How to prepare cockles
Cockles are small Atlantic shellfish which can be used in many delicious dishes. However, they need to be prepared with care before cooking.
Here is a simple way to do this.
Here is a simple way to do this.
Last modified on: March 13th 2013
Keywords for this recipe:
1 kg 
1 
1 sprig 
10 g 
100 ml 
How long does it take?
Time required for this recipe:
| Preparation | Resting | Cooking | Start to finish |
|---|---|---|---|
| 25 min. | 1 hour | 27 min. | 1 hour 52 min. |
At what time:
- When will I finish if I start the recipe at ... ?
When should I start for the recipe to be ready at ... ? - Work this out...
Step by step recipe
Stage 1 - 30 min.
Tip the cockles into a large container of cold water. Stir them round briefly and leave for 30 minutes.
Stage 2 - 3 min.
After this time, remove the cockles form the water. It is important not to tip the contents of the container through a sieve (which will not extract the sand), but remove them carefully from the water.
See how on this video.
Discard the water, rinse out the container, refill it with clean water and put the cockles back in.
See how on this video.
Discard the water, rinse out the container, refill it with clean water and put the cockles back in.
Stage 3 - 30 min.
Leave to soak for another 30 minutes.
Repeat this operation until the water remains clear.
Repeat this operation until the water remains clear.
Stage 5 - 2 min.
Melt 10 g butter in a large pan then add the chopped shallot and parsley, but do not add salt or pepper. Cook without colouring for 1 minute.
Stage 6 - 5 min.
Add 100 ml dry white wine and bring to the boil.
Stage 7 - 2 min.
As soon as the white wine boils, add the washed cockles...
Stage 8
...and cover.
Stage 9
After a few minutes, the shells will begin to open. Stir them round in the pan so that those that are still closed are in the wine to give them the chance to open.
Stage 10 - 5 min.
After 3 or 4 minutes take out all the opened cockles, using a (spider) araignée or skimmer and put them in a sieve.
Stage 11 - 10 min.
Remove the contents of the cockles one at a time and discard the shells. Discard any cockles that have broken shells and any that have not opened.
Stage 12 - 2 min.
Rinse the cockles under cold running water to remove any remaining sand.
Stage 13
If you plan to use the cooking liquid to make a sauce, which is a very good idea, you will need to reduce it.
Stage 14 - 3 min.
Pour the contents of the pan into a smaller pan through a fine sieve.
Stage 15
Beware: the sand from the cockles will collect at the bottom of the pan, so it is important NOT to try and filter right to the last drop, but discard the liquid from the bottom (and the sand with it).
Stage 16 - 15 min.
Reduce the remaining saved cooking liquid by around half over low heat before using in your recipe.
Remarks
When preparing cockles, you will encounter two problems: sand, which is very unpleasant in the mouth (so do follow the advice to deal with this) and the saltiness of the cooking liquid. If you use this to make a sauce, do not add any salt.
Cockles are mostly shells and water: for 1 kg of cockles you will only end up with around 100 g of useful cockle meat (90% waste).
Cockles are mostly shells and water: for 1 kg of cockles you will only end up with around 100 g of useful cockle meat (90% waste).
Keeping
A few hours in the fridge in a sealed container or covered with plastic film.
Source
Home made.
Nutritional information
| Whole recipe | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Energetic value | Proteins | Carbohydrates | Fats |
| 152 Kcal or 636 Kj | 10 gr | 6 gr | 8 gr |
| 8 % | 4 % | 1 % | 1 % |
| Per 100 g | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Energetic value | Proteins | Carbohydrates | Fats |
| 13 Kcal or 54 Kj | 1 gr | 1 gr | 1 gr |
| 1 % | <1 % | <1 % | <1 % |
How much will it cost?
- For 120 g : 6.81 €
Note: Be careful, these prices are only an estimate, you can consult the table of prices by ingredients used for this estimate.
Some recipes that use this recipe
Fisherman's Ragout
This ragout combines vegetables (cut small and cooked until just tender in vegetable stock) with a mix of cockles and chunks of fish, all simmered together with cream and saffron.
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Tagliatelle with cockles
In this recipe, the cockles and pasta are prepared separately, then mixed with the sauce at the last minute. The cockles are first cooked quickly, then shelled carefully (I find it unpleasant to have to do this on the plate) and the cooking juices are used to prepare a cream sauce. The tagliatelle...
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This recipe uses (among others)
 | Cockles: You can get more informations, or check-out other recipes which use it, for example: Fillets of sole Dieppoise, Cockles and cabbage with smoky cream sauce, Crusty cockle tart, Tagliatelle with cockles, Breton style shellfish and vegetable soup, ... All |
 | Dry white wine: You can get more informations, or check-out other recipes which use it, for example: Quiche Bretonne, French onion soup, Chicken breasts with tarragon, Rabbit terrine, Rosemary steamed fish, ... All |
 | Butter: You can get more informations, or check-out other recipes which use it, for example: Milk rolls, Tatin apples with mascarpone cream, Fraisier (French strawberry cake), Chicken Brussels pie, Mushroom buckwheat pancakes, ... All |
 | Shallot: You can get more informations, or check-out other recipes which use it, for example: Beans with tomatoes, Artichokes with beef, Montbenoit's canapés, Mixed salad with curry mayo, Röstis, ... All |
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