_Stewed._--Cut the meat in square pieces, about two inches in size. Have in a stewpan, and on a good fire, a piece of butter the size of a duck's egg; when melted, sprinkle in, little by little, a tablespoonful of flour, stirring the while with a wooden spoon; when getting rather thick, add two ounces of bacon cut in dice, also half a pint of claret wine, same of warm water, salt, pepper, a pinch of allspice, two shallots chopped fine, or two green onions, four or five mushrooms, two cloves of garlic, and six onions; then lay the meat on the whole, and boil gently till cooked. Dish the meat, boil the sauce till of a brownish color, skim off the fat if there is too much of it, take out the cloves of garlic, turn the sauce on the meat, and serve hot.
_With Truffles or Mushrooms._--Any part of venison, baked or roasted, may be served with a garniture of mushrooms, or one of truffles.
_Cold._--When you have some left for the next day, warm it before serving it, if from a stew; but if from a roasted haunch, cut in slices and serve cold with a _vinaigrette_.
A good many are now imported from Europe.
_How to clean and prepare._--Throw them in boiling water, in which you have put some wood-ashes; leave them in till they have thrown their cover wide open, which will take about fifteen minutes; then take them off, pull them out of the shell by means of a fork, place them in lukewarm water, and leave two hours; next, rub them in your hands, and then soak in cold water; rub them again in your hands in cold water, two or three times, changing the water each time, so as to take away most of their sliminess. Wash the shells in lukewarm water with a scrubbing-brush, and drain them when clean.
_Broiled._--Knead together and make a paste of a sufficient quantity of butter, parsley chopped fine, salt, pepper, and grated nutmeg; say about two ounces of butter, a tablespoonful of parsley, a saltspoonful of salt, a pinch of pepper, and the same of nutmeg (for two dozen). Put a piece of the above paste, the size of a kidney bean, in each shell, then the snails, and at the top again the same quantity of paste; lay them one by one close together, in a crockery or cast-iron kettle, the mouth of the snails up, and not one upon another; cover the kettle well; set it on a moderate fire, or in a moderately heated oven, and leave thus till cooked, which is easily seen by the parsley beginning to turn black, or as if fried. Lay them on a dish in the same order, and if there is any gravy in the kettle, put a part of it in each shell, and serve hot.