js2j@mhuxt.UUCP (sonntag) (06/17/85)
I've tried making clam chowder a few times recently, and was far less
than satisfied by the tiny pieces of clam which are found in the little
6 1/2 oz cans you get in the grocery store (which are mostly water.) So
I decided to be adventurous and buy real clams from a fish market. I was
amazed at how inexpensive they were: ~$2.50 for a dozen large ones, which,
when steamed, yielded more than a pound of meat.
However, my cookbook says absolutely nothing about how to prepare clams.
Can anyone help? Specifically:
1.) Is steaming the only (or best) way to get the little buggers to
come out of their shells? (I thought of hiring some seagulls
to carry them high above my sidewalk and ... but finally decided
that steaming was more practical.)
2.) Is it *really* all right to eat *everything* inside the shells?
I mean, some of it is obviously stomach and contents...
3.) I've tried them in chowder and deep fried after being dipped
in the stuff Mom always made to fry onion rings in. Are there
any other good ways to have them?
I want to hear some response on this subject. Don't clam up on me.
--
Jeff Sonntag
ihnp4!mhuxt!js2j
"It's a hard rain a-gonna fall." - Dylanjagardner@watmath.UUCP (Jim Gardner) (06/18/85)
[. . . net bug fodder . . .] Other favourite ways to eat clams? How about in a creamy white sauce on linguine or spaghetti? Now fair's fair: how do *you* get all the gritty bits out? Linda Carson (a long way from fresh clams these days *sigh*)
jagardner@watmath.UUCP (Jim Gardner) (06/18/85)
[ . . . here, kitty, kitty, kitty . . . ] Paella! And I'll be thrilled to hear *everyone's* recipes, especially around the part where saffron comes in. Who really uses it? Where do you get it? What can we substitute in the meantime? (Paella: a Mediterranean dish heaping various seafoods and saffron'd rice together in a big cast-iron frying pan like Heaven's idea of a tuna casserole) Linda Carson (You mean those gaudy little twigs in the tiny over-priced container are saffron? How badly do I need it?)
dwyer@rochester.UUCP (Matt Dwyer) (06/19/85)
*** REPLACE THIS LINE WITH YOUR MESSAGE *** Many people like clams raw. matt
thomas@utah-gr.UUCP (Spencer W. Thomas) (06/21/85)
A nice hint I read recently for "cleaning" clams: Put them in water for
several hours (I think 6 hours was the number in the recipe) with an
iron nail. Apparently the iron causes them to disgorge the "sand" in
their digestive tract. It means you can't buy the clams on the way home
from work and eat them the same night, though.
You can probably open clams with an oyster knife (how else would you get
raw clams on the half-shell?)
--
=Spencer ({ihnp4,decvax}!utah-cs!thomas, thomas@utah-cs.ARPA)kelem@ucla-cs.UUCP (06/25/85)
In article <954@mhuxt.UUCP> js2j@mhuxt.UUCP (sonntag) writes: > > However, my cookbook says absolutely nothing about how to prepare clams. The informative pamphlet (No. 8) "How to Cook Clams" is published by the Fish and Wildlife Service, U.S. Department of the Interior and is available from: Superintendent of Documents Government Printing Office Washington, D.C. 20402 I got mine around 15 years ago when it cost 30 cents. > 1.) Is steaming the only (or best) way to get the little buggers to > come out of their shells? (I thought of hiring some seagulls > to carry them high above my sidewalk and ... but finally decided > that steaming was more practical.) Well, shucks, there's nothing to opening a clam (or mussel). But first, you want the clams to get rid of all the sand and other junk they've filtered out of the surf. Says HtCC, "Cover the clams with clean sea water or 2% brine (1/3 Cup salt to 1 gallon of tap water) and let stand for 15 or 20 minutes to allow the clams to cleanse themselves of sand...Change the water and let stand a little while two or three times." An improvement to those directions is to sprinkle some cornmeal into the brine. This won't fatten the clams significantly, but will force more junk out of their digestive tracts. I let them sit for a couple of hours or even overnight. [Note that if you're doing this with mussels, you've first got to scrub the shells to clean off the kelp and barnacles (if you caught the mussels). Use a wire brush. After the mussels are in the brine they will try to attach themselves by their beards (byssus) to the container (and the other mussels). So don't be alarmed when a wormlike appendage pokes out from the hinge-side of the shell.] There are two ways to open a bivalve: 1. For raw clams or half-shell recipes... Shuck it by inserting the tip of a strong, thin knife between the halves of the shell. BE CAREFUL! It's easy for the knife to slip. Bivalves hold themselves together with two adductor muscles, near the hinge, one on either side. Once the muscles have been cut, the bivalve opens right up. Drink or save the liquid that comes out. (See below) 2. For other cooking recipes, put the clams or (cleaned) mussels in a big pot with 1/2 cup white wine. Bring to a simmer. Within a few minutes the ones on the bottom will open up. Remove them with tongs. Sometimes you can remove a mussel's beard by pulling it against the hinge. Otherwise, remove the beard after the mussel has been opened. Cut the adductors. The liquid from the bivalves will contribute to the wine in the pot. After they've been opened use some of the liquid in your recipe (it's strong and salty so don't use a lot). The clams or mussels can be removed from the shells to make it easier for the diners or you can leave them in for an "all hands on meal". > 2.) Is it *really* all right to eat *everything* inside the shells? > I mean, some of it is obviously stomach and contents... Clams taste sweeter when they are eaten raw. The squeamish sometimes scrape away the brownish parts (liver?) which are a little bitter. It's a good idea to squeeze some lemon juice on the raw clam to make sure it's alive. It will wriggle to let you know it's ok to eat it. If it doesn't wriggle, it's probably dead. If you don't know the time of death, throw it away. There's nothing as unpleasant as shellfish poisoning. If it's alive you can eat it in bites or just chew it up in your mouth. Don't swallow it whole. You won't taste anything. Don't bother eating mussels raw. They have a strong iodine flavor when raw. > 3.) I've tried them in chowder and deep fried after being dipped > in the stuff Mom always made to fry onion rings in. Are there > any other good ways to have them? > I want to hear some response on this subject. Don't clam up on me. Shuck a dozen clams or mussels and arrange them "on the half-shell". Cover them with a paste made of butter, parsley, garlic, parmesan, and bread crumbs. Broil until the bread crumbs are lightly browned. Fight over who gets thirds. Steam a pot of mussels and (optionally) discard the emptied shells. Put the mussels and mussel broth (to taste) in marinara sauce and serve plain or on spaghetti. For more recipes, see "How to Cook Clams" (above) or "Stalking the Blue-Eyed Scallop" by Euell Gibbons. HtCC has about two dozen recipes. StBES has a few recipes intermingled with entertaining stories of how to catch mollusks and crustacea. Lest you think Euell was crazy, here's his improvement to steamed mussels. Beat together 2 egg yolks and 1/4 cup of rich cream. Add 1 cup of the winy both from the steamed mussels. Cook and stir in the top of a double boiler until the roux thickens to the consistency of smooth gravy. Add chopped parsley and chives. Pour this over the mussels on the half shell and serve hot. One last note- if you're going to catch mollusks: Check for quarantines. Don't catch them when there's a red tide. (A red tide is caused by certain photoplankton are present in the summer and autumn that glow red in the surf.) Eating shellfish from a red tide can cause paralytic shellfish poisoning. Only catch them in months WITH an r (in English), since these are the winter months when the red tide is absent. Get your ocean-waters fishing license (if your state requires it).
crg@druxo.UUCP (GenterCR) (06/28/85)
Jeff, in answer to your questions about clams: 1) For making chowder, steaming is the WORST way to get them out of the shell. If the clam is already cooked, when you put it into the chowder, it will cook again and become rubbery. Clams should be diced and put raw into hot chowder just befoer you serve it -- they cook very fast. To get them out of the shell, go buy a clam/oyster knife--a stubby little knife with a proctive guard on it to keep you from lacerating you hands. You shove the knife between the shells at the sides of the clam and severe the abductor muscle which holds them closed. A much easier way is to buy shucked clams freash at your fish store. 2) Yup, you can eat everything in the little buggers. 3) There are lots of ways to cook them, and for the greatest number of recipies in the shorest space I would recomment the late James Beards seafood cookbook (don't remember the exact title, but it should be a very easy book to find, and its cheap in paperback). To mention a few, you can pan bake them wiht spices, or pan roast them, or stuff the shells and bake them, or eat them on the half shell, or steam them and eat them with butter, puree them and make bisque, or of course, the best--chowder. Good Luck Roy Genter druxr!crg AT&T-ISL, Denver : Sorry for all the typos--I use emacs and can never remember how vi works!!