In The Bahamas we eat a lot of CONCH!!! When I say ALOT, I mean ALOT..LOL.
The wonderful thing about conch is that it is so versatile. You can eat it fresh or cooked in so many ways, This is How We Do It" (can you hear the music...).
CONCH SALAD
CRACK CONCK
STEAMED CONCH
STEW CONCH
CONCH AND RICE
CONCN AND GRITS
CONCH IN SOUP
WHAT IS CONCH
If you are not a seafood lover this is NOT for you...
Conch is a mollusk, I describe it as a huge snail that hang outs crawling the ocean floor in our many shades of deep blue ocean. Conch has one hell of a hard shell that protects them from their predators. The shells can be used to make jewllery, flatware, you name it...
Conch requires a good diver to search the ocean floor to collect, and bring these critters to shore for us to devour. One must learn the art of taking the conch out of it's shell, believe me it is no easy task, you can spend hours doing this if you are clueless. To those that have a command of this art they can remove a conch from it's shell in seconds. (Fastest Crack conchers is....)
Conch can be found throughout the Caribbean Islands. Each destination has their own version of various conch delicacies. I may be bold and say conch is a National Dish in The Bahamas. I am sure it will not be long before some-one creates a candied conch recipe.
My personal preference for enjoying conch is as a salad. I think my introduction to conch was my mom taking me to Potters Cay to enjoy Scorch Conch. The whole conch is served whole and cut like a quilt patch work and seasoned with lime and pepper. This was simply served in a baggie bag. This I guess led me to Conch salad.
Conch Salad is conch finely diced with onions, bell pepper, cucumber, tomato, lime, pepper and a touch of orange juice. Today we now have "Tropical" conch salad. This is the addition of fruits such as apple, pineapple and or mango.
Throughout the island chain you can also experience different versions of this with the addition of mayonnaise, wilks ( a very tiny mollusk food on ocean rocks) or even pickled conch.
Another favourite of mine and in The Bahamas is Conch Souse and Stew Conch. Great for Breakfast. Just down home deliciousness. Check out our recipes for IGB Stew Conch. Feel free to share and like.
Conch is just versatile...raw, steam, stew, soup, souse, patties and even cracked.
This month we have been in search of the Best Crack Conch on the island of New Providence. This preparation is not normally found in other Caribbean islands, so we can really say "It is a Bahamian thing".... I must first say "Thank You" to my awesome followers that gave their suggestions. It has been a fun run tasting their top four suggestions.
Grannies Goodie - Nassau Village
Sha Shas - Of St Vincent Road
Conch Hill - East Street South
Goldies - Arawak Cay
WHAT I LEARNT
First and foremost you can either use a flour batter which is the most traditional method or another favourite seems to be a very fine breadcrumb or crakermeal coating. Some seasoned their batter and others not so much.
The most important key to a good crack conch other than flavour is if it is chewy or melt in your mouth tender. Tender crack conch can be achieved with fresh or even frozen conch (yea there is a little secret- you may find it in my recipe section). There is a definite flavour difference between fresh or frozen conch but both are good.
Some of us eat our Crack Conch with a touch of ketchup and hot sauce...this is optional. If you get a fresh well seasoned Crack Conch you would NOT want to add ketchup. However, I do have some friends, it does not matter how well seasoned the crack conch is, it is not fully dressed without mayonnaise, ketchup and onions...all I can say is "go figure?"
On a side note, French Fries are an important side for me. I like good, tasty, crunchy yummy fries with crack conch!!!
I like to serve crack conch bites as appetisers, they are quick and easy and always the first to go. It will always never be enough. Check out my video and we prepare crack conch deep fried and air fried, with flour, bread crumbs and cassava crumbs. If you like it share it and let me know what you think.
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