Difficult fish: conch

As I look over the blog, I notice that I am writing a lot about foods that are not all that easy to prepare. Celery roots, quinces, and so forth. I don't want people to think that I deliberately hunt out things that are "challenging" to cook for that reason only, far from it. The thing is, I want to taste everything, I want to eat everything. And many of these things are just not available in restaurants, or are available, sporadically, so you have to prepare them yourself.

Now, I want to make something clear right at the start: when it comes to fish, I am as guilty as anyone of being parochial in my tastes. There are fish that I simply DO NOT LIKE. Most of the darker, "blue" fish, for example - the ones that are good for you. Bluefish, mackerel, anchovies, sardines, etc. No thank you. Lobster too. I've tried them all, but they just don't do it for me. And I fully expect that this recipe will provoke many to "look for the next one." But some of you may try it. I remember that my partner, for example, had a real revulsion for eel and for skate. On separate occasions, they were put in front of him, and he had no choice. Well, now he eats them both. For me, it was trout. Not only do I like it, I serve it. So as I write to you about conch, don't get the skeeves right away. Remember what Diana Kennedy once wrote, of Mexican food: "you have to try it all. Even if you spit it out, you have to try it once."

Conch is the meat of those beautifully, whirly shells that we all listened to as kids, to hear the sea (and 'fess up, you still do it). Essentially, it's a big snail. It's not pretty. It's hard to get out of the shell. But you know what? It's really good. It's a staple for many people, especially folks who live on islands, and those who live in areas with large seacoasts.

In preparing this blog, I was very amused to read in one cookbook "Conch is very economical. A pound of prepared meat will rarely cost you more than 3 dollars." I paid ten for the pound of it that I bought today. It had been "precooked," and that's something you have to look for. Conch will take forever to cook, Most vendors will cook it for several hours before selling it, because it is also highly perishable, if it is not cooked. ASK.

When you get it home, here's my hint: conch is very tough. I find that if I freeze it, and then thaw it, the meat is more tender. It means you need to take more time, but it's all of about an hour and a half. You can find something to do with your time.

When you're ready to prep it, look at it. I think it looks like a m isshapen mushroom. At the cap of that mushroom, there is a soft, flabby membrane that you have to get rid of. Just tear it off, and then cut the rest of the meat into cubes. Small ones.

Once you've done this, go and look down to my basic tomato sauce recipe, and when you are sauteeing the onions, add some cayenne pepper. How much? How hot do you like things. I like a LOT of cayenne. When you add the tomatoes, add the chopped up conch, and cook the sauce as if you were making a basic tomato sauce. Taste after about thirty minutes. Conch is never going to be "fork tender," but if it's just chewy or "toothsome" as I like to say, it's ready.

This is a sauce that is destined for chunky pasta, like shells, or rotelli, or something like that. Never never never NEVER put cheese on it.


There are other things to do with conch, most commonly fried conch fritters. I am not going to add that recipe here, because you can find variations of it, if this tickles your fancy.

I hope you try this. It's not a dish that you're going to make every day, but if you can do this, you can get used to the idea of using fish in a tomato sauce and go on to other things. Clam sauce is wonderful. Try something else. You'll be a better cook for it.