How to Cook Fried Conch Fritters

Conch meat is tasty but tough - it's either cooked very briefly or simmered for an hour.

If you've ever been to the Caribbean you may have tried conch fritters; small morsels of briny sweet conch is scattered throughout dough that fries up to a crunchy texture. What you may not know is the conch is an ocean-dwelling snail. Conch meat is tasty but tough. It's similar to squid in that it's either cooked very briefly or simmered for an hour. Offer the finished fritters with a spicy cilantro chimichurri sauce that takes only minutes to make.

Things You'll Need

• 1 pound conch meat
• Meat mallet
• Plastic wrap
• Cutting board
• Knife
• Pot
• One small finely chopped onion
• Two finely chopped jalapeno peppers
• Four cloves minced garlic
• 2 tbsp. chopped parsley
• Two beaten eggs
• 1 cup milk
• 1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
• 2 cups flour
• Bowl
• Spoon
• Frying pan
• Cooking pan
• Thermometer
• Slotted spoon
• Paper towels
• 1 cup chopped cilantro
• Two limes
• 2 cloves minced garlic
• 2 tbsp. olive oil
• Food processor

Instructions

Fritters

1. Lay the plastic wrap on the cutting board. Put the conch meat on the plastic and cover it with another piece of plastic. Pound the conch meat with the meat mallet. Conch is very firm and difficult to chew unless pounded. Turn it over and pound the other side. Stop pounding while the conch is still in one piece and hasn't become mushy.

2. Cut into conch into slices no more than 1/2-inch thick. Fill a pot with just enough water to cover the conch, and bring to a boil. Place the slices into boiling water. Bring the water back up to a boil and then simmer for 60 minutes. Remove the conch from the water. When cool, slice into a 1/2-inch cubes.

3. Saute the onion, garlic and half of the jalapenos until the onion is translucent, which will take no more than three or four minutes over medium heat. Let cool.

4. Mix the flour with the beaten eggs, milk and baking powder. Add the parsley, sauteed onion mixture and the conch meat and blend well. The batter will be wet.

5. Heat the oil in the pan until it reaches 360 degrees F. Drop the fritter batter into the hot oil 1 tbsp. at a time. Don't crowd the pan. When the fritters have browned on one side, roll them over with the slotted spoon so they brown on the other side. They should cook in three or four minutes. Cut one open to make sure the batter has cooked through.

6. Remove and place on paper towels to drain. Serve very hot.

Cilantro Chimichurri

1. Combine the cilantro, two cloves garlic, the other half of the jalapeno pepper in a blender.

2. Add the juice of two limes and 2 tbsp. olive oil.

3. Pulse until roughly chopped.

Tips & Warnings

• Increase, or decrease, the spiciness of the dish by adding, or subtracting, the jalapeno pepper.

• Cook the conch for the full 60 minutes. If you don't the texture will be tough and chewy.

References

• OChef: How to Handle Conch
• Food Network; Conch Fritters With Mango Chutney; Emeril Lagasse