Last updated: 4 November, 2024 @ 12:04

Unloved and overlooked the humble whelk deserves more. In fact, there’s more of a market in South Korea than Britain for British-caught whelks. That can’t be right. Let’s make whelk recipes popular again!

Whelks: an identity crisis

Maybe if they were named, we don’t know, the lobster snail or the turbot spiral-shell snail, they’d be more popular – and let’s be honest, whelk isn’t the nicest of names (apologies to anyone called ‘whelk’ out there).

Plus, most people think of whelks as being the chewy, rubbery things served in little polystyrene pots from seaside kiosks.

However, you can get live whelks and if you do see them in your fishmongers give them a go. They’re at their best from spring onwards, but should avoid being bought during spawning season, which runs from late autumn into winter.  

Preparing and cooking whelks

Preparation advice varies. Some say soak them, others to freeze them overnight.

Nobody seems quite sure on the best way to cook whelks either.

We’ve come across recipes instructing to boil your whelks for 15 minutes, another for 5 minutes, and one suggesting to not let the water boil at all.

Whelk recipes

In France, whelks are boiled and served with mayonnaise – which is simple and delicious.

Fish Face Seafood Blog once made whelk croquettes – and believe us, once was enough.

We then tried an octopus-type approach, freezing the whelks before defrosting and then simmering them slowly.

We then cut the whelks into thick slices, gave them a good whack of smoked paprika, a drizzle of olive oil and stuck them under the grill for a couple of minutes.

The final dish was better than the whelk croquettes – but we won’t be winning any Michelin Stars.

Finally, we stumbled upon the very best whelk recipe in the French port town of Cherbourg. You can read more about that adventure here.

The Fish Face Seafood Blog version of that whelk recipe can be found here.

Our other favourite whelk recipes include:

Whelks with aioli – from Cooks Without Borders

James Martin’s British seaside chowder with saffron

This interesting Sherry-battered whelks from Love Norwich Food

And this Pickled whelk recipe – with a twist!

Seasonality

Whelks are said to be available all year-round, but that doesn’t seem to be the case down here in Poole. I’ll keep my eye on things and update you in due course.

Sustainability

The latest Marine Conservation Society Good Fish Guide rating can be found here.