We invite you into our kitchen, with host Adam Berkelmans, to dive deep into the food history behind our favorite dishes and to cook along with us, line by line and item by item.
Small Batch Garlic Beer Broth for Gooseneck Barnacles
Moving from the valley to the Oregon coast I wasn’t always as knowledgeable when it comes to locally sourced seafoods as I am today and back when my coastal foraging journey had just begun, a friend of mine sent me an image of the strangest looking sea creature asking if they were edible and although I had never seen anything like it, and they certainly looked incredibly unappetizing, I made it my mission to find out what these alien-looking sea creatures were and if they were in fact edible.
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That alien looking creature was none other than the gooseneck barnacle and it is in fact edible! Not only is this strange looking crustacean edible but it is out of this world delicious! With its sweet, briny flavor, similar to a clam and how abundantly they’re available here on the Oregon Coast this bizarre looking sea creature just catapulted its way up to the top of my list for amazing coastal eats!
Gooseneck barnacles are filter-feeding crustaceans that attach themselves to to hard surfaces of rocks and depend on water motion rather than movement for feeding on plankton. How they got their name is just as odd as the creature itself too, it’s derived from the notion that these bizarre creatures are actually goose eggs. Unable to observe certain geese’s far-away breeding grounds, medieval naturalists in Europe believed that when goslings were ready to hatch, these barnacles would fall from their rocky perches and fully formed goslings rose from the sea. Gooseneck barnacles, although not related to geese, are actually members of the crustacean family, related to crabs and lobsters and have been prized in Spain for centuries, fetching upward of $100 per pound. So the next time you’re out harvesting mussels along the central Oregon coast there’s a very good chance you’ll see these alien-looking creatures scattered throughout the rocks as well but be sure to always know the rules and regulations when harvesting marine life.
Currently Oregon regulations require a shellfish license for harvest and limit wild harvest of these barnacles to 10 individuals of any size, which isn’t a whole lot but definitely just enough to sample with some of your closest friends!
If you are in fact brave enough to try these crustaceans here’s a quick step by step on how to clean and prep your barnacles and recipe to follow that will surely impress your guests and add the title of adventurous eater to your resume!
How to prepare gooseneck barnacles:
• Step one: Quickly blanch barnacles in salted boiling water for about 45 seconds.
• Step two: Immediately remove from boiling wanter and submerge in an ice bath for up to 5 minutes, no longer. Drain barnacles.
• Step three: Open the mouth of the gooseneck barnacle (that white, beak-looking shell at the end) and rinse thoroughly under water to ensure all sand is removed. Ensuring skin has separated from the meat, trim tough outer skin off of barnacle with kitchen scissors (get ready for a splash though because these guys release a lot of sea water when you remove the skin) as well as trimming off the head of the barnacle which is not edible.
• Step four: Slice into bite size pieces then enjoy! You can eat as is or serve with your favorite dipping sauce or broth. I used a variation one of my favorite beer broths that I typically use for mussels then topped them with fresh parsley and coarse sea salt and they were absolutely incredible!
