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A close-up of golden brown conch fritters served on a rectangular white platter lined with a banana leaf. The fritters are round and crispy, with visible bits of green and red from diced vegetables. A small bowl of creamy dipping sauce and lemon wedges are placed in the corner of the plate.

Conch Fritters Recipe

Conch Fritters are a crispy, golden appetizer packed with tender conch, fresh veggies, and vibrant peppers in every bite. This easy recipe pairs perfectly with your favorite dipping sauce and brings a taste of the islands to your table.
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour 10 minutes
Course: Appetizer
Cuisine: Caribbean

Ingredients
  

For flavor bath:
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 7 cloves of garlic
  • Pimento
  • 4 Scallions
  • Handful of fresh thyme
  • Hot pepper whole
  • 1 tablespoon salt
  • 6-8 cups of water
Fritters:
  • 1 lb of conch tenderized in flavor bath
  • 1 Shallot diced
  • 1 Scallion diced
  • 3 Sprigs of Thyme stripped from the stems
  • ¼ of red yellow and green bell pepper (diced finely)
  • Scotch bonnet minced
  • Maggi Fish season up
  • ¼ teaspoon Black pepper
  • ¼ teaspoon Salt
  • 1 Egg beaten
  • 1 cup of flour
  • 1 tablespoon baking powder
  • About 1 cup of cold milk
  • 3 cups oil for frying

Equipment

  • Medium pot
  • Cutting board
  • Sharp knife
  • 2 Medium mixing bowls
  • Fork or spoon for mixing
  • Medium skillet
  • 2 soup spoons for shaping fritters
  • Paper towels for draining
  • Liquid thermometer 

Method
 

  1. Rinse conch meat under fresh running water to remove any sand that might be on the meat. Conch meat usually comes already cleaned with the inedible parts removed.
  2. In a large pot, add water and all of the flavor bath ingredients. Add conch to the bath, cover and let conch cook until fork tender, about 1 hour on high heat.
  3. Once the conch is cooked, remove it from the water and cut it into small pieces. Discard water and other ingredients. I like to keep the conch pieces a bit larger so that I can get good bites of meat in each fritter.
  4. Dice shallot, green onion, bell peppers and scotch bonnet finely. Add the veggies to a medium bowl with diced conch pieces.
  5. Season with Maggi, salt and pepper. Use a spoon or fork to mix well.
  6. To the conch mixture, add 1 beaten egg. Use a spoon to mix egg into the mixture well.
  7. Once the egg is fully combined, add baking powder to the flour. Alternate flour and milk to create a wet batter. The wetter the batter, the flatter the fritter will be. Pay attention to the consistency of the batter and try to ensure it is smooth but not runny. (see video)
  8. Heat the oil to 350 degrees in a medium skillet. Use your thermometer to make sure the oil is at the correct temperature.
  9. To drop the batter you will need two soup spoons. Use one spoon to pick up a heaping amount of the batter. Use the other spoon to push the batter off into the hot oil. Fry each fritter on both sides until golden brown, about 2 mins on each side.
  10. Remove cooked fritters from oil and drain on a plate lined with paper towels.
  11. Serve fritter hot with aioli dipping sauce or hot sauce.

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