Bahamas/Abacos: Marsh Harbor – Conch Salad
Conch salad (pronounced “konk”) is the national food of Bahamas. It’s raw meat taken out of the shell of a conch, marinated with lime and orange juice, mixed with tomatoes, onion, cucumbers, and peppers, and made spicy. It’s insane!!! There is an incredible place at the waterfront in Marsh Harbor, just a shack of two guys making the best conch salad in Bahamas. The conchs are pulled live from the water right in front of you, the shell is broken with a hammer and the conch meat is pulled out, finely chopped in front of you, mixed with vegetable, and marinated with juice. Authentic, simple, and delicious. But wait – there is a variation of the conch salad that only locals order and know (it’s very limited quantities every day) – it’s conch/whelks/curbs shellfish raw and minced. Whelks are smaller shells, while curbs are actually chitons – mollusks that stick to the sea rocks and walls. All three are very distinct in flavor.
