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Bahamas · Conch

Bahamian Conch Fritters

Conch Fritters

The snack of every Bahamian fish fry: golden balls of batter packed with chopped conch, peppers and thyme, dunked in a tangy pink dipping sauce.

  • Prep 25 min
  • Cook 15 min
  • Serves 4–6
  • Level Easy
Photo: Krista · CC BY 2.0
Served with: Bahamian Coleslaw ↓En Español

Ingredients

Tap each item as you gather it.

For the fritters

For the dipping sauce

Method

Step by step, the way it is done on the island.

  1. Prep the conch. Pulse the conch in a food processor or chop it very fine. It should be in small bits, not a paste.
  2. Make the batter. Whisk the flour, baking powder and salt. Stir in the egg and milk, then fold in the conch, onion, peppers, celery and thyme. The batter should be thick enough to hold on a spoon.
  3. Heat the oil. Heat 2 inches (5 cm) of oil to 350 °F (175 °C). Stir together the mayonnaise, ketchup, lime juice and hot sauce for dipping.
  4. Fry. Drop rounded tablespoons of batter into the oil without crowding and fry 3–4 minutes, turning, until deep golden and cooked through. Drain on paper towels.
  5. Serve. Serve hot with the dipping sauce, lime wedges and a bowl of Bahamian coleslaw.

On the side

The side dish that belongs with it, full recipe included.

The Bahamas

Bahamian Coleslaw

Coleslaw

Crunchy, slightly sweet cabbage slaw with a kick of goat pepper. In Nassau’s Arawak Cay fish fry it comes with every plate of fried snapper.

  • Prep 15 min + 30 min chilling
  • Cook 0 min
  • Serves 6
  • Level Easy

You need

  • ½ medium green cabbage, finely shredded (about 5 cups)
  • 2 carrots, grated
  • ¼ small onion, grated
  • ⅔ cup mayonnaise
  • 1 tbsp sugar
  • 1 tbsp white vinegar
  • ½ tsp salt
  • ½ goat or Scotch bonnet pepper, minced (optional)

How to make it

  1. Shred. Shred the cabbage very fine and grate the carrots and onion into a big bowl.
  2. Make the dressing. Whisk the mayonnaise, sugar, vinegar, salt and hot pepper until the sugar dissolves.
  3. Toss. Pour the dressing over the vegetables and toss until everything is coated.
  4. Chill. Cover and chill at least 30 minutes. Stir again before serving.

Photo: Stanistani · CC BY-SA 3.0

More ways to cook Conch

Same fish, a different corner of the sea.

Nassau, BahamasBahamian Conch Salad
Jacmel, HaitiHaitian Conch Stew
Tobago, Trinidad and TobagoTrini Conch Souse