How do you eat barnacles? Everything you need to know

Barnacles are a traditional seafood in Spanish cuisine. But do you know how to eat them? With these tips, they'll be delicious.

Barnacles are a crustacean found in different areas of Europe, Africa and America.

It has a claw and a pendulum that allows it to stick to rocks, making it risky to catch, especially in strong waves.

This seafood, so prized in Galician cuisine, along with the famous Galician barnacles, is considered a delicacy with exquisite flavor and texture.

In this post, we will offer you some tips on how to cook and eat barnacles and the recommended cooking time.

Recommendations for eating barnacles

Before explaining the best way to cook barnacles, let's address the most common questions surrounding this shellfish.

It's normal that if you've only eaten barnacles in restaurants and never at home, you might not know how to make barnacles.

And as with all seafood, maintaining its flavor and freshness is very important, and that can only be achieved with good cooking techniques.

Are barnacles eaten raw or cooked?

Barnacles are a delicious seafood that is consumed occasionally and is part of Galician cuisine.

This crustacean is found on the coasts of Galicia, Portugal and France, within the European zone.

It's normal for people outside this area to have doubts about how to make barnacles, and even to wonder how to eat them: raw or cooked?

Barnacles are eaten cooked. Unlike other shellfish that can be eaten raw, barnacles require cooking to be tasty.

The most common way to eat barnacles is by cooking them, although some people prefer them sautéed.

Are barnacles eaten hot or cold?

As we mentioned before, the best way to eat barnacles is cooked in salted water.

But How do you eat barnacles? Cold or hot?

Other shellfish can be left to cool or cool once cooked. This isn't the case with this product; barnacles are best eaten warm to enjoy their flavor and texture.

For example, if you're preparing this dish for a dinner at home with friends, we recommend leaving it until just before dinner begins.

Barnacles take very little time to cook, and they're best eaten hot, so they should be the last thing you prepare.

How to eat frozen barnacles

Barnacles are a seasonal product, normally They are found in March, June, September and December.

There may be a month when you want to eat barnacles and they are not available. What you can do in that case is buy them. cooked barnacles Frozen, our cooked barnacles are the best option to always have a reserve at home.

Delfín's cooked barnacles are a product designed so you never run out, no matter what season it is. Always ready to defrost and enjoy!

Plus, you'll save time in the kitchen because they're already cooked and ready to eat.

How to cook barnacles

Cooking barnacles may seem difficult, but nothing could be further from the truth. The two most common techniques are boiling or grilling.

Each method has its own particularities, and both methods produce seafood with a lot of flavor.

How to cook barnacles

The most important thing about cooking barnacles is getting the cooking point right.

Although there are several previous steps that will help make its flavor better and its texture smooth and perfect.

These are the steps for cooking barnacles:

Wash the barnacles: Rinse and drain the barnacles to remove any residue they may have.
Heat the water: Heat a large pot of water and salt until it boils. Ideally, use seawater, but it's very difficult to find, so add approximately 60 grams of salt per liter of water.
Add the barnacles: When the water is boiling, add the barnacles in bunches. Don't separate them before cooking, as they cook better together.
Calculate the cooking time: The cooking time for barnacles is 30 seconds to 1 minute depending on the size of the product.
Strain and serve: Pass the barnacles through a sieve and they will be ready to be plated.

There is some controversy about how to cook barnacles since Many people like to add one or two bay leaves to their cooking. Or even a squeeze of lemon.

According to this group of people, it provides an extra flavor that accompanies the barnacles and does not spoil their taste.

But for many people, that is sacrilege. They say that barnacles They should be cooked only in salted water to fully enjoy their flavor.

Cooking is a very big world, so everyone should consume it in the way they like best.

Cooking time for barnacles

The cooking time for barnacles is very important, if not the most important step for achieving their perfect flavor.

It is recommended to cook them in boiling water (it is important that it is already boiling when you add them), between 30 seconds and 1 minute.

If you remove them too soon, they may end up raw, and you won't enjoy their magnificent flavor. And if you leave them longer than necessary, they may end up tough or chewy.

You should keep in mind that if you add several groups of barnacles, you will need at least 1 minute, and if you add only a few, 30 seconds will be enough.

How to grill barnacles

We explained earlier that there were two methods for preparing barnacles, but in both cases, the product must be cooked beforehand.

To make grilled barnacles, I recommend our pre-cooked barnacles, ready to sauté.

Our product comes ready to serve, but it's also ideal for sautéing with a little lemon and oil.

The steps to follow to make grilled barnacles are:

Leave the cooked Dolphin barnacles defrosting the night before
Drain well to remove as much water as possible.
Heat a large frying pan with a dash of extra virgin olive oil
Add the barnacles and a little lemon juice on top
Sauté for 2 or 3 minutes

And this is how grilled barnacles with a touch of lemon would look, cooked in less than 5 minutes.

If you want to make grilled barnacles using the fresh product, you would have to cook them beforehand.

We've already explained how to do it before, but in short, you have to cook the barnacles in boiling salted water (approximately 60 grams) for 30 seconds or 1 minute, depending on the quantity.

Afterwards, you could follow the steps we indicated above to sauté them on the grill.