There are many amazing recipes for Steamed Clams from regions all over the world.
I like adding aromatics and herbs such as garlic, ginger, shallots, hot peppers, parsley, oregano, thyme, etc... and usually use a small amount of dry white wine.
Razor clams are my favorite but I'm happy using the freshest clams from the region I'm at when preparing this recipe.
Steamed Clams
There are a few types of clams I use for this recipe... razor clams, the east coast 'piss clams' (Ipswich), cherrystones, etc...
This is great with toasted baguette slices or with linguini.
Prep Time: 20 min
Cooking Time: 20 min
Yield: 4 portions
Ingredients
24 ea. Clams
3 oz. Olive oil
3 cloves Garlic, peeled & sliced thinly
2 ea Shallots, peeled & thinly sliced
1 ea Chili pepper, sliced thinly
1/2 tsp Kosher Salt
t.t. Black pepper
1/4 Cup. White wine (could sub Sake, Clam juice etc...)
tt. Red pepper flakes
1/4 lb Butter, lightly salted-diced at room temperature
2 Tbsp. Italian Parsley, washed & chopped (could sub cilantro or thyme)
How to steam Clams
Step 1
Rinse the clams in cold water to get all of the sand off, if the clams are especially sandy, you might submerge in cold, salted water to purge (not too long or the clams could die-about 20 minutes)
Step 2
Heat the oil in a large pan, add the garlic, shallots and chili pepper; sweat briefly to develop flavor. (about 2 minutes)
Step 3
Add the clams, wine (liquid), seasoning and cover, shaking the pan occasionally to help the clams open. When the clams are fully open, add the butter and herbs, toss and serve.
note; you can serve with cooked linguini, toasted Italian bread or as is...
If you are cooking the 'piss' clams, simply steam with a little water (nothing else) and serve with the water on the side to dip the clams in to get the excess sand off-then dip in drawn butter and enjoy.
