Around the World in Foodventures (The Bahamas: CRACKED CONCH)

Hi!  It's been a minute.  But here I am, back with the next installment of my Around the World in Foodventures journey; this time bringing The Bahamas.

We first ate fried conch in Miami (close enough to The Bahamas to make sense) at a hole-in-the-wall place called Conch Town USA.  Recommended to us by a friend, it was so good that I consider it one of those "chasing the dragon" places.  Meaning, it's the standard by which I will forever judge any and all fried conch....and who knows if another can ever live up to it in my heart.  Still, when I found out that Cracked Conch is the national dish of The Bahamas, there was no question I would try making it.  It's nothing fancy, but it does take some technique.

So after consulting several videos and recipes online, and reviewing my notes from that delicious day in Miami -- here's what I did to create my own Cracked Conch that hits those traditional, spicy Bahamian flavors while also bringing in notes from Conch Town USA (i.e. what I guess were the flavors in their dipping sauce):

INGREDIENTS
Things that are grouped by color in my ingredient lists can be measured out into bowls together while getting your Mise en Place, to streamline your process as well as minimize the number of things you'll have to clean later. Anything left white/un-highlighted should be kept separate by itself.

1 pound of trimmed and cleaned Conch Meat

4 Tablespoons Lemon Juice 4 Tablespoons Lime Juice

1.5 cups Buttermilk 1 teaspoon Onion Powder 1 teaspoon Garlic Powder 1/2 teaspoon Kosher Salt 1/2 of a Habanero pepper, seeds removed, minced     (The recipe I learned from called for Goat pepper flakes, which is made     from Habanero; but after trying multiple retailers I couldn't get actual     Goat pepper flakes.  So an equivalent amount of fresh Habanero felt like     a good substitution; it will serve the same function.)

1 cup All Purpose Flour 1/2 cup Cornmeal A pinch of Kosher Salt Your favorite Spicy Cajun Seasoning (amount to your taste)

1 Tablespoon Honey 1 Tablespoon Dijon Mustard 2 teaspoons Key Lime Juice A small pinch of Kosher Salt A small pinch of Sugar

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Cut the conch meat into strips.  Toss them around in the combined lemon and lime juice to "wash" it, then rinse it off with water.
2. Pound the rinsed conch meat pieces until they're pretty uniformly flat; when they shift from tough to tender, it will be pretty easily visually noticeable.  (You can do this inside a plastic bag, between two pieces of plastic wrap, or however else you normally pound meat.)  You now have "cracked" conch meat -- so called not because it's addictive, but because it needs to be tenderized like this before cooking.
3. In a bowl, combine the Buttermilk, Onion Powder, Garlic Powder, Kosher Salt, and Minced Habanero.  Stir in the cracked conch meat and marinate it (covered) in a refrigerator for 30+ minutes.
4. While the meat is marinating, mix together the All Purpose Flour, Cornmeal, Pinch of Salt, and an amount of Spicy Cajun Seasoning to your liking.
5. In another bowl, whisk the Honey, Mustard, Key Lime Juice, Kosher Salt, and Sugar together to form a dipping sauce.
6. Now, measure out into a pot, enough oil that you'll be able to deep fry the conch without it touching the bottom. The temperature to aim for should be just enough for a light sizzle, somewhere between 250-275°F.*
7. Remove the conch meat from the buttermilk mixture, shaking off as much as possible.  Dredge each piece in flour immediately before gently and safely dropping them into the oil.  (You don't need to cook them all at once; you can do it in batches, or just one or a few pieces at a time.)
8. Fry until they turn just barely golden beige (not brown).* This will only take a couple of minutes with small pieces (and they will continue cooking/browning a smidge after you remove them from the pan).
9. As you cook, you may want to scrape any spice residue off the sides of the pan, or skim out any bits that are floating about.  This will minimize all that stuff sticking to/"staining" your gorgeous pieces of fried conch.
10. Fried Cracked Conch is traditionally served with any combination of Hot Sauce, Tartar Sauce, Ketchup, or Pickled Onions -- but because I'm looking to mimic what we had in the restaurant, I'm choosing the Key Lime Honey Mustard.

* If you cook them too hot or too long, you'll end up with a final product that is either rubbery and/or too dark in color.

The verdict?  These came out pretty good, but -- unsurprisingly -- did not match the quality we had from Conch Town USA.  I definitely could've tenderized some of the pieces more than I did; possibly by washing in the Lemon-Lime mixture more or marinating in the Buttermilk longer, or maybe just pounding better.  And although my Key Lime Honey Mustard was delicious, it didn't give us that OhEmGee feeling that Conch Town USA's sauce did....so I'm guessing I didn't nail that part.  The real issue for me here, though, is the amount of work it took (and waste it created) to trim and clean the conch meat, which we had purchased with shells and "innards" already removed (see this, this, and this).  I'd estimate that at least 30-40% of the weight we bought went into the compost bin during this process.  For these latter reasons only (the time/work and waste -- due in my estimation to the fact that the conch we were able to purchase around our home were much smaller than those shown in the videos/what one would be able to get nearer to the Caribbean), I am unlikely to attempt this dish again; that is, unless I can get my hands on some larger specimens (which I will keep my eye out for because we have a friend who'd be very happy if I could perfect this recipe).  I do also wonder if larger conch just have more flavor and/or are already more tender to begin with.  In conclusion, as we like to say, there are just some foods that are better when someone else makes them for us....and this (for now) is one of them.  I guess we'll have to go to Miami again, or The Bahamas.

This post is part of my project: "Around the World in Foodventures" (I decided I want to expand my culinary horizons even further by making the national dish or a popular recipe, or some signature food or traditional meal from every country in the world. Maybe it'll happen alphabetically, or by region, in random order, or something else. I figure if we can't (yet?) travel everywhere, we at least have the luxury of being able to taste it. It’ll be fun and interesting, but obviously, will take a long time to get through -- as I'll only be doing it once a week or so at most. I am chronicling the journey here.)

“If I’m an advocate of anything, it’s to move…Walk in someone else’s shoes or at least eat their food.” --Tony Bourdain