Conch Chowder Recipes

BAHAMIAN CONCH CHOWDER

Steps:

• In a very large soup pot or Dutch oven, cook the bacon with olive oil over medium heat. When bacon is almost cooked, add garlic and jalapenos and cook for 30 seconds. Raise the heat to medium-high and add the onion, celery, carrots, fennel, and bell peppers. Add herbs, bay leaves, and crushed red pepper.
• Add the crushed tomatoes and tomato sauce. Bring to a simmer and reduce heat. Add the stock, stir in the ground conch and potatoes and bring to a simmer. Add hot red pepper sauce, to taste, and simmer for 10 minutes, then serve, or chill for later use.

CONCH CHOWDER

Steps:

• In a stockpot, heat the olive oil and render the bacon. Add all ingredients up to (but not including) the potatoes. Cook vegetables over medium-high heat for about 5 minutes, or until softened. Add the potatoes, tomato purée and chopped tomatoes. Reduce heat to very low.
• Meanwhile, in a separate pot, heat fish stock and clam juice until simmering. Add the ground conch, stirring vigorously so the conch doesn't clump up. Bring to a boil, then strain the liquid into the other pot. Set aside the conch. Add bouquet garni, bay leaf and red pepper flakes and simmer the soup until the potatoes are cooked through, about 25 to 30 minutes. Remove bouquet garni. Add conch and Tabasco sauce to taste.

CREAMY CRACKED CONCH CHOWDER WITH SAFFRON, COCONUT, AND ORANGES

Steps:

• Shellfish Cream: Heat the olive oil in a large, heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the scotch bonnet, shallots, and garlic. Stir. Let the vegetables flavor the oil (about 1 minute). Now add the clams, mussels, star anise, and black pepper. Stir. Now add the orange juice and cover the pot. Remove the clams and mussels as they open to a colander set over a bowl to catch the liquid (they start opening after about 3 minutes, just take them out as they open and cover the pot again and just keep checking for more open ones.) Reserve the shellfish and add the juices back to the pan.
• Allow the orange and shellfish juice to reduce, uncovered, until about 1 cup of liquid remains, about 10 minutes. Now add in the saffron, heavy cream, and coconut milk. Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally. Be careful, cream can boil over in a split seconds. Reduce the cream until it will just barely coat the back of a spoon, about 15 to 20 minutes. Remove from the heat and strain. Discard the solids. Reserve the flavored cream.
• While the cream is reducing, removed the cooled mussels and clams from their shells. Reserve the meat and discard the shells.
• Vegetable Garnish: Put potatoes in a saucepot of lightly salted water. Bring to a boil and turn down heat and simmer until just done. Strain off the water. Reserve the potatoes.
• In a large heavy soup pot cook the bacon with the olive oil over medium-high heat until the bacon is halfway cooked. Add the butter and stir. Add the garlic and chiles and stir briefly. Add the rest of the vegetables except the potatoes and stir to coat. Add the salt and pepper, cilantro, and bay leaf. Cook until the vegetables are cooked, but still firm, about 8 minutes.
• Add the reserved potatoes, saffron cream, clams and mussels.
• Conch: Season the conch with salt and pepper. Dredge the conch in the flour, then the egg mixture, and then the panko. Place on a large plate or pan as they are coated. You can layer them if you separate the breaded pieces with waxed paper or plastic wrap.
• To finish the dish: Heat the soup until quite warm. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add enough canola oil to coat the bottom of the pan. Saute the conch, in batches, adding more oil as necessary, until nicely colored on both sides. Remove to a paper towel lined plate. Once the conch is all cooked, chop it into pieces. Ladle the soup into warm bowls and scatter the cooked conch over the soup. Garnish with orange sections, cilantro leaves, and toasted coconut.

BAHAMIAN CONCH CHOWDER

Steps:

• Heat the oil in a large sauce pot over medium heat. Saute the onion, celery, carrots, red pepper, potato, thyme, red chili flakes, allspice, and bay leaves for 5 minutes, until they began to soften.
• Add the tomatoes, clam juice, and cold water. Bring to a boil and immediately lower to a simmer.
• If using defrosted conch meat, add now and cook for 35 minutes, uncovered. Then add the malt or red wine vinegar, parsley, scallions, salt, and cayenne pepper, and simmer 5 minutes.
• If using chopped clams, add now along with the malt or red wine vinegar, parsley, scallions, salt, and cayenne pepper, and simmer 5 minutes longer.

CONCH CHOWDER

Steps:

• In a heavy-bottomed pot large enough to hold all the ingredients, simmer the conch in the clam juice and water for an hour.
• Add the wine, onions, tomatoes, celery, carrots, potatoes, parsley and peppers and simmer another hour.
• Add the thyme, heavy cream, rum, salt and white pepper to taste.
• Before serving, add a few dashes of sherry peppers sauce.

CARIBBEAN CONCH CHOWDER

Steps:

• Cut the conch into 1/2 inch pieces and place in a bowl. Add the lime juice and tomato sauce and mix well; set aside to marinate.
• Meanwhile, in a large stew pot, cook the bacon until browned. Pour off the fat. Add the olive oil, onion, celery, garlic, green pepper, and chile pepper. cook over medium-low heat until very lightly browned. Add the tomatoes and cook for 1 minute. Add the rum, potatoes, conch mixture, bay leaf, and thyme. Bring to a boil, then simmer for about 1 hour. Potatoes should be tender.
• Discard bay leaf. Stir in the Tabasco sauce, and season with salt and pepper to taste. To serve, sprinkle with fresh cilantro.

COCONUT CONCH CHOWDER

Steps:

• Place conch meat in a pot with enough water to cover, and bring to a boil. Cook 15 minutes. Drain, and finely chop in a food processor.
• Melt 2 tablespoons margarine in a skillet over medium heat, and mix in the green onions, carrot, celery, sweet potato, red pepper, and corn. Cook and stir 5 minutes.
• Melt remaining 2 tablespoons margarine in a large pot, and whisk in the flour to create a roux. Pour in the half and half, coconut milk, and fish stock. Mix in the ginger, and season with salt and pepper. Stir the conch and vegetables into the pot. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low, and simmer 15 minutes. Mix in the hot sauce and cilantro. Continue cooking 15 minutes, or to desired consistency.