Help with clams

[John Coloccia]

OK, so I live in New England, and I've been here on and off for a good 10 years, at least, but I grew up in New York and don't know much about preparing fresh seafood. Give me something dead, I'm good....LOL. Anyhow, I generally don't use any prepared food anymore...everything in my house is fresh these days. I'd like to make some Manhattan clam chowder tonight....ut oh, problem....I've never worked with live clams before. I think store bought clams are generally already "cleaned" in the sense that all the sand that's going to come out is out, but what about the rest of the "cleaning"? My plan is to drop them in some boiling water to open them and make the clam broth, but then what do I do with the meat? Can I just cut it all out, chop it up and toss it in or do I need to clean it? Stomach...kidneys (do they have kidneys?) etc.

I used to date a girl up in Maine, and her dad worked down at the docks shucking, so I was fed all sorts of things like whole, raw clams, pickled snails, etc, and I'm still casting shadows so I'm guessing it's perfectly OK to eat 100% of the clam, but I'm not sure. Google is stubbornly not giving me a straight answer on this :)

[Steve Friedman]

They may be cleaned, but I would still soak them in water with some cornmeal for a bit to get all the sand out. Throw out the ones with broken shells and the ones that won't remain closed. Rinse well. Then steam (better flavor than boiling). Remove the clams from the heat as soon as they open (you don't want to overcook them). Remove the clam meat from the open clams (fingers are fine) and chop them up. Nothing "bad" to remove. Throw out the clams that don't open.

By the way, most clams are not like Maine ones. There is no rubbery "tail" (not sure what that is) sticking out. You can also buy fresh shucked clams at the local markets and avoid having to deal with the shells.

Is it bad that I'm starting to drool on my keyboard?

Steve

[Shawn Pixley]

John,

I have not worked with New England clams, but have cooked lots of West Coast clams, mussels and crab. There are generally 3 steps. Discard any clams that have an open shell that when you handle the clam it doesn't close.

Prep - clean the outsides with a laundry brush and water. Use clean salt water if you can. Otherwise add salt to your rinsing water. Soak and rinse to get the clams to eject sand. A two bowl system works best. What you're trying to do is to clean the shell & get the clams to eject sand.

Cook - steam or boil tthe clams to cook. Do not overcook, they get rubbery. I like steaming.

Remove the meat. The clams should now be open. Use a oyster knife to fully open the shell. Use a small knife to separate the meet from the shell. Chop the clams as desired. I would add the fresh clam meat to the chowder at the lst minute to avoid the rubbery effect.

This should work with any clam except Geoduck clams. They have a siphon that doesn't retract into the shell.

best of luck

[Dave Anderson NH]

My image of you has been shattered John. Manhattan Clam Chowder bears as much resemblance to clam chowder as a Yugo did to an automobile. You are now a New Englander living in CT. Repent your Yorker ways and get with the program. Tomatoes belong in marinara sauce, not with clams.:D

[Don Orr]

My image of you has been shattered John. Manhattan Clam Chowder bears as much resemblance to clam chowder as a Yugo did to an automobile. You are now a New Englander living in CT. Repent your Yorker ways and get with the program. Tomatoes belong in marinara sauce, not with clams.:D

I was wondering if anyone was going to explain that to John. I may be from (upstate) New York but I sure know that clam chowder is supposed to be WHITE. :D;)

[John Coloccia]

My image of you has been shattered John. Manhattan Clam Chowder bears as much resemblance to clam chowder as a Yugo did to an automobile. You are now a New Englander living in CT. Repent your Yorker ways and get with the program. Tomatoes belong in marinara sauce, not with clams.:D


I was wondering if anyone was going to explain that to John. I may be from (upstate) New York but I sure know that clam chowder is supposed to be WHITE. :D;)

LOL....I agree with both of you, but my doctor insists that if I want to become old and even more curmudgeonly that I should avoid bowls of cream :mad:

Hey, Dave...you ever make it out to "The Yard" in Manchester? Don't know how it is now, but in the late 90's/early 2000s I would show up there at least once or twice a week to shoot pool with the regular crowd. Great chowder...or at least it was. It's a bit of a drive for you.

[Prashun Patel]

The one time I went clamming at the 'Vineyaaaad, I was counselled to leave the clams in fresh water for a day or two. The clams clean themselves. I am not sure about ones you buy in the store, though.

