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.
419,807 13.7/5 for 122 ratings
Grade this recipe: Last modified on: March 13th 2013
For 120 g, you will need:
1 kg 
1 sprig 
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.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 : These prices are only approximate.
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.
68,2454.1/5 for 19 ratings 2 hours 17 min.
Crusty cockle tart
A small puff pastry tart case filled with cockles in a cream and egg-yolk sauce ("a la poulette" in French).
80,6964.3/5 for 15 ratings 2 hours 52 min.
Fillets of sole Dieppoise
In principal, fillets of sole Dieppoise are poached and served with a creamy sauce and small shellfish. I am offering a new twist on the dish, with the fish sautéed rather than poached, a cream sauce flavoured with mussel stock, and served with shellfish (mussels, cockles and clams), mushrooms and...
36,0553.9/5 for 19 ratings 1 hour 27 min.
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...
66,336 14.7/5 for 3 ratings 2 hours 16 min.
Source
Home made.More recipes?
This recipe uses (among others) | Cockles: You can get more informations, or check-out other recipes which use it, for example: Tagliatelle with cockles, Fillets of sole Dieppoise, Fisherman's Ragout, Crusty cockle tart, ... All |
 | Dry white wine: You can get more informations, or check-out other recipes which use it, for example: Melting Epoisses on toast , Cheese tart, Quiche Bretonne, Spaghetti with mushrooms, Melt-in-the mouth meat and vegetables in a sealed casserole, ... All |
 | Butter: You can get more informations, or check-out other recipes which use it, for example: Nanou's chocolate cake, Brioche galette, Pogne de Romans, Rice pudding with fruit and nuts, "Buttonhole" quail eggs, ... All |
 | Shallot: You can get more informations, or check-out other recipes which use it, for example: Sautéed chicken with leeks, Escalope of veal in a cream sauce, Aperitif rolls, French bean salad with vinaigrette , Rosemary steamed fish, ... All |
Other recipes you may also like
Natural leaven
Leaven is a natural raising agent, a fermented mixture of water, flour and the microscopic yeasts which are present in the air. It's a delicate living substance, sensitive to the external environment. The recipe is around 4000 years old and dates back to the Egypt of the Pharaohs, via a beautiful...224,049 284.2/5 for 32 ratings 7 days 15 min.
Pâté de campagne
Here is a personal version of the famous country pâté. It's an interesting recipe to prepare in large quantities because it keeps well and freezes easily. The secret of a good pâté is of course the ingredients, but also how it is cooked.116,235 23.7/5 for 3 ratings 7 hours 54 min.
Peach and mint salad
Here is a very simple, fresh and delicious recipe; the flavour of mint goes very well with peaches.85,819 24/5 for 1 ratings 20 min.
How to use a vanilla pod effectively
Vanilla pods are used in many recipes, but they need to treated in a particular way to be effective, detailed here.74,4684.3/5 for 6 ratings 34 min.
Leeks in vinaigrette
A classic dish of French family and bistro cooking. It's both simple and good. The secret lies in cooking the leeks until they are only just tender, so that they keep their lovely green colour. The special vinaigrette includes herbs and hard-boiled eggs.37,9424.3/5 for 15 ratings 45 min.
News list of cooking-ez.com
Sign up to receive the latest recipes (next batch due to be sent on 2021-03-07)
Note: We'll never share your email with anyone else.
Follow this recipe (as 9 people already do)
If you are interested in this recipe, you can "follow" it, by entering your email address here. You will then receive a notification immediately each time the recipe is modified or a new comment is added. Please note that you will need to confirm this following.Note: We'll never share your email with anyone else.
Alternatively: you can subscribe to the mailing list of cooling-ez.com , you will receive a e-mail for each new recipe published on the site.
Post your comment or question
Your 1 comments or questions on this recipe
Many Thanks!