Eat Invasive Species: Mysterysnail Fettuccine

Ingredients:
50 LIVE Chinese Mysterysnails, identification and collection is described at invasivore.org
4 tablespoons butter
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 package (10 oz) fettuccine noodles

Preparing Snails for Cooking

Place LIVE Mysterysnails in a bucket of clean water for 24-48 hours without food to purge their tiny guts. Bring a pot of water to a rolling boil, add snails, and boil for 15 minutes. Next, drain the snails and allow them to cool. Use a knife to pry the "trap door" of the shell open and, with a tight grasp on the trap door, pull the snail out of its shell. Separate the foot of the snail (the dark meaty part that sticks out of the shell when the snail is crawling around- highlighted in the myserysnail picture ) from the trap door and the rest of the snail guts. The foot is edible; dispose of the rest of the snail.


Directions:
Cook noodles in a large pot of boiling water according to package directions
While pasta boils, melt butter in a pan over medium heat then add snails and minced garlic. Stir often for 15 minutes (Remember: snails MUST be cooked thoroughly before human consumption!)
Drain pasta and toss with snail-butter-garlic sauce