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A small bowl of periwinkles.

How to Cook Winkles

Winkles, also called periwinkles, are small edible sea snails. Clean and soak them, boil them briefly in salted water and serve with malt vinegar, bread and butter or garlic mayonnaise.
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Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 4 minutes
Soaking Time 40 minutes
Total Time 54 minutes
Servings: 2 appetizer servings
Course: Appetizer
Cuisine: British
Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients
 

  • 30 live common edible winkles
For Rinsing and Soaking
  • Cold water
  • Fine sea salt
To Serve (All Optional)
  • Crusty bread and butter
  • Garlic mayonnaise
  • Malt vinegar

Equipment

  • Winkle picks or pins
  • Saucepan
  • Colander

Method
 

  1. Check the winkles and discard any with cracked shells, an unpleasant smell or no response when touched. Rinse them thoroughly in several changes of cold water.
  2. Cover the winkles with fresh cold water and soak for 10 minutes. Drain.
  3. Cover them with cold salted water and soak for another 30 minutes. Drain and rinse again.
  4. Bring a saucepan of salted water to a full boil.
  5. Add the winkles. When the water comes back to the boil, cook them for 3 to 4 minutes.
  6. Drain well and serve warm, or chill promptly if serving them cold. Offer crusty bread and butter, garlic mayonnaise or malt vinegar if liked.
  7. Use a winkle pick to draw the meat gently around the curve of each shell. Remove and discard the firm operculum before eating.

Notes

  • The recipe is for common edible periwinkles, Littorina littorea. Don’t cook foraged shore snails unless an experienced local forager has confirmed the species and you’ve checked local harvesting rules and water-quality warnings.
  • If you buy ready-cooked winkles, don’t boil them again. They're also delicious served chilled or you could warm them very gently.
  • Refrigerate cooked winkles promptly in a covered container and eat them the next day.