Conch Meat Prep for Recipes

Alright, well now you have some conch, out of the conch shell.

What is the next step?

That depends on which dish you are going to prepare.

Here are the basic steps for cleaning conch meat in preparation for your recipes.

I am sharing the steps for cleaning conch but you are better off paying for conch that is already cleaned.

It is not an easy task and the locals make it look really easy!

 

You may want to  leave the hook on for a handle this makes it easier to grab

• Place the conch body with the eyes face up and cut off the projection above the eyes and the proboscis.

• Cut out the esophagus that lays under the skin from the proboscis to the ragged edge of the muscle.

• Find the intestine, which is a dark vein on the underside of the white muscle, and cut it out.

Slice through the skin from the bottom of the conch meat to the claw and use your thumb or knife to pull the tough skin off. Then remove the claw.

 Wash the conch

 

 a face only a mother could love!

 

 The orange tails are cut off and only used primarily for Conch salad, ceviche or fritters

where the conch meat will be put through the food processor.

Here is the conch meat cleaned and ready.

 Let’s face it, cleaning your own conch is probably not an option,

unless you do it ALL the time it is worth the investment to get it already cleaned by a pro.

 

Where can I buy conch for my recipes?

you may not have the conch you need for cooking but we found sources for you. Check them out here.

 

 

Now let’s get on to preparing it for your recipes!

First off there are steps that you are ALWAYS going to use

1. Fritters – beaten, cut up and processed fine

2. Salad or ceviche – beaten cut up and processed fine

3. Stew or Chowder – Beaten, cut up processed medium and boiled

4. Cracked (fried) Conch – Beaten, cut to desired size and Soaked in milk and vinegar

Now keep reading to get the details on each tenderizing process

 

_____________________________________________

1. Tenderize with a beater

No matter what recipe you are using you will need to use a tenderizer such as this beater pictured below.  A nice heavy Beater is necessary for the best results. The pros use a crank type machine and run it through a few times. Below is a picture of conch being prepared to fry and make cracked conch. It will then get soaked in milk and vinegar to complete the process. That is pictured below and is NOT required for all recipes, only the fried version.

 

 

______________________________________________

2. Cut up into chunks before adding to a food processor

If you are preparing conch for a salad – ceviche, stew, fritters or any other chopped version you will need to cut the conch into smaller pieces before adding it to the recipe. The processor CAN replace beating. The key is to break up the structure of the meat and the smaller you process it to then the less likely you will need to beat it first. Below is conch that has NOT been beaten, it is getting prepared to go into the processor.

Cutting up to add to processor

Larger chunks processed medium to be boiled and used in stew or chowder

The conch pictured above is going to be used for conch salad / ceviche and fritters. It has been run through the processor until chopped fine. The bright orange bits are the tails pictured above. When you process this fine you can use the tougher portions and not waste any meat.

 _______________________________

 

 

3.Boiling the conch for about a half hour is necessary when using the conch in a stew or chowder.

It is boiled while the other ingredients are prepared.

One word of CAUTION!

When boiling conch it WILL FOAM UP a couple of times.

you must be right there at the beginning of the process to scoop out the foam.

Be ready with a large spoon and bowl to collect the foam as it is formed.

That way you avoid an overflow onto your stove.

You will want to boil the conch for about a half an hour or so.

 

__________________________________________________

4. Soaking in milk / vinegar solution after beaten and before frying

Here we are soaking the beaten conch in a mixture of milk and vinegar.

You can just soak the conch in vinegar if you prefer.

At least for half an hour or while you are preparing the other ingredients. Some Bahamians soak overnight.

This conch is going to be used in fried conch.

 

If you are going to use it in a salad like a ceviche you would then run it thru a food processor

until the bits are the size you want.

So here are the different recipes and the process required

I am adding beating to each of these recipes because you will NEVER

wish you didn’t do that step!

1. Fritters – beaten, cut up and processed fine

2. Salad or ceviche – beaten cut up and processed fine

3. Stew or Chowder – Beaten, cut up processed medium and boiled

4. Cracked (fried) Conch – Beaten, cut to desired size and Soaked in milk and vinegar

 

In the Conchy Joe Collection of recipes, you will be given the steps necessary for each one.

To get all 12 of Conchy Joe Cooks recipes to get on the mailing list we will share them with you one at a time.

 

Home

top o page

WHERE CAN I BUY CONCH FOR MY RECIPES?