Steaming clams is one of the easiest ways to prepare them.
Are you going out clamming and want to know the best way to cook your clams?
Steaming clams is the easiest and probably the most common way to cook small clams like the steamers we have here in the northwest. Be sure that the clams are alive when you cook them! If they are open and don’t close when you tap them, they are dead and don’t eat them!
Ingredients
3 to 4 pounds live small hard-shelled clams like littlenecks and steamer clams.
3 tablespoons butter
1 small white onion, coarsely chopped
6 fresh parsley stems
3 cloves garlic, lightly chopped
1 bottle dry white wine
½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
Melted unsalted butter*
Thick slices of French Bread
* The use of unsalted butter is imperative for this recipe, otherwise your clams will be too salty!
One hour before serving, scrub clams with vegetable brush in cold water; rinse with water until free of sand (adding a little coarse salt to the water will help to remove the sand from the clams).
As a note, if you soak your clams beforehand, do not use regular salt. The Iodine in table salt will kill the clams!
In a steamer pot or a large kettle, melt butter; saute onion and garlic until soft. Add white wine and pepper flakes and bring to a slow boil. Add clams and cover pot with a tight-fitting lid and steam over low heat just until clams open, about 5 to 10 minutes.
Discard any clams that don’t open and be sure to not overcook them. Overdone clams are tough and rubbery with all the texture of dry rubber bands.
Use tongs or a slotted spoon to transfer the clams to large individual soup bowls with individual cups of melted butter.
Pour broth through a cheesecloth-lined strainer to remove any sand. The broth can be used as a dunking liquid for the French bread. Some sources also say you can put it in mugs to drink which I have never tried. The thought of buttery clam flavored wine just doesn’t do it for me.
Do you have any thoughts on this? Do you drink the clam juice? Let us know!