Razor Clams! Part 3: Let's Eat! Recipe
Pin It Now!
Razor clam sizzling in butter
The best way to eat your freshly cleaned clams is also the fastest and easiest. Get your skillet heating up over a medium flame - you want it to be hot, but not smoking. Season your butterflied clam with a bit of kosher salt and pepper then dredge it in some cornstarch. Shake off any excess. Put a pat of butter into your hot skillet and once it is melted put your seasoned clam in. Let it cook for 1 minute, at most 2, and then turn it. You are going to turn it before it gets deep golden brown but it will have time to form a tiny bit of crust. Cook on the second side an additional 1 - 2 minutes. Move to your waiting plate, squeeze some fresh lemon over the top and enjoy! Amazing, really amazing.
My husband and youngest son C swear by raw clams too. They slice it thin, dip it into a tiny bit of soy sauce and gobble up the bites. They say this is best when you are still at the beach, tired, and in need of an energy boost. I have not been lucky enough to try it this way just yet since we usually get our catch well before 8am and I can't quite bring myself to eat a raw clam that early in the day. I will though I am sure of it, some day.
Razor clam fritters
The last method I am sharing in this post is clams in a fritter. This recipe is adapted from Hank Shaw of Hunter Angler Gardner Cook and was only slightly modified by my husband. Clams made this way taste sweet, stay very tender when cooked, and are addictive. You eat one and realize that you are going to need a whole lot more of those before you are done. The good news is this recipe makes a lot of fritters - I did not count how many but I would guess 3 dozen+.
Take the time to make a great dipping sauce for these. Something that involves lemon, shallots, minced garlic, cayenne pepper and Tabasco is my favorite. Use a bit of mayonnaise to hold it all together and you will be very very happy. So good!
Clam Fritters
A great way to eat fresh clams, one after another after another!
Ingredients
- 2 inches vegetable oil for frying in a deep pot
- 3 eggs, lightly beaten
- 1/2 cup buttermilk
- 1/2 cup clam broth
- 1/2 cup cold beer
- 2 tsp maple syrup
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 2 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 cups clams, mixture of finely chopped and medium bits
Instructions
Pre-heat your frying oil in a deep pot to 370 (F). Combine the eggs, buttermilk, clam broth, beer, maple syrup and mix well. Add in the clams, stir again, and then set aside.
In a large bowl combine the flour, salt and baking powder. Check your heating oil - if it is up to temperature, add in the wet ingredients to your dry ones and mix just until combined. You will have a batter that is sticky and about the consistency of a tender cookie dough.
Drop your batter into the hot oil, well spaced apart, one tablespoon at a time. Peter used the cookie dough scoop for this and it worked great.
Turn the cooking fritters often and remove them once they are golden brown, about 3 - 5 minutes. Continue this process, cooking in small batches, until all the fritter batter is used. Drain on a paper towel lined plate and serve immediately. Enjoy!
Details
Prep time: 20 mins Cook time: 5 mins Total time: 25 mins Yield: 8 servings
This has been shared with Naptime Creations, Totally Tasty Tuesdays, Shades of Green Tasty Tuesdays, Kids in the Kitchen, Show Me What Ya Got