Conch Fritters (The Bahamas)

Submitted by GiddyUpGo

"This recipe Is from week 19 of my food blog, "Travel by Stove." I am attempting to cook one meal from every nation on Earth, and The Bahamas are my 19th stop. Poster's Note: I never use any recipes for Travel by Stove (this one included) that I am not reasonably certain come from traditional or authentic sources. I never add or remove ingredients from them before I post them to my blog or to Food.com, even if I think the recipe might benefit from changes. In this way I can be sure I'm giving my readers a true representation of cuisine from the region. Conch fritters are served in restaurants all over the islands, so many people think of them as a big part of the Bahamian tourist experience. If you can't find conch in your local market (and you probably can't), you can order a canned version online."

 

• Ready In: 35mins
• Ingredients: 16
• Yields: 30 Fritters

ingredients

• For the fritters

• conch, ground
• 1⁄2 green bell pepper, diced fine
• 1⁄2 red bell pepper, diced fine
• 1⁄2 yellow bell pepper, diced fine
• 1⁄2 white onion, diced fine
• 1 celery rib, finely sliced
• 1 teaspoon jalapeno chile, minced
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro
• 1 tablespoon dried thyme
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1⁄2 teaspoon jamaican jerk seasoning
• water
• vegetable oil (for frying)

• For the Dipping Sauce

• 1⁄2 cup ketchup
• 1⁄2 cup lime juice
• 1⁄4 cup mayonnaise

directions

1. In a small bowl, whisk together the dipping sauce ingredients.
2. Finely mince or grind the conch meat.
3. Sift the flour over the bowl containing the ground conch meat. Stir until the flour coats all of the meat.
4. Gently fold in the chopped vegetables and the herbs, then add some water. You want just enough to bind it all together but not so much that the batter becomes runny.
5. Heat up about two inches of oil in a stockpot. It's ready when it bubbles up around the non-stirring end of a wooden spoon.
6. Scoop up some of the fritter batter and flatten it out into the spoon. The fritters need be a little thin because you don't want them to end up burned on the outside and raw in the middle. These aren't sushi fritters.
7. Drop them into the oil. Flip them once during cooking so they will cook evenly.
8. When they are a nice golden color on both sides take them out and drain them on a paper towel. Serve hot with the dipping sauce.

Reviews

[Jean A.]

Just made the family some home made conch fritters. I threw everything in it. Seasonings you would not think of , seasonings from the featured recipe (Bahamian), used coconut oil and Crisco, tenderized the conch myself and ....delicious. If say so myself, they looked like the picture. I will take a picture of the HM conch fritters for my memory book.

 

[CooksMealsForTwo]

The last reviewer forgot to use the Jamaican Jerk seasoning, and then she posted a nasty review. How embarrassing. I found conch in a little market near the ocean and didn't know what to do with it, so I made these. Hubby and I thought these were good, really different. The conch is kind of mild so the fritters are also a little mild. I did put in some extra jerk seasoning because we like salt, and you do need to make sure you made the dipping sauce. The dipping sauce is simple but really good and goes good with the fritters. Liked it a lot, thank you for posting!

 

[thom1563]

This is the worst recipe I have ever tried. I would give this a half star if possible. Do not I repeat do not waste your time and money on this bland tasting recipe. Unfortunately there were other recipes for conch fritters I could have tried but I selected this one. My husband wanted conch fritters and although my own recipe is good, I wanted to try something different. Oh boy was I in for a bad experience. Pay careful attention to the ingredients, there are herbs and flower but no real seasoning, this came out so horrible tasting that I only made two for my husband and one for myself. I left the batter in the refrig so that I can doctor them up later and make them taste palatable. I don't normally rate the food, but I felt I had to warn others. YUCK!!!!!!!