Florida Cracker Conch Chowder Recipes

Steps:

• In a large saucepan (soup pot) over high heat, bring conch and 8 cups water to a boil. Drain and set aside.
• In a large skillet over medium high heat, melt shortening (or bacon fat). Stir in onion, celery, bell pepper, carrot and garlic and saute until browned. You may have to cook in batches depending on size of skillet. Transfer vegetable to soup pot when cooked.
• Add drained conch and 3 quarts of water to soup pot along with potatoes, tomato puree, tomato paste, oregano, basil, bay leaves and hot pepper sauce.
• Put soup pot over high heat and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 1 1/2 hours or until conch are tender and potatoes are cooked. Discard bay leaves. Add salt and pepper to taste.

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.

Steps:

• Saute bacon until just turning brown.
• Add in onions, garlic and potatoes and cook 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
• Add in water, grouper and spices and bring to a simmer. Cook 15 minutes, covered.
• Add in conch and cook 5 more minutes. Serve warm with crackers.
• Note: I like mine with a touch of hot sauce added to the bowl.

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.

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.

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.

Steps:

• Grind conchs.
• Fry salt pork in large pot, then add onion, pepper, tomatoes, ground conch, potatoes and water.
• Cook for about an hour or until the potatoes fall apart and thicken the chowder.
• Turn off heat and let the chowder stand for about an hour to mingle the flavors.
• It will improve more if made the day ahead.
• Just reheat to serve.