Wine Food Pairing - Cracked Conch in Guanaja?

Wine Food Pairing is an everyday occurrence for us. Whether we are in the United States, Europe, Bahamas or now our favorite Guanaja Honduras, it is always something to consider. Below is a picture of the local Guanaja "conch dude". He plies these crystal clear Caribbean waters with his dug out canoe and pulls up some of the tastiest conch around. This slow moving mollusk hangs out in the turtle grasses mainly and is just ready for the taking as they are pretty slow movers! For just a few Lempiras (less than a dollar) we obtained the evenings dinner for six people.

My husband decided that he would assist with the prep and passed out a few tips to the Castaways Resort staff..... after all he has had a lot of practice from conching in the Bahamas!


Once the conch is totally cleaned and all of the the orange and black “parts” have been removed, slice into ¼ inch slices so that you have small fillets. Next, bring out the conch “whacker”….. we had to buy one for the resort on the cay, as conch "whacking" was new to them. Place the fillets on a plastic cutting board and begin to “whack” the heck out of them….tenderized to the point of being able to read a newspaper through it.

Now dredge in seasoned flour, dip in beaten egg, then re-dredge and place on a plate…..in the meantime heat some butter in a sauce pan.

Kevin, the Castaways manager ,is manning the stove top. Gently sauté the fillets on both sides until golden brown and place on a paper towel to drain. When you plate this up, garnish with fresh lime quarters. Just a squeeze brings out the best of flavors.

Now for the next question, what wine to pair with our Bahamian cracked conch served in Honduras, prepped by an Austrian and sauteed by an American? YIKES! We found a nice Pinot Grigio from Italy in one of the local stores on the cay and it worked perfectly. The crisp pionot with the buttery conch ... totally the BEST!

Wine Food Pairing ...... Aventura en Honduras. CHEERS!