a couple of times, thought about it, and then wiped her beak on the grass. That was good enough testimonial for me. Fri Jul 10 19:14:32 -0700 2009 4842928 105625 EWSflash 4 4889260 """[the hen] looked at [the slug] for a long time, pecked at it a couple of times, thought about it, and then wiped her beak on the grass."""" LOVE it! {;^D. Sat Jul 25 05:24:44 -0700 2009 4848125 105717 alkapal 3 4849043 Here is a pic of a slug from BC, Canada. About the size of a medium cigar if straight. Sat Jul 11 09:36:53 -0700 2009 4842928 137946 Scargod 4 4867684 uhhh . . . I think that qualifies as a snail (not a slug) Fri Jul 17 11:07:21 -0700 2009 4849043 293998 vday 5 4868048 Yea, I know, it's me, not a slug. I DID have a post with picture posted here. The first try did not upload the picture. ANother post had the picture; now it's gone. I do not know what the hell is going on with Chowhound. Uploading pictures is so quirky. Perhaps it was censored since it was a naked snail? Fri Jul 17 13:22:52 -0700 2009 4867684 137946 Scargod 6 4868354 Thanks Scargod . . . Chowhound is obviously trying to stamp out naked mollusk photos . . . BTW, snails and slugs are surprisingly far apart on the evolutionary tree . . . they diverge after the "Order" classification - presumably they can't interbreed (ooops, better stop or I'll be censored as well!) Fri Jul 17 15:11:50 -0700 2009 4868048 293998 vday 1 4842243 And so early in the morning too.... anyway, here's a page from a Q & A from the Carnegie Museum of Natural History which might answer your question. Seems that some are, indeed, edible.... perish the thought. (O_O) http://www.carnegiemnh.org/mollusks/iaq.htm Thu Jul 09 04:05:27 -0700 2009 4842222 75332 Gio 2 4842322 Thanks, but what happens when you salt them? Thu Jul 09 05:06:17 -0700 2009 4842243 93538 Passadumkeg 2 4844069 Hmmm? Seems like with all the peeling, slitting and cutting there wouldn't be much left anyway. Thu Jul 09 13:57:15 -0700 2009 4842243 233294 cuccubear 1 4842338 My guess is if they were, they'd be on a LOT of restaurant menus. I've never seen them. But if someone wants to try them, let us know how it goes. Oh, and I suspect you need to "cleanse" them before eating, just as you do with snails. You put them in a dishpan with a box of cornmeal or two in the bottom, cover with a screen and a brick and let them gorge for a few days. By then, they should have excreted all of the pesticides and bad stuff they've eaten. But I don't know if they're toxic all on their own. Let us know! Thu Jul 09 05:17:56 -0700 2009 4842222 112096 Caroline1 2 4851883 Grubs are edible but I don't see them on any menus. Just not something that would appeal to the western palate er... mind. Market it well and you never know Sun Jul 12 16:19:17 -0700 2009 4842338 89493 scubadoo97 1 4843279 Gross-out warning. I had wondered the same. At my local golf course in Cheshire UK if you were out while the dew was still on the ground there were these large black and brown slugs, up to about 8 inches in length. So while we were waiting on the par three 11th tee we used to have a competition. If you tapped the slugs they crunch up into something not much smaller than a golf ball. The competition was to see who could hit one the furthest. This required a delicate touch because if you used too much oomph they would burst. An eight iron was the best club, and you should avoid a follow through. Thu Jul 09 10:07:25 -0700 2009 4842222 154622 Paulustrious 2 4843477 And here I thought "Slugger" was a nickname reserved for base ball players. Live and learn. Thu Jul 09 11:09:43 -0700 2009 4843279 112096 Caroline1 2 4847683 OMG add some beverages at the 19th hole and you're having yourself a good old time! LOL Fri Jul 10 15:51:26 -0700 2009 4843279 293829 mollygirl 1 4843775 As part of a nature class my son got a chance to taste a slug's slime (organically fed, of course). If I recall correctly it has a numbing effect. My dog sampled a couple of slugs when he was puppy, but pays no attention to them now. Thu Jul 09 12:33:14 -0700 2009 4842222 12139 paulj 1 4844666 Homeless snails...marinated in beer? Thu Jul 09 17:28:46 -0700 2009 4842222 169792 lgss 2 4844714 Sounds like a job for the Salvation Army to me. Thu Jul 09 17:43:26 -0700 2009 4844666 137755 Sal Vanilla 2 4844746 