Curry Conch

A bold, flavorful dish of tenderized conch meat, cooked down in a spicy curry sauce. Pair this with some boiled dumplings and ground provision and your guests will be eating out of your hands.

One of my favorite meats curried is conch. Have you ever had it?

Once cooked correctly, it becomes a nice smooth, buttery meat that has been cooked down in an aromatic curry sauce.

After that, it's just time to pair it with some dumplings and an array of ground provisions. Yummy.

Like shrimp or curry crab, this seafood is simmered down into a nice curry sauce with or without coconut milk depending on your preference. (I prefer it with).

This Caribbean favorite requires a little work prior to making it tasty.

This recipe was the last recipe my dad made before he passed away, and it has taken me a little bit of time to get it posted.

He loved cooking untraditional meats like conch, and other meats we call "wild meat" which would include things like agouti, rabbit, wilks etc.

I've been with him cooking conch numerous times, so it was with no hesitation I decided to have him work on this one with me.

How long does conch take to cook

This timing can vary. It's based on the size of your pieces. How much you have done to it prior to cooking as it relates to tenderizing.

Additionally how much conch you are going to cook will also determine the cooking time.

Cooking conch requires you to get it to the perfect texture.

You need to soften it.

So the time will vary depending on the method chosen.

But how do you soften conch?

I go into various methods of tenderizing conch in my post on how to prepare and cook conch.

I talk about pounding using a meat tenderizer or boiling the meat.

Another way is to tenderize the meat by pressure cooker. It can also just be left to slow cook in a slow cooker overnight.

One other method I have started using more often now, especially to make my conch soup or steamed conch, is to slit the conch in half sideways.

Basically, I butterfly each piece then cut it into smaller uniform, bite-size pieces.

It makes it thinner and helps to cut down the cooking time.

  

How to cook curry conch

Once you have picked your method of softening, then we can start to get this baby ready for currying.

Season up your conch with some green seasoning and set aside so that it can marinate for a while.

I don't like to add Irish potatoes to this dish like we sometimes do with curry chicken. I personally do not like conch with potatoes but you can add them in if you wish.

This recipe is a straight meat curry and then paired with some dumplings.

After the meat is tenderized, we are just making a flavorful curry sauce and let the meat simmer down as it thickens.

Once the sauce has thickened and the meat pieces are tender, then you can remove and start eating.

It is important to make sure that the pieces you make are as equal-sized as possible. Having varying sizes would mean that some pieces may cook faster than others.

Please also note that curry conch is not that curry with a lot of gravy. You get a drier curry here. So if you would like more gravy then just add more water.

  

Reheating curry conch

The best way to warm up curry conch is to put it on the stove and let it heat back up.

You can take the conch out of the fridge and add it to a deep pot. On medium-high heat, add a little water to the pot and let it come to a boil.

Break up frozen pieces of gravy and just make sure everything is warmed all the way through.

If you have leftover dumplings, you also can reheat those on the stove.

Put some water to boil and when it's boiling add dumplings. They would not need to be boiled for long since they are already cooked.

Additionally, using the microwave is also an option. I've done this numerous times. Thought the stovetop is the best way if you just need to reheat a plate sometimes this is faster. Or if you are lazy.

Just make sure everything is warmed all the way through.

One tip is to also make sure there is gravy on top of the dumplings when warming up so that they don't get hard/tough.
  

  

What to pair it with

Personally, I think conch is really just to be eaten with dumplings.

White flour dumplings are my favorite but you can have them with cassava dumplings or some cornmeal dumplings.

Some people also love to pair with some ground provisions.

You can try some yam, cassava, boiled plantain, and dasheen.

Check out some of my other curry recipes: