The Queen Conch is a gastropod found in the marine grass off the shores of The Exumas.
Bahamians pronounce Conch..”conk”.
As they grow their spiral shaped shell grows and the inside of the shell is a beautiful pink color and very smooth, and old shells are often used as decoration.
They grow to around a foot long and are highly desired as a food source.
The meat of the conch is tough and therefore usually battered with a wooden mallet to breakdown the fibres. Then it can be breaded and fried to make cracked conch, a Bahamian speciality.
Alternatively the raw meat is finely chopped to make conch salad. If you want to try making it here is a recipe:
-
-
-
- 8 oz conch
- 10 tbsp fresh lime juice
-
-
-
-
-
- 5 tbsp fresh orange juice
-
-
-
-
-
- 1 ripe tomato, diced
-
-
-
-
-
- 1/4 cup diced onion
-
-
-
-
-
- 1 cucumber peeled, seeded and diced
-
-
-
-
-
- 1/2 cup bell peppers (any color), diced
-
-
-
-
-
- 3 hot peppers (or jalapeno peppers), minced
-
-
-
-
- Salt and pepper to taste
-
-
-
- Method:Wash conch with a mixture of lemon, salt and water.
-
Clean the conch and finally chop, Add the other ingrediants, squeeze the orange juice and lime juice, refrigerate for 10 minute and serve.
Created by Don