Not even good for the compost bin. Beer is my designated slug destroyer. They go with a silly smile on their slimy faces. Thu Jul 09 17:51:32 -0700 2009 4844666 75332 Gio 1 4846200 There was an episode on Gordon Ramsey's The F-Word where he, and his children, collected snails from his yard, fed them to get them good and big and then he cleansed them, I think by not feeding them for a couple days but not too sure. After that he cooked them up in a skillet and they all sat down and ate them! He said they were as good, if not better, than what you would get in a restaurant. So it can be done, if you know what you are doing, that is! Fri Jul 10 08:55:57 -0700 2009 4842222 80937 danhole 2 4846311 Our family do it here. Collect them when it's raining. Put them on a bed of sawdust for two days. Then cook them. Fri Jul 10 09:24:17 -0700 2009 4846200 154622 Paulustrious 3 4846462 And you are in Toronto? What color and size are they or does it matter? Those we have in BC are brown and grey as I recall. I am looking for my pics of them. Kinda reminded me of cigar butts when they drew up. Fri Jul 10 09:57:38 -0700 2009 4846311 137946 Scargod 4 4846653 Next time it's raining, or just rained, check out if any local fields have people bent over looking for something. The ones we get here are small. I think most / all of native American land snails are fairly small. The large ones are invasive European 'pests'. AFAIK no snails are poisonous. Anyway, We have survived this particular variety on a few occasions. Forget your French "au beurre" snail dish. These you serve a hundred at a time. The specimen below is by far the most common here in Toronto. I just removed it from my Irises. Fri Jul 10 10:41:29 -0700 2009 4846462 154622 Paulustrious 3 4846544 More info please. Scargod may be visiting soon and I want to try them out, I mean serve them to him as a special treat! Fri Jul 10 10:15:16 -0700 2009 4846311 93538 Passadumkeg 4 4846603 Let me know if you want any of the following recipes: Stir fried slugs in hot chile ginger - orange glaze White wine braised slug served on arugula Creamed slug and spinach Slug mole Slug ceviche Sliced slug tempura Slug & Spam fried rice Grilled teriyaki slugs Fri Jul 10 10:26:22 -0700 2009 4846544 36661 Sam Fujisaka 5 4846614 How about a Slug Diablo recipe? It fits and I'll tell him it's an aphrodesiac! Fri Jul 10 10:29:13 -0700 2009 4846603 93538 Passadumkeg 5 4846640 Oh pahleeezzz... Presumably you Do know about the possibility of meningitis from eating those slimy creatures? Although I did read, in amazment, that the slime can be reduced by a putting the live slugs in a 50/50 solution of water and vinegar. The Dr. Pearce I referenced above says, "The solution is fatal to the slugs in a few minutes, and in the process, they exude most of their slime. Also, when you are boiling them, change the water after a minute or two to remove further slime." Dr. Pearce also points out that slugs generate more slime than snails, perhaps as a defensive measure since they don't have shells. This is really TMI..... Fri Jul 10 10:37:34 -0700 2009 4846603 75332 Gio 6 4846654 Just for good measure here's the site where I found that bit about meningitis: http://www.news24.com/News24/World/News/0,,2-10-1462_1432489,00.html Fri Jul 10 10:41:33 -0700 2009 4846640 75332 Gio 7 4846669 My googling says that it is only raw slugs that cause Meningitis. So the cerviche might be a no-no. The tempura option seems the safest. I think hot smoked would be good. Try this ... http://rickshawunschooling.blogspot.com/2007/10/wild-food-killing-our-own-meat.html Fri Jul 10 10:47:21 -0700 2009 4846654 154622 Paulustrious 8 4846792 I read that the good Dr. did cooked them, I didn't need to see the pictures, though. Thanks for THAT particular treat. Still does'nt convince me. Fri Jul 10 11:21:36 -0700 2009 4846669 75332 Gio 6 4846675 Joeeeee!!! The Oz guy ate the slugs RAW and got the parasite Angiostrongylus cantonensis. The same can happen from raw or undercooked molluscs or crustaceans, or contaminated vegetables or salad: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/3204299.stm I would never eat a RAW slug! Fri Jul 10 10:48:24 -0700 2009 4846640 36661 Sam Fujisaka 7 4846694 Just the same, as I patrol my garden in search of those disgusting slime machines, I'll say a slient prayer for you as you dine on your Slug & Spam fried rice. Ewwwww..... just the thought makes me shudder. Fri Jul 10 10:54:08 -0700 2009 4846675 75332 Gio 8 4847148 [Yeah, me too.... but don't tell keg and scar. I'm waiting for keg to ask for a recipe so I can make one up and see if they try it out]. Fri Jul 10 12:52:03 -0700 2009 4846694 36661 Sam Fujisaka 9 4847173 Sammy Fubar, I got a great slug sushi recipe for you, look at home ooking. Fri Jul 10 12:57:36 -0700 2009 4847148 93538 Passadumkeg 10 4889266 passa, "home ooking" seems an apt freudian typo-slip when discussing the eating of slugs! Sat Jul 25 05:29:34 -0700 2009 4847173 105717 alkapal 9 4848100 Oh, that's better. For a minute there I thought I lost you..... Although, I think they'd try anything. Especially after that excursion in the southwest. Fri Jul 10 18:55:32 -0700 2009 4847148 75332 Gio 7 4847340 Then why are you trying to pawn off a recipe for "Slug ceviche" on me? Huh, huh? I guess if slugs eat each other I should be OK. Anyway, my mouth is watering over the prospects of a big mess of slugs and panchetta. God of Scargos Fri Jul 10 13:51:19 -0700 2009 4846675 137946 Scargod 1 4847186 Here is a link to that recipe that Ramsay used for his garden snails. It also has a video attached.: http://gordonramsaysrecipes.com/03/cooking-snails-from-the-garden/ Looked pretty tasty! Fri Jul 10 13:00:58 -0700 2009 4842222 80937 danhole 2 4849159 I saw the video several months back and being an escargot fan did a little looking around for more info. What I found out was those snails like the ones in the Ramsay video can be found in California where a long time ago they had escaped from someone who imported them. They naturalized and took off. I also read that you can't find them on the east coast because conditions for their survival are not right here. Boy was I bummed. I had visions of satisfying my cravings on the cheap and unloading cleaned snails on local restaurants.... Sat Jul 11 10:43:19 -0700 2009 4847186 160677 morwen 3 4849892 My first domicile in California was a cute guest house in someone's back yard in Redwood City. It came complete with a pet duck, a drake named Zelda (go figure), who spent equal time terrorizing our cats and eating the snails off the rosebushes etcetera. We'd give him some duck chow or whatever that was every day, but he must have gone through a bucket of snails after any given rain. Had I but known that those little brown guys were the edible kind Zelda might have had to stick with the duck chow... Sat Jul 11 17:20:54 -0700 2009 4849159 11478 Will Owen 4 4867644 So they have to be the brown ones, like were in the video? How do I find out if the ones we have here are edible or not? Not that it has rained at ALL around here, but when it does I'd like to know. This may be a really stupid question, but aren't slugs just snails without shells? If so how could you tell if they were edible. Don't mind snails so much, but slugs are very nasty looking. Fri Jul 17 10:51:10 -0700 2009 4849892 80937 danhole 3 4878241 if your vision leads to opening an escargot farm, they are apparently low maintenance, quite lucrative and decently profitable...who knew...good value as a response to 'so, what do you do? Tue Jul 21 13:51:01 -0700 2009 4849159 1094054 foodlvrzen 4 4883492 As in "what am I doing now?" I run a B&B, have a glass carving business, and am converting our 2 acres into garden beds and orchard with a flock of laying hens on the horizon. I have looked into snail farming and I do think it could be easily done, but before I add that to the list I need to do research on the restaurants in at least a 30 mile radius to see if I could really unload the little buggers on a regular basis. Fortunately we are close to Blacksburg and Roanoke with some fine upscale establishments, wineries with restaurants, and lots of good quirky smaller operations that may have an interest. But until I have the other projects well in hand the snails will have to wait. Thu Jul 23 06:26:58 -0700 2009 4878241 160677 morwen 5 4884210 funny :-) little buggers; if you do, maybe include the North Carolina cities near you, and even though D.C. is 4 hours, there's so many restaurants it would be worth it once a week....but wow, you're a busy