{"id":3691,"date":"2015-03-03T06:19:59","date_gmt":"2015-03-03T11:19:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ncseagrant.ncsu.edu\/?p=3691"},"modified":"2024-05-02T15:18:24","modified_gmt":"2024-05-02T19:18:24","slug":"a-delicious-stew-whatever-the-name","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ncseagrant.ncsu.edu\/currents\/2015\/03\/a-delicious-stew-whatever-the-name\/","title":{"rendered":"A Delicious Stew, Whatever the Name"},"content":{"rendered":"

By VANDA LEWIS<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Posted March 3, 2015\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

\"Conch\/whelk

Whelk, such as this knobbed whelk, is mistakenly called conch in North Carolina. Photo by Vanda Lewis.<\/p><\/div>\n

Conch stew is an unusual recipe that most of you have probably not tried.<\/p>\n

While I have prepared this stew many times, I have to admit I thought I was cooking conch (family Strombidae). However, later I learned it’s actually whelk (family Buccinidae).<\/p>\n

My colleague Terri Kirby Hathaway explains the naming confusion<\/a> in her blog post.<\/p>\n

To my knowledge, in Carteret County, it always has been called conch stew or chowder. It is even sold in local markets as \u201cconch.\u201d It is available during the winter months and throughout spring, sold frozen by the pound or quart.<\/p>\n

Cooks in Carteret County’s Down East region often have their own version of conch\/whelk stew. Some add potatoes and onions, canned biscuits or cornmeal dumplings. The key to good stew is to tenderize the meat with a mallet prior to stewing.<\/p>\n

Below is a recipe I adapted from my mother Donna and Ruth, my mother-in-law. To go along with the stew, I recommend cornmeal dumplings and Ruth\u2019s turn cakes<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"Conch

Conch\/whelk stew is a Down East Carteret County specialty. Photo by Vanda Lewis.<\/p><\/div>\n

Conch\/Whelk Stew<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

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