Stalking The Elusive Grilled Snail Recipes

HOW TO GRILL THE PERFECT WHOLE FISH

Steps:

• A beach. A campfire. A glistening fish-minutes out of the water-cooked on a stick or grate over blazing coals. It's a scene that's almost as old as mankind itself and as enjoyable as perfect beach weather. And it serves to remind us that fish never tastes better than when cooked over open fire.That's the good news. The bad news is that most of us either burn fish to a crisp, serve it raw in the center, or leave half the fish sticking to the grate of the grill.Fortunately, there are three methods for grilling a perfect whole fish every time. But before you even start your fire, choose the right kind of fish for grilling whole. Flat fish, like snappers, pompano, black bass, sole, trout, porgies, and grunts are ideal for grilling whole. You can also grill large whole fish, like salmon, using the indirect method.The fish should be impeccably fresh. The eyes should be shiny and clear the gills should be red and the fish should be utterly free of a fish smell. Ask your fishmonger to gut and scale the fish before you take it home.Make 3 or 4 deep diagonal slashes in each side of the fish to the bone. This allows the marinade and basting mixture to penetrate the flesh and speeds up the cooking time.You may want to invest in a fish grilling basket. These hinged, fish-shaped devices keep the fish off the grate (where it can stick), enabling you to turn the fish without having it slide off a spatula. Essential? Of course not. But fish baskets can make the process a whole lot easier.The Medium Flame Method1. Preheat the grill to medium.2. Generously oil the grate or hinged fish grilling basket. Brush both sides of the fish with oil or melted butter. Place the fish on the hot grate directly over the heat and grill until the skin is dark and crisp and the flesh is cooked through to the bone, 6 to 15 minutes per side, depending on the size of the fish. Turn the fish, using a long spatula or by inverting the basket, and cook the other side the same way.3. To test for doneness, press the fish with your finger. When properly cooked, the area around where you pressed will break into firm flakes. It should pull away easily from the bones.4. Use a long crook-handled spatula to gently slide the fish off the grate (or remove the basket from the grate) and onto a platter.The Indirect MethodThis method is particularly well suited to large fish, like whole salmon.1. Set up the grill for indirect cooking and preheat to medium. You don't really need a drip pan because fish is so lean, but if you wish, set one in place.2. Generously oil the grate or hinged fish grilling basket and brush the fish on both sides with oil or melted butter. Place the fish in the center of the grate, away from the heat, cover, and grill until cooked through, 30 to 60 minutes (sometimes more), depending on the size of the fish.3. Follow steps 3 and 4 in The Medium Flame Method for testing for doneness and removing the fish from the grate.The Banana Leaf MethodThis method from Southeast Asia is the easiest way to grill a 1- to 2-pound whole fish. A fresh or frozen banana leaf will keep the fish from drying out. It can be purchased at an Asian or Hispanic market. The banana leaf should be cut into a rectangle a little larger than the size of the fish you will be grilling. In a pinch, you can make a high-tech banana leaf by cutting 4 to 6 sheets of aluminum foil slightly larger than the fish and stacking them in layers.1. Preheat the grill to high.2. Generously oil the grate. Brush both sides of the fish with oil or melted butter. Place the fish on the hot grate directly over the heat and grill until the skin is dark and crisp, 6 to 12 minutes, depending on the size of the fish.3. Place the banana leaf on the grate next to the fish and invert the fish onto it. Cook until the fish is cooked through to the bone, 6 to 12 minutes, depending on the size of the fish.4. Follow steps 3 and 4 in The Medium Flame Method for testing the fish for doneness and removing it from the grate. Discard the banana leaf before serving.

STALKING THE ELUSIVE GRILLED SNAIL

Steps:

