Northwest Fishing Reports

First put the clams in a bucket of the water they came from.Keep the water cold and aerated.I use a fish tank pump and air stone.It plugs into my lighter.Put corn meal in the water.The clams will eat the cornmeal spitting out the sand.Now boil salted water.When water boils put in the clams.When the clams open they are ready to eat.Only eat the clams that open up.The ones that stay closed arent good to eat.I save those for bait or just throw them out.
After they steam you can eