Whelks with Parsley and Garlic Butter

Recipe from the John Dory

Adapted by Florence Fabricant

Updated February 5, 2017

  • Marilynn K. Yee/The New York Times
Media 1 of 1
Total Time
30 minutes
Rating
5(30)
Comments
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Whelks are a type of sea snail, or gastropod, inhabiting the Atlantic Ocean and some of its bays and sounds in North America and Europe. In Europe, especially in England, where people eat lots of shelled creatures that might make Americans shudder, whelks are extremely popular. Whelks range in size from a couple of inches — a dozen or so in a pound — to eight or nine inches long. So-called common whelks are the smallest and the ones to seek at the fish market for their briny-sweet taste and only slight chewiness. Larger varieties, like the channeled whelk or the knobbed whelk, are usually sold as scungilli. —Florence Fabricant

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Ingredients

Yield:4 to 6 servings

  • 1 ounce garlic (about 7 cloves), germ (the green sprout) removed

  • 1 ½ ounces flat-leaf parsley (about ½ bunch), heavy stems removed

  • 8 ounces (2 sticks) soft unsalted butter

  • Salt

  • ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper

  • Pinch cayenne

  • 1 pound whelks (about 12), the smaller the better, scrubbed

Ingredient Substitution Guide

Preparation

  1. Step 1

    In a running food processor, drop garlic through feed tube to mince. Place parsley in container of machine and pulse to mince. Add butter and seasonings, and process until well blended. No bits of butter should show. Set aside.

  2. Step 2

    Bring several quarts of water, heavily salted (like seawater), to a boil. Add whelks and boil 4 minutes. Drain.

  3. Step 3

    Place butter mixture in a metal bowl fitted into a small saucepan of simmering water, or in a double boiler. Whisk until mixture melts, then transfer to a serving dish or small individual bowls. Serve 2 to 3 whelks a person, with melted-butter mixture for dipping.

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5 out of 5
30 user ratings
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Comments

Marc

A whelk is a kind of snail. Google could have told you this. And yeah, this is pretty versatile.

Annie

I don't have the slightest idea what 'whelks' are but this is the exact recipe I use for snails. It's delicious and versatile , so much so that I've even used it to stuff mushrooms, quickly baked in the oven, as a quick and great starter to good steak meal ... as the steak sizzles in a cast iron skillet you can enjoy the mushrooms, or these whelks, or snails, or even clams I would think.

Dan Frank

On occasion, I enjoy this dish. However it is time-consuming and labor intensive to shell the whelks—-and sometimes even find them at the market…so I cheat: A can of Lamonica Fine Foods Chopped Scungilli is perfect…all of their Scungilli is sourced from Delaware Bay..a tasty treat with your recipe!

AnneH

This is a great recipe, but rather decadent on the butter and garlic. Also, one can simply melt the butter and garlic in a small saucepan; I used black pepper and Espelette pepper and skipped the parsley. Remember to snip off the hard edge of the whelk before eating. Very French bistrot food!

Annie

I don't have the slightest idea what 'whelks' are but this is the exact recipe I use for snails. It's delicious and versatile , so much so that I've even used it to stuff mushrooms, quickly baked in the oven, as a quick and great starter to good steak meal ... as the steak sizzles in a cast iron skillet you can enjoy the mushrooms, or these whelks, or snails, or even clams I would think.

Marc

A whelk is a kind of snail. Google could have told you this. And yeah, this is pretty versatile.

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Credits

Adapted from the John Dory

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