• Barbecue lends itself to obsession. If you're afflicted with an obsessive personality like me and you start to delve into the world of barbecue, you may soon find all your spare time literally going up in smoke. The truth is well known to the legions of barbecue "widows" who have lost their husbands to barbecue contests and smoke fests. This truth became apparent during a 10-day swing through the south of France to study the elusive art of French grilling.Barbara (my wife) and I had been on the road for about a week, and this being Sunday, it was to be our first night "off" (without any special dining plans). Then I made the fatal mistake of calling French culinary authority Patricia Wells, who told me about grilled snails.Grilled snails are the specialty of a restaurant called L'Hostal in the hamlet of Castellnou near Perpignan in southwestern France. The problem was that we were in Arles (the Provençal town immortalized by Van Gogh), some 400 miles away.A call to the restaurant confirmed that yes, they had grilled snails. Yes, I could order them for this evening. No, the restaurant would not be open Monday or Tuesday. Yes, it was too bad we were leaving France on Wednesday. Yes, if we wanted grilled snails, we'd have to eat them that night.I did some quick calculations. If we left our hotel in 10 minutes and drove a hundred miles an hour, we could be in Castellnou by sundown. I turned to Barbara and said, "I've just found a place that serves grilled snails.""Great," she said. "Let's go.""There's only one problem," I said. "The restaurant is near the Spanish border."Luckily, when it comes to barbecue, my wife is nearly as obsessive as I am.True to my calculations, we arrived in Castellnou four hours later, having averaged a hundred miles an hour on the autoroute. The last six miles took us up a steep, winding road to a perfectly restored medieval citadel. We found L'Hostal without much trouble (it being the only restaurant in town). Still vibrating from the drive, we took our seats on a cliffside terrace with a dizzying, dazzling view of the Roussillon Valley.In the summer, L'Hostal does its grilling in a huge outdoor fireplace. In the winter, the operations are moved to the manorial hearth in the low-ceilinged dining room. The favored fuel here is vine trimmings, branches for delicate fare, like snails, vine stalks and roots for large cuts of meat. When we arrived sure enough, and sure enough, four dozen tiny snails were sizzling away on a circular wire grill over blazing vine trimmings.With tolls, gas, and a place to stay for the evening, the trip to Castellnou cost $400. Which makes this one of the most expensive dishes of escargots I've ever eaten. It was worth the drive-and the money-for I've never seen grilled escargot anywhere else.In one sense, neither you nor I will ever be able to reproduce this recipe at home. We probably can't get the tiny, succulent escargots known locally as petits gris ("little grays"). We certainly can't buy them live or feed them on fresh thyme in special cages in our basements. We can't buy snail grills, although a vegetable grate or round cake rack perched on a couple of bricks will work in a pinch.Ultimately, we will never be able to duplicate the texture and flavor of L'Hostal's grilled snails: the former being soft, moist, even a little "drooly" (baveuse in French), the latter being pungent, salty, aromatic, with overtones of thyme and even curry. But I love a challenge. So, although we may not be able to duplicate the dish, I've come up with a recipe for highly delicious grilled snails inspired by L'Hostal's preparation (see the facing page). As for the grill, well, Barbara is still wondering what happened to our cake rack.

LARDING THE BEEF

Steps:

• Don't despair if you don't have a larding iron. A sharpening steel works just as well. Wash and wipe the steel to remove any metal fillings. Slowly insert the slender end of the steel into one end of the roast and push it through to the other side. Pull it out, leaving a tunnel in the meat. Gently worm the vegetable slivers, cheese, and ham into the tunnel. With shorter vegetables, like pepper strips, you'll have to insert from both ends. Freezing the ham and cheese first makes them easier to insert.

BLACK GOLD

Steps:

• Back in the nineteenth century, when you could buy a black truffle without having to take out a second mortgage, the French would cook truffles in the coals. Should you win the lottery, this is a wonderfully extravagant way to enjoy the odoriferous black fungus. You'd need 15 to 20 minutes' cooking time for a 2-inch truffle.

PORK THE ITALIAN WAY

Steps:

• Here's how Luccia D'Ambrosio explains the preparation of her rosemary-roasted pork loin, which is popular throughout Tuscany and Umbria."Every Friday, Aiello buys three whole young pigs, each weighing sixty pounds, which he bones through the belly, using a razor-sharp knife. It's my job to prepare the spice mix, a fragrant paste of garlic, salt, pepper, and fresh rosemary, which I pound in a mortar with a pestle. I stuff the cavity of the pig with this mixture, tucking it into all the nooks and crannies, then sew the pig up with a giant needle and string. The meat marinates overnight with the herb mixture-the salt both flavors and cures the meat."The next day, Aiello builds a fire of Tuscan oak and lets it die down to glowing red coals. The pigs are roasted for three to four hours, and when they're finished, they're tender enough to cut with a fork."