one! sidenote, have always liked the 'legend of Roanoke' Thu Jul 23 10:36:11 -0700 2009 4883492 1094054 foodlvrzen 6 4884298 The Legend of Roanoke, is about Roanoke Island on the other side of the state. I'm near the city of Roanoke in southwest VA. Confusing, I know.... But Charlotte, Durham/Raleigh/Triangle, and Asheville are all within 3 hours of here. D.C. is 4 1/2, and I really, really hate driving anywhere near it, let alone into it. Where I live isn't the middle of nowhere, but you can see it from here. Thu Jul 23 11:04:02 -0700 2009 4884210 160677 morwen 7 4884390 at least there's 'only two' there in VA, otherwise could be really really fun! ...*crosses eyes*...whew well there you are, a great potential client target base; I definitely feel you, about driving near DC or any large city ugh, wish they would just hurry along with the affordable air hovercars already, I mean star trek was in the 60s! and the jetsons! and almost 50 years later we're STILL puttering along on 4 wheels Thu Jul 23 11:31:11 -0700 2009 4884298 1094054 foodlvrzen 1 4847530 On TV a couple of weeks back: http://www.channel4.com/food/recipes/chefs/hugh-fearnley-whittingstall/gill-s-slug-satay-recipe_p_1.html Fri Jul 10 14:52:15 -0700 2009 4842222 154102 Harters 2 4850394 And here's the video of the Slug ep .... (click Browse videos and look for "Slug special") http://www.channel4.com/services/videoplayer/popup.jsp?name=RC_ep3_lineup Gross dude ... Sat Jul 11 22:20:53 -0700 2009 4847530 155106 Tsar_Pushka 1 4867209 Living on a New Jersey barrier island, we have hundreds of seagulls around. They will eat almost anything organic, but they won't touch a slug. Does this tell you something? Fri Jul 17 08:40:29 -0700 2009 4842222 189169 ChrisOC 1 4873632 Anyone see the sponsored link on the right... "Sluggo Kills Snails", a little too coincidental? Mon Jul 20 07:43:53 -0700 2009 4842222 233294 cuccubear 2 4874954 No coincidence at all. The ads cued by the content (i.e. word recgnition). Mon Jul 20 13:56:26 -0700 2009 4873632 10074 Caitlin McGrath 3 4877024 Understood. I can see it now... "I'll have the slug chowder, please. Hold the sluggo." Tue Jul 21 08:20:52 -0700 2009 4874954 233294 cuccubear 1 4883215 EWWWWWWWWW! Thu Jul 23 03:05:52 -0700 2009 4842222 1093892 acanthus17 1 4889268 Erm, too much information for me. I *love* escargot but I think that slugs would be just too far to go for me... Sat Jul 25 05:31:22 -0700 2009 4842222 270888 shaogo 2 4889509 Perhaps you would prefer lingots? Sat Jul 25 08:05:37 -0700 2009 4889268 154622 Paulustrious 3 4889607 I have a cook book from West Africa which refers to slugs and grubs (an outstanding protein source) as "landprawns." Considering that the slimey buggers have been feasting on all of our organic home grown veggies all summer, they are probably pretty healthy and taste like carrots, basil and broccoli, you know like those Iberico Spanish pigs who only eat acorns and are so prized and delicious. ......... You all taste the little slime factorys first and report back ! Sat Jul 25 08:59:23 -0700 2009 4889509 17282 missclaudy 4 4890216 *landprawns* oh, why didn't *i* think of that?!?!? brilliant marketing! ;-). <made me think of "land shark" http://www.spike.com/video/saturday-night-live/2802070 -- "cleverest species of them all"> i think it is pretty important that the chickens won't even eat the slimey buggers! someone said their kid tried the slime and it has a numbing effect? i wonder what the szechuan slugs do to you, then? Sat Jul 25 14:53:31 -0700 2009 4889607 105717 alkapal 5 4949124 Here's one of them "land prawns", as you call them. It is on a regular, 20 pound bottle of propane, for perspective. Almost enough for a meal, you think? Solid black ones are somewhat smaller. Location: 50 miles up from Vancouver, o the Sunshine Coast. Sat Aug 15 13:09:35 -0700 2009 4890216 137946 Scargod 6 4950113 holy moly, does that thing have its own car? Sun Aug 16 02:29:35 -0700 2009 4949124 105717 alkapal 1 4892375 I'd rather eat slugs than tilapia. Sun Jul 26 17:03:29 -0700 2009 4842222 17282 missclaudy 2 4893129 i'm with you on the anti-lapia bandwagon! to me, tilapia tastes like the bottom of a slimy pond in the summertime. <ok, i'm just imagining here...> Mon Jul 27 03:51:19 -0700 2009 4892375 105717 alkapal