[Greg Portland]

If the clam doesn't slightly open when steamed then it was dead... discard it.

[Jim Matthews]

Same handling applies - a day or so in a deep saucepan with clean (lightly salted) water should do.

Most of the stores will have kept their clams in a brine, ready to steam.
I don't boil mine, I think that makes them too tough.

If you intend to make a chowder or stew - undercook them slightly.

Clams are delicate and overcooking them, all too easy.

I would warn any newbies to Mollusc preparations - if they don't open when cooked DISCARD them.
You don't want to know what lurks inside those...

The entire clam is edible, some remove the tough covering of the siphon.
That peels off, with a quick pinch. I don't bother, it all goes down...

Over pasta, with gremolata is my favorite for steamers.

[Dave Anderson NH]

Hey John,

The Yard is a toughie for us, almost a 20 minute drive.;) We do go there occasionally for dinner but never venture to the bar and grill side which has over the years gained a rep as a meatmarket for singles. At 64 I'm past that and Sue would't like it at all (major understatement).

[Kevin Bourque]

1) Buy a can of clam chowder at the supermarket
2) Dump it into a pot and put it on the stove
3) Hide the empty clam can at the bottom of the trash barrel.
4) Find some clam shells and spread them around the kitchen to make it look legit
5)Keep your mouth shut

[John Coloccia]

We do go there occasionally for dinner but never venture to the bar and grill side which has over the years gained a rep as a meatmarket for singles.

I know...sometimes I went there even 3 or 4 nights a week. LOL.

Ah, to be young again...

[Fred Perreault]

John, are you making "clam chowdah" or "quahog chowdah"? It is interesting to see the 2 different bivalves confused by the uninitiated. Of course it is bad enough to put a red fruit in a good seafood chowder, but to call a small quahog a clam is a shoreline heresy of the highest order. And why they call them "clams casino" when they are clearly "quahogs casino" is equally distressing to any connoisseur of fresh seafood.

If you are gonna steam, boil or otherwise cheat to get the critters open, then soaking in water prior to such a heretical act is unneccesary, as after heating them open one can wash them before mutilating them for the soup. There are unmentionable things in the digestive track of the uncooked and cooked shellfish, but it is largely protein and should be harmless, as well as adding to the overall taste. BTW: a good addition to a shellfish chowder is some fish bits from the fish purveyor from when they filet and trim the cuts.

And whetever you do, use as much of the fresh juice or hot water that you create opening the shellfish in the cooking of the finished chowder. When I have steamers I use the cooking broth in one cup to rinse the steamers clean, and have another cup of broth right next to my Sam Adams, both for sipping.

[John Coloccia]

I already told you, Fred. I'm from New York...I'm making fish soup at best. :)

But if I can find quahogs, I'll use those. I'd prefer not to go too small. I'm assuming the smaller ones are particularly sensitive to becoming rubber in chowder.

[Stephen Cherry]

Does anybody remember the episode of cops from (i guess) Boston? There was a disturbance at the seafood restaurant- the customer was screaming about the chowder, "it's like Rubba, it's like Rubba!"

[gopal sharma]

Yes i remember that episode. That was really good and interesting..

[Steven Green]

John I lived in New England for years and two of my brothers in law worked on the fish pier in Boston. Go with the cornmeal soak and then rinse them and steam them. Then do you unspeakable worst to them and dump in the tomatoes. As my grandmother said " It's ashamed you should be"

[John Coloccia]

For the record, the chowder was VERY good :)

[Fred Perreault]

John, your post prompted me to go to my freezer and drag out the chopped quahaogs I scratched up off Hopkins Island in Town Cove around Thanksgiving, and the sea clams I dug off of Skaket Beach on Cape Cod Bay, and the odds and ends of cod, haddock and sea scallops that I get in trade with a few local chaps. I shuck and chop the shellfish before freezing, and it is chowder ready when needed. When this all happens, we make a chicken corn chowder at the same time for the native Cape Codders that can't swim nor eat seafood ( ?? ). Tueday evening we had a large group over and feasted, a great post holiday event after all of the turkey, ham and roast beef meals of the past 6 weeks.

.... and I go out to the shore when the tide is low, year 'round