In this short article, we will answer the question, “Can you eat slugs in the UK?.” We will further consider some questions about what slugs are, how to prepare slugs and eat them, the safety of eating slugs, their health benefits, and tips to ensure the safe eating of slugs.
Can you eat slugs uk?
Yes, you can eat slugs in the UK. You can eat a slug in the UK as it is not technically an insect. They are edible and can be an important source of nutrients. However, make sure you cook them thoroughly before eating.
What are slugs?
Slugs are Gastropod molluscs with a shell that has been reduced to an inner plate or a series of granules or has completely disappeared. Slugs are commonly used to refer to terrestrial snails.
The Pulmonata subclass of slugs has slimy, soft bodies and is limited to moist, land-based environments, making them watery species. Gastropods belonging to the Opisthobranchia subclass of marine gastropods are known as sea slugs.
How to prepare slugs?
It is very important to properly prepare slugs if you are considering them as a source of food to eat. These organisms can carry dangerous parasites by their wayward feeding lifestyle, so prepare them adequately to enjoy your meat toxin free.
Purging
Purging is an important step to take when preparing slugs before cooking, so as to remove the entrails, just like when you gut a fish and remove the nasties before eating.
Purging takes place when you place a slug in a box with some good and healthy vegetables for a week or to allow any food that the slug or snail has been eating to pass naturally. This will purge any potential poisons that the animal has consumed before from their system.
When this is done, it is also important that you cook them in distilled vinegar and water for some time to eliminate any slim that may not be appetising to consume. Then they are ready to be cooked in any recipe of your choice.
Gutting
Since purging the slugs can be quite a procedure to follow, you can still gut your slugs and have them on the same day for your meals.
To gut them, kill a slug by cutting off the head first, then simply grasp the body and pull downwards, which allows the entrails of the animal to spill out. Alternatively, you might cut open the body of the slug and remove the whole nasty thing.
This will cause the slug to shrink, but it is still great for chopping into chunks, and they are ready to be cooked and enjoyed anyway.
How to eat slugs?
When slugs are prepared, they are easy to cook and enjoy in any way you prefer. Add it to your stew or even roast it over an open flame and enjoy it.
If you have some old breadcrumbs and an egg, you can coat the slugs in them for some delicious deep-fried slugs.
Is it safe to eat slugs?
The safety of eating slugs is not automatic, as you may observe with other foods. Eating slugs can only be safe if they are thoroughly cooked. Raw slugs must never be consumed as the parasite rat lungworm is found in slugs.
The slug sometimes consumes infected rodents’ faeces, and if you eat a raw slug, the parasites will die and can cause a highly lethal reaction known as “Eosinophilic meningitis.”
What are the health benefits of eating slugs?
There are few studies on the nutritional and health benefits of slugs. However, those of snails are available and they are members of the same family, which makes them similar in nutrients and benefits reaped from their consumption.
Proteins for bodybuilding.
Terrestrial slugs like snails have a protein composition that is comparable to that of popular meat, although they have a far lower fat content.
The great protein profile of the molluscs is essential for growth and development in the body. The low fat profile also reduces the risk of weight gain and related diseases.
Vitamins and minerals
They are also high in iron, calcium, vitamin A, and a variety of other minerals. Vitamin A aids the eyes and helps build the immune system to battle diseases.
It also promotes the growth of cells in your body. Calcium in the flesh keeps your bones strong and reduces your risk of developing bone-related issues like osteoporosis.
Iron is also available to assist red blood cells in transporting oxygen to all other parts of your body.
What are the tips to consider when eating slugs?
It is very important to eat slugs in a safe way to prevent any health complications. These few guidelines are important to ensure your safety while eating slugs.
- Slugs are edible and can be delicious to consume, but most importantly, you prepare them first by purging or gutting them.
- Also, never eat them raw; make sure they are thoroughly cooked before consuming them. Eating them raw means you risk eating something that has a very high potential of infecting you due to the slugs’ ways of life.
Conclusion
In this short article, we have answered the question, “Can you eat slugs in the UK?.” We have further considered some questions about what slugs are, how to prepare slugs and eat them, the safety of eating slugs, their health benefits, and tips to ensure the safe eating of slugs.
