Whelks

Tried whelks for the first time while in France last week. LOVED them! served with homemade rich mayo & 1/2 a lemon to squeeze on them. Side benefit, the cheap side of me was happy as for ~6-7 Euro, one could get 10-14 of them, that left more Euro for wine & cheese.

I have seen them at HMart, always in the frozen section in a big box.

Are they ever offered fresh in Chicagoland? Or are they like most crab that is already cooked? Any other markets where folks have seen them offered?

There used to be a
Korean place called Kim's Pork Belly on Algonquin that had them on the menu. I'm not sure if Kim's is still in business, but it would be worth looking into. They were served as a spicy stew-like dish.

stevez wrote:There used to be a
Korean place called Kim's Pork Belly on Algonquin that had them on the menu. I'm not sure if Kim's is still in business, but it would be worth looking into. They were served as a spicy stew-like dish.

I've been reading that they normally are served as I described or in a stew like manner.

Some additional reading info on whelks (bulots in French): http://behind-the-french-menu.blogspot. ... urget.html
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I'm finally at a desktop computer where I can actually look for stuff. Here's a picture of the Gol-Baeng-I Mu-Chim (Whelk w/assorted vegetables marinated in spicy sauce) that we had at Kim's Korean Restaurant back in 2007. Like I said earlier, I'm not sure if they are still in business or not.


Picture courtesy of G Wiv

Any decent fishmonger's around NYC–I've seen them in a place in Farmingdale Long Island, fer goshsakes!–you should be able to get fresh scungelli, which are either whelks themselves, or close enough that you couldn't ask for more. I'd suggest looking into that option.

http://www.thedailymeal.com/what-is-scungilli/5914

Enjoy!

Geo

Look at Chicago Food Corp.

Have also seen them in Chinatown. Can't recall where.

If anyone is interested in fresh whelks, please PM. A number of mongers can get them but seeing as the avg public doesn't really seek out whelks, they are hesitant to order. City or north shore.

The Fish Guy was able to get a small order into his store. These whelks came from Gloucester MA. I picked up 5 lbs yesterday. Scrubbed them, put them through 2 water changes, then simmered for ~10 mins, then chilled them.

Whelk + squeeze of lemon juice + touch of rich mayo = Deliciousness