Beat The Butcher At The Beach Part II

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Other West Coast limpets-and even Acmaea testudinalis, an Eastern variety-are generally considered to be too small to bother with. As the late Euell Gibbons pointed out in his writings about foraged foods, however, that idea is nonsense. It might not be big enough to eat as steaks, but the meat of almost any limpet is worth going after for chowder and soups.

To prepare one of those chowders, put a quart or more of limpets into a covered kettle with one cup of water and steam the shellfish for ten minutes. Remove the limpets (save the broth) and, as soon as the gastropods are cool enough to handle, remove their meat and discard the shells and viscera. The meat is then ground in a food chopper with a medium blade, returned to the broth, and placed over a low heat.

Next dice one large onion and four slices of bacon and fry 'em together until the onion is translucent. Add two cups of diced potatoes, cover everything with water, and boil the mixture until the spuds are soft. Then stir in the limpet meat and broth and immediately add one quart of milk and one-quarter teaspoon of finely ground black pepper. Allow the mixture to simmer while you blend one tablespoon of flour into one-fourth cup of milk and then slowly stir the solution into the chowder. Continue stirrin' the soup as it simmers (without boiling) for approximately ten minutes. Serve the steaming ambrosia with crackers on the side.

Yet another family of related mollusksthe chitons, or sea cradles-can also put good eatin' on the table . .. even though they tend to grow so small (only up to two inches long) on this continent's East Coast that few people ever give them that chance.

An, but it's a different story all the way from Alaska down to Baja California here on the western shores of North America, where the giant sea cradle (Amicula stellerh reaches a length of thirteen inches.

Look for the brick-red giant sea cradles at low tide along rugged beaches.

The vegetarian animals often hide under overhanging ledges and are sometimes difficult to see . .. but it's not unusual to stumble onto dozens of them clustered together along the lowwater mark of rough northern California beaches in the spring.

Chiton meat does have a tendency to develop a strong fishy smell within two hours of the time it's caught. When you clean 'em Immediately, however, pack their steaks in ice, and then cook their meat as quickly as possible . . . sea cradles are so delicious that you'll want to get right up from the table and begin picking your way through slippery coastal rocks in search of more.

And while you're out there-especially if you want to collect your seafood without any competitionkeep an eye peeled for various members of the whelk family (whelks are marine gastropods which look so "snaily" that few folks ever give a thought to eating them).

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