percebes, also known as gooseneck barnacles, are a crustacean found along the pacific coast and the northern iberian coast. unlike other barnacles, they have a long, husky “neck” (called a peduncle) that contains a delicate meat. they grow in intertidal zones, and beak’s percebes are harvested right off our shores in sitka sound in the summertime. they can be dangerous to harvest because they can only grow in places with strong tides, as they depend on water motion for feeding. because they are so challenging to harvest and because they typically aren’t farmed, they can be a rare treat to find in a restaurant. beak doesn’t always have percebes on hand, but when we do, it’s a party!
percebes have a rather mild flavor—while the texture is a little bit similar to that of shrimp, the taste is quite unique, though it is not unlike the taste of clams and shrimp.
to eat percebes, you hold on to the gray, scaly shell with one hand and gently pry off the tough neck—it can help if you use your fingernails to peel some of the base of the neck from the shell. be careful, though, as sometimes there’s residual sea water inside, and it can squirt out! inside, you’ll find the orange/purple fleshy meat, and that’s the most commonly eaten part. you can also eat the squishy innards inside the shell, but they have a different flavor.
at beak, percebes are served with cocktail sauce and a lemon wedge.
*photo credit to laura ulrich at monsters and molecules!
*photo credit to sitkan artist, fiona ferguson
