Consider (Cooking) the Clam

My 75 yr old grand mother - in -law taught me to shuck clams. Nothing to it. Find someone who knows how, ask them. You'll be amazed.

Two dollars a bushel for cherrystones or chowders back in the 60s. Comimg back from our week on Long Beach Island. My parents got a bushel of each.

Mr. Adler's explanation of "Happy as a clam" I don't think is correct. I once asked my father who grew up in Boston and would clam about the expression. His explanation was that the expression is actually "Happy as a clam at high tide." For non-clamers, one clams at low tide with the beach is exposed.

hello

i was raised in new england my grandfather would take his burlap bag over his shoulder, his pitch fork and wade out into long island sound and dig for QUAHOG not cherry stones! and then my grandmother would stuff the QUAHOG however i have just been informed that in rhode island they do stuff cherry stones

Prefer it raw thanks.

This was a fun read; a lyrical departure from the typical NYT article. I'm craving clam scented steam and tender briny sweet morsels.

Too bad it's 2am!! Who the heck wants clams at this hour?? Next time I'll be sure to read a food article before dinner, instead.

Opening a clam is perfectly safe if you follow this prescription: Hold the clam in (say) the left hand, put the clam knife on its lips, and DO NOT PUSH WITH THE RIGHT HAND. Rather wrap the fingers of the left hand around the knife and squeeze, guiding the knife with your right hand. You can never cut yourself in this manner. If you miss the split, reposition the knife and try again. As a kid working in a Rhode Island seafood place, I opened say 10,000 clams of all sizes this way and never cut myself.

I was born in Brooklyn in 1960. I have eaten clams my entire life (starting via my grandmothers.) I now live in the neighborhood of Sheepshead Bay. Of all the clams I have eaten over the years, I have had MAYBE 2 dozen clams - out of all those clams that I can eat a dozen at a time - that were bad.
The best have a sweet flavor that is very distinct from an oyster. There is no salt/ocean taste in clams that is the hallmark of oysters from all parts of the world.
Recently, I have rediscovered a fish store on Ave. U (not the Asian markets) by East 28th St. that will shuck the clams for you and put the meat and liquid and shells in individual containers for you. It really beats opening the clams yourself.
From this I now make my own baked clams. Very easy to do:
Italian flavored bread crumbs
finely chopped parsley
lemon juice
pat of butter
Mix the above three in accordance with how many clams you have, reassemble the clams in their shells, put the bread crumb mixture on them, throw a pat a butter on the clams, put some of that clam juice on them and broil in broiler (it will be a quick cook, watch them.)
I plan on having a few dozen over the next two weeks or so.

I grew up on the south shore of Long Island in a era when one could harvest clams out in the bay without concerns or restrictions. We always had a bucket hanging in the canal for baking, raw-ing, and my mother's waterless chowder.

Over the decades the sizing terms have changed: Cherrystones are larger, as are Little Necks. Gone, or hard to find, are Chowder Clams, much bigger and suitable for grinding and cooking. They had the advantage of requiring far less opening, which I believe is much easier than oysters. A few minutes in the freezer helps to convince them to yield to the knife.

Nice quahog pictures! My grandmother who lived her whole life on the border between Massachusetts and Rhode Island would warm milk separately from the broth based clam soup and mix it in your bowl when she served it. Creamy gelatinous chowder or tomatoes in the chowder? not for me.

Thank you for this well-written piece. I enjoyed the writing as much as the information provided.

A somewhat laborious read (pleonastic at best), but seemingly instructive on its subject matter nonetheless.

Not loving the over saturated photography (why?) but the article is the berries . . . or clams, in this case.

Yes, while I had two strong hands I cut the left one almost every time I opened a dozen or more for casino or oreganata. My father used to take me with him to the Croation Club where he would open clams all night with the gratitude of all. He liked a big crowd. Anyway, I only tell myself how to cook.: for steaming, get them out or off the heat once the lid starts rattling. I put them live into marinara sauce off the heat and they are perfect when they open. I don't care what size you call them, please keep them available. I prefer wild. They are no less sedate but we draw the line at consuming pets, family members. Buon' appetito.

clams and bloodshed...i can identify. i once tried opening clams with the knife part of a cheap corkscrew and succeeded in plunging it to the hilt in the ball of my right thumb. the phone rang, one of the dinner guests asking if there was anything he could bring. i said " i just stabbed my self. i gotta go the er." he replied, "i'll let you go bleed then."
i'll eat clams prepared any which way. my favorite is whatever i happen to have a mouthful of.

Our dad taught us to forage for cockles and mussels, which we brought home and feasted on. But currently lacking a convenient rocky shore, I cast a really wary eye on the days-old bags of mussels that are mostly what's available. Any that I can't get a reaction out of by tapping get discarded, just to be safe, but that results in a lot of waste. I'd much rather do quality control by pulling them off the rocks myself.

CLAMS When cooked along with fish in a covered frying pan, yield a delicious natural liqueur that imbues the fish layers of complex flavor. You could also use some dry white wine, sherry or lemon juice. If you want another layer of flavor, you can either add the rind along with the other ingredients and then remove it, or use the zest. A sprinkling of herbs such as dilll, parsley or cilantro is also possible, as would be the addition of vegetables for a mirepoix--chopped celery, onion and carrot along with some pepper. If you want a meal in a pan, add potatoes and serve with crusty bread.

The special trick is the technique of steaming. You must wash the clams thoroughly to get rid of all the sand. If needed you may rinse the fish, though I find some thinner filets such as trout or whiting insipid without the skin.

If using just clams and fish, with or without other seasonings, you put the covered pan over a high flame, stand right by the stove and watch until the steam just begins to come out. Turn off the heat and let sit for 5 minutes. It's always succulent and cooked through.

If using whole fish, you need to leave it steam covered for 2 to 3 minutes, and sit for 5.

If using vegetables, cut them up, cook the aromatics first with olive oil, sweating them for 5 minutes then add cut up potatoes and cook slowly for and continue steaming for 5 more minutes. Taste for doneness. You can also use other leftover vegetables, frozen peas, whatever strikes your fancy.

Clams are very tasty. I ate too many and I ended up with Gout. So beware.

A wonderfully illuminating and comprehensive article.
"... happy eaters who are scared to cook clams, sufferers of a clamophobia ..." -- I would not call them "happy" and clamophobia is one of the manifestations of the more general bivalvo- or molluscophobia.
Clams are an excellent and nutritious addition to the consumable bivalves: mussels, oysters razor clams and -- I am not certain -- the big Tridacna of the Tropics and Australian Barrier Reef.

For this lover of clams (and oysters) opening the clam is generally much easier for me.