John Cox of Sierra Mar now cooking with keyhole limpet (!)—and loving it.

Even after he explains it, I’m still not sure how John Cox of Sierra Mar (667-2800) makes things like redwood needles, sardine backbones and sea cucumber guts tastes like butter, only better.

The other day he figured how to make sea cucumber palatable.

Now—as he continues to seek out underused local ingredients—he’s found one that excites him more than any he’s encountered, and one I did not see coming: the keyhole limpet.

[Bonus limpet info to come to light since this first was published: Limpet extracts have actually been shown to have positive impacts on Alzheimer's and some autoimmune disorders...]

After removing its leathery shell, experimenting with preps and ID’ing a sweeter, more complex flavor profile than abalone, he says this: “The result was completely unexpected- a creamy-white flesh, slightly sticky to the touch, most similar to a piece of braised pork fat.

"The flavor was rich and creamy—delicious and completely unlike anything I have tasted.”   

It debuted on his tasting menu at Sierra Mar last night.

Today he's out at Pebble Beach Food & Wine doing the Australian lunch with Aussie chef Jordan Toft (Everleigh), packaged as "a culinary walkabout as two chefs, one Australian and one American, create a custom menu showcasing the free thinking and innovative approach to Australia’s food scene, artfully paired with wines from the Yarra Valley in Victoria to the Barossa in South Australia specially selected by Wine Australia."

Saturday he helps anchor the Lexus Grand Tasting. He says his dish is "going to be themed as a 1960s kitchen disaster with burnt toast and spam."

In most anyone else's hands, I'd be a little concerned. In his, I can't wait to see it—though I'd rather eat limpet.

Here's a peek at chef's adventure eating notes:

[Last month] the spiny lobster season and whelk season both came to a close. The Monterey Abalone Farm, who has been collecting both of these items for us, asked me if I had any other exotic seafoods on my wish list.

They have always come through on even the most outlandish requests, such as live moon jellyfish and sea cucumber, so I racked my brain to think of anything that might be worth pursuing.

Anemone, commonly eaten in Spain, but illegal to harvest in California, was out of the question. I remembered reading something about native Californians eating gumboot chiton, but had no idea what flavor they might have, or whether they would be a choice ingredient.

As luck would have it, Trevor [Fay] happened to have a gumboot that he had collected for an aquarium and was more than happy to let me have it. While he searched the tank he also ran across a giant keyhole limpet, resembling an abalone shrouded in a strange-black film. For good measure, I decided to add it to the shopping list. 

The gumboot chiton was pretty bad—not only was it flavorless, it also retained a hard-brittle texture (like plastic) regardless of whether it was raw, gently poached or cooked for hours. The results were so disappointing that for the time being I have written it off as strictly a survival food.

The giant keyhole limpet was a whole other story.

After removing the strange black leathery shell, I pulled a large muscle—reminiscent of an abalone “foot,” from the small-oval shell with small hole on top. I was then able to separate this portion into two parts—a central “foot” and donut shaped outer muscle. After trying a few preparation methods we were able to get perfect slices of firm yet tender meat with a flavor similar to abalone but with perhaps even a sweeter more complex note, by gently poaching a slice of the middle muscle in salted water for 25 seconds. We also took the outside ring and slowly poached it in water with sea salt for 2 hours. The result was completely unexpected—a creamy-white flesh, slightly sticky to the touch, most similar to a piece of braised pork fat.

The flavor was rich and creamy—delicious and completely unlike anything I have tasted. It was an incredibly fruitful and exciting afternoon in the kitchen—and I am excited to work on a dish that showcases the unique culinary merits of the keyhole limpet!