Florida Cracker Conch Chowder Recipes

FLORIDA KEYS CHOWDER

Steps:

• 1. You will need a 6 qt pot. With your food processor mince the following one at a time: The onion, the garlic, the green pepper, the red pepper and the carrots. You can mince your carrots less than the other ingredients if you like chunks of carrots in your soup.
• 2. Over medium heat, add the olive oil to your pot. Add the onions, carrots, red pepper, green pepper and garlic. Saute the veggies for about 8 minutes.
• 3. Add the tomato sauce, and diced tomatoes to the veggies. Turn stove to Low medium heat.
• 4. In a measuring cup, add the tomato paste to the cold water. Mix until tomato paste is diluted. Add to veggies and tomatoes in pot.
• 5. While these are all simmering together, add the salt, pepper,oregano, garlic powder, sugar and cayenne pepper.
• 6. If you are using Conch, make sure it is thawed out. Place the conch in a zip lock bag and hammer away at it, making it about 1/4 inch thick or less. You want to flatten it so that it starts to tear about. Place Conch in food processor and pulse for about 6 seconds, you want to still have lumpy pieces of conch but most of it should be minced. I take 1/2 of my conch and mince it really fine and the other half I mince less.
• 7. Cut your Shrimp into 4 pieces sideways, to make small chunks of shrimp.
• 8. If you are using any other sea food, such as lobster, or any white fish, cut them into small bite size pieces.
• 9. Add the uncooked sea food of your choice to the soup. Most of the time, I make mine with Conch and Shrimp. When I add Lobster It adds a more fish taste to it, so keep in mind that the lobster and fish will be more fishy tasting, but Oh so Good!!
• 10. Turn your heat to simmer, let the soup simmer covered, for about 2 hours (mixing and tasting so that you may add more salt and pepper and garlic to your liking) until all of the veggies are cooked through. The sea food will cook fairly fast, but not to worry all of the ingredients in the soup will not make the seafood chewy.
• 11. 30 Minutes before serving time, take the lid off the pot and let the soup thicken up a bit.. Throw some soup cracker over the top of the soup bowls and enjoy!!

CREAMY CRACKED CONCH CHOWDER WITH SAFFRON, COCONUT, AND ORANGES

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.

BAHAMIAN CONCH CHOWDER

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.

AROMATIC BAHAMIAN CONCH CHOWDER

Steps:

• Place olive oil, onions, bell peppers, ham and garlic in a large soup pot over medium high heat. Saute, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes or until onion is translucent. Add tomatoes, tomato paste, tomato juice, hot water, bay leaf, barbecue sauce, marjoram, sage, thyme, parsley, oregano, salt, cracked and cayenne peppers. Stir to combine ingredients and bring mixture to a boil.
• Add conch to the pot. Reduce heat to low and simmer, covered, for 5 to 6 hours or until conch is tender. Lace each individual serving with hot pepper sherry to taste.

CARIBBEAN CONCH CHOWDER

Steps:

• Cut the conch into 1/2 inch pieces and place in a bowl. Add the lime juice and tomato sauce and mix well; set aside to marinate.
• Meanwhile, in a large stew pot, cook the bacon until browned. Pour off the fat. Add the olive oil, onion, celery, garlic, green pepper, and chile pepper. cook over medium-low heat until very lightly browned. Add the tomatoes and cook for 1 minute. Add the rum, potatoes, conch mixture, bay leaf, and thyme. Bring to a boil, then simmer for about 1 hour. Potatoes should be tender.
• Discard bay leaf. Stir in the Tabasco sauce, and season with salt and pepper to taste. To serve, sprinkle with fresh cilantro.

CONCH CHOWDER

Steps:

• In a stockpot, heat the olive oil and render the bacon. Add all ingredients up to (but not including) the potatoes. Cook vegetables over medium-high heat for about 5 minutes, or until softened. Add the potatoes, tomato purée and chopped tomatoes. Reduce heat to very low.
• Meanwhile, in a separate pot, heat fish stock and clam juice until simmering. Add the ground conch, stirring vigorously so the conch doesn't clump up. Bring to a boil, then strain the liquid into the other pot. Set aside the conch. Add bouquet garni, bay leaf and red pepper flakes and simmer the soup until the potatoes are cooked through, about 25 to 30 minutes. Remove bouquet garni. Add conch and Tabasco sauce to taste.

BAHAMIAN CONCH CHOWDER

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.

CONCH CHOWDER

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.

CONCH CHOWDER

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.

SEAFOOD CHOWDER WITH SEASONED OYSTER CRACKERS

Steps:

• In a small bowl, combine the butter, marinade for chicken, pepper sauce, curry and paprika. Add the crackers; toss to coat., Transfer to a greased 15x10x1-in. baking pan. Bake at 350° for 8-10 minutes or until golden brown, stirring twice. Set aside., Meanwhile, in a stockpot, cook bacon over medium heat until crisp. Using a slotted spoon, remove to paper towels to drain., Saute potatoes and leeks in drippings; stir in flour and thyme until blended. Gradually whisk in broth and clam juice. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Cook and stir 1-2 minutes longer. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 10 minutes or until potatoes are tender., Add the corn, zucchini, grouper, shrimp and scallops; cook for 2-4 minutes or until fish flakes easily with a fork. Stir in the cream, salt and pepper; heat through. Serve with crackers and bacon.

FLORIDA CRACKER CONCH CHOWDER

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.