conch fritter

having never been to key west i am wondering what a conch fritter is.

conch fritter

Conch (pronounced KONK) is a really big marine snail. You%26#39;ve probably seen the shells. They are the really big ones that you hear the ocean in. The meat is rather tough so it gets tenderized all sorts of ways before being used in fritters (pieces of conch dredged in a flour mixture and fried), chowders (usually with a mildly spicy tomato base), and cerviche. Conch is protected in Florida waters so any conch you have will come from the Caribbean area. There is a conch fritter stand right outside the Key West Aquarium. And you%26#39;ll find conch items on the menu just about everywhere.

conch fritter

Here%26#39;s a handy recipie for all you folks who%26#39;d like a little taste of Key West but are unable to get here. (The toughest thing to get might be the conch itself. Maybe a local seafood shop might be able to special order them?)

Ingredients:

1 cup conch

1 bell pepper (yellow most preferred)

1 medium onion

1 big garlic clove

2 eggs

2 tablespoons Key lime juice

2 tablespoons tomato paste

1 cup flour (regular NOT self-rising)

2 tablespoons baking powder

Some milk (on hand just in case)

1 tablespoon thyme

1 tablespoon parsley

1 tablespoon oregano

1 tablespoon celery seed

1 tablespoon habanero sauce (e.g. Melindas)

3/4 tablespoon salt

1/2 tablespoon basil

1/2 tablespoon cumin powder

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

Directions:

Pound conch with a rolling pin until it has flattened out (especially the thick and hard ';foot';), then dice into small pieces. Mix in lime juice and tomato paste with conch in small bowl. In separate large bowl, dice pepper, onion and garlic. Mix in spices. Mix in conch mixture. Mix in flour, baking powder and eggs.

The mixture should be fairly thick, if you take spoon of it and turn it upside down it should stick there for a few seconds. If too thin, add more flour. If too thick, add a little milk. You could also substitute a little beer for the milk if you like.rec

Get a couple of plates with napkins or paper towels handy, as well as a tablespoon, a teaspoon, a fork, and a metal device for scooping stuff out of hot oil.

Heat a pot of about 2 inches of cooking oil on medium heat. Stir after a few minutes. Oil should be ready after 7 or 8 minutes, don%26#39;t heat too fast or oil and fritters will burn.

Scoop up 1 tablespoon of fritter mixture, scrape it into oil with teaspoon. Let cook for about 2 minutes, then roll it over with fork (they float) and let cook on other side for about 2 minutes or until lightly browned. Scoop out with scooper and let drain on napkin plate. Let cool a bit and then taste. Carefully adjust seasonings in remainder of batter to taste. Repeat this procedure of making one fritter until you have the spices just right. The recipe may seem like a lot of spices, but they lose their strength when mixed with all that stuff and cooked.

Serve with lemon or lime wedges, some more habenero sauce, and plenty of cold beverages. And be careful with that hot oil. Excessive alcohol consumption and playing around with hot oil definitely do NOT mix.

Yikes! Almost forgot... Please credit Charlie Byrne for the above as submitted on cdkitchen. We%26#39;ve done %26#39;em and they%26#39;re great! BTW - The above will make 8 fritters and feel free to goof around with the seasoning amounts to taste.

If you can%26#39;t get conch, I have found that minced clams or calamari could work, but of course there is nothing like the real deal, with a cold beeer or a margarita ( preferably the key lime flavored ones).

And here%26#39;s a link to a post I made some time ago, with a recipe which is based on boxed pancake mix and uses fewer ingredients. I originally got it from a seafood market down there but can%26#39;t recall which- maybe I mentioned it in the post.

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