Conch Chowder

[buzzard767]

Living on the gulf coast has its advantages. At a local farmers market I can get stone crab claws for $13/lb, tuna, red snapper, and conch for $10/lb, and grouper for $13/lb, all roughly half of what the super markets and fish markets charge. Except for the conch, which was probably originally frozen, the fish are very fresh. The conch comes from either the Bahamas or the Carribbean as they are an illegal catch here in the U.S.

Here's an excellent recipe for conch chowder. I love the stuff and make a batch every other Saturday. When I cook for me the conch is cut into 1/4 to 1/2" chunks. Because it has that "slippery" feel in the mouth, when I cook for guests I puree the meat. Most restaurants puree both the meat and the vegetables. I think they're hiding the fact that there isn't much conch in their version......

BAHAMIAN CONCH CHOWDER

2 tbsp olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
2 sticks celery, chopped
2 carrots, chopped
1 red or green pepper, seeded and chopped
1 medium potato, peeled and chopped
1 tsp dried thyme
¼ tsp crushed red pepper flakes
¼ tsp ground allspice
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 bay leaves

1 cn diced tomatoes
1 cn clam juice
2 cups chix broth

1 lb conch meat (3 or 4 queen conchs) chopped fine – I like to cut at least half into bite sized chunks

1 tbsp vinegar
6 sprigs parsley, chopped
4 scallions, minced
1 tsp salt
black pepper to taste

In a large saucepan , medium heat, saute' the onion, celery, carrots, red or green pepper, potato, thyme, red pepper flakes, allspice, garlic, and bay leaves for 5 minutes or more in olive oil until they begin to soften.

Add the tomatoes, clam juice, and broth. Heat to boiling, then reduce to simmer.

Add conch and simmer for 35 minutes, uncovered.

Add vinegar, parsley, scallions, salt, and pepper. Simmer for 5 minutes.

Serves 8

Here are the conch, cleaned but untrimmed.



Trimmed, sliced, and cubed.




The veggies used.



The peeler is a Messermeister serrated. This is the best on the planet and inexpensive to boot. Even Cooks Illustrated agrees with me.



All of the ingredients except for salt and pepper.



Simmering before adding the conch.




Finished product.

[lxxf]

I loved conch seviche when we lived in Ecuador. I'll see if I can find a recipe.

Sally

On edit: I found one, it sounds like what we used to eat.

* 1-1/2 pounds fresh conch or oysters, in their juice
* 1 medium red onion, chopped (or to taste)
* 1 tablespoon cilantro, chopped (or to taste)
* the juice of 15 limes
* 1/2 cup beer
* 1/4 cup orange juice
* 1/4 teaspoon fresh habanero pepper, chopped (optional, or to taste)
* salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
* 1 cup fresh tomatoes, seeded and chopped

Cam_pul_1 Directions:

* Remove the conch or oysters from their shell. Place them in a clean bowl with the juice of 10 limes and let sit for 10 minutes for the flavors to mature and the shellfish to cook.
* Combine the onion, cilantro, salt and pepper and the juice of the remaining 5 limes.
* Add the orange juice, the beer and the drained onion and tomato mixture to the shellfish. Mix well and adjust flavors. Be careful no to add too much of the juice result from marinating the onions, as the ceviche will be too sour.
* Serve in individual bowls and garnish with the chopped tomato and cilantro.
* Variation: You can use your favorite seafood or fish, or a combination of them to prepare this recipe.

Buen Provecho!
Melissa

Visit Tasty Recipes - Chef Melissa's recipe and post index.

Tags: ecuador, food blog, cookingdiva, chef, food, recipes, food & drink, ceviche, cooking


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[luvnit]

Wow! Looks great... and you said Mrs. Buzz was the cook. You may be holding out on us. So where do you buy conch? Online?

[buzzard767]

Quote:

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Wow! Looks great... and you said Mrs. Buzz was the cook. You may be holding out on us. So where do you buy conch? Online?

---

Well, I did say that I have a few specialties or something along that line. The conch is flash frozen either in the Carribbean or the Bahamas. They are an illegal catch anywhere in the US.

I do lots of seafood because it's so abundant in SW Florida. The local specialties are stone crab claws and grouper. I leave the crab to the tourists. I just don't see the big deal when much better tasting frozen king crab is available at any Sam's Club. As to grouper, most of the restaurants are serving red which is two steps down the totem pole under black and gag so I go out in the Gulf and catch my own. Other really good fish that I catch locally are all kinds of snapper, sheepshead, Spanish mackeral, tripletail, redfish, and the king of all fish meat, snook. I depend on the farmers' market fish monger for sushi grade tuna and at only ten bucks a pound I eat a lot of it cooked every way imaginable.

[cjs]

Is your other name Bob?

[buzzard767]

Quote:

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Is your other name Bob?

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Nope, John. I was conceived at Buzzards Bay, Mass and was given the nickname at birth. Born a Buzzard. Yup, that's me.

[labradors]

For contrast, here's how conch chowder is made here, in Honduras:

Sopa de Caracol
(Honduran Conch Chowder)



Ingredients:

• 1 Lb Conch meat
  
• 2 Coconuts, grated
  
• 3 Green plantains or bananas
  
• 3 carrots
  
• 2 Lb Yuca (if possible the yellow are better)
  
• 2 Cloves of garlic
  
• 2 Large Yellow or white onions
  
• 2 Green bell peppers
  
• 2 Cubes of Seafood bouillon
  
• 1/2 Cup Cilantro (culantro fino)
  
• 1/2 Cup Broad-leaf cilantro (culantro ancho) - also called "fitweed," "culantro," or "recao" (Just use more regular cilantro if you can't find this.)
  
• 1/2 Stick Margarine (they rarely use "yellow butter" here)
  
• 1 Cup milk

Instructions:

1. Chop the onions, garlic, and peppers and peel the vegetables.
   
2. Fry (excluding the plantains) in the margarine.
   
3. Add the bouillon cubes and both cilantros.
   
4. Separately, liquefy the coconut with the milk, adding enough water to bring the mixture to 3 cups, then strain it.
   
5. Add the coconut milk to the vegetables.
   
6. Let cook at medium heat for 15-20 minutes.
   
7. Add the plantains.
   
8. Let cook for 7 minutes, until the plantains are soft.
   
9. Chop the conch into small pieces, and add.
   
10. Cook 5 minutes more.

Advice:

• Don't cook the conch for too long, or it could lose its soft texture and become tough or rubbery.
  
• For thicker soup, add a little corn starch or grated green plantain until the desired thickness is obtained.
  
• Instead of the coconuts, milk, and water, 2 cans of coconut milk may be used.

(Source: Translated to English from the recipe at Blogspot. The photo is from another site that had the same recipe, but was missing the suggestions.)

[DFen911]

Looks very yummy

And Jean I pondered the same thing

[buzzard767]

Quote:

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And Jean I pondered the same thing

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Okay Denise, clue me in. Who_is_Bob?

[buzzard767]

Never mind. Figured it out in one search. Posting with pix -bbally. Correcto?