Rbs Conch Chowder

KitchenHacker's Note:

Most (legal) conch are found frozen at your fish monger. I use about a pound of conch and supplement it with a can of minced clams. If you can't get conch, use all clams and turn it into clam chowder. That works too.

• Total Time: 1 hrs 45 mins
• Prep Time: 30 mins
• Cook Time: 1 hrs 15 mins

Ingredients:

Servings: 4

• 1 lb conch (thawed and cleaned)
• 4 slices bacon, crumbled
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1/3 cup carrot, diced
• 1/3 cup celery, diced
• 2 medium potatoes, diced
• 1 (15 ounce) can diced tomatoes (Hunts)
• 1/3 cup frozen corn kernels
• 3 cups water
• 1/2 cup dry sherry
• 1 (6 1/2 ounce) can minced clams
• 1 (8 ounce) bottle clam juice
• 1 teaspoon garlic (minced)
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1/2 teaspoon hot sauce (or to taste)

Directions:

1. Thaw and tenderize conch with a tenderizing mallet until it starts to fall apart, then chop into pea sized pieces. (Don't skip this step. Conch is basically a white piece of rubber).
2. Saute the 4 strips of bacon to render the fat out, then remove and crumble the bacon and set it aside, reserving the bacon fat.
3. In a 4 quart sauce pan, add bacon fat onions, garlic, carrots, conch, and celery. Saute until tender but dont alow the mixture to brown.
4. Add clams, water, clam juice, diced tomatoes, spices, wine, hot sauce and diced potatoes. Bring to a boil for 5 minutes, reduce heat to a simmer and cook until potatoes are tender (about 30 minutes).
5. Add frozen corn niblets and simmer 15 minutes longer.
6. Reduce heat further to "keep warm", add crumbled bacon, cover and allow the flavors to meld for another 30 minutes.
7. Serve with saltines or oyster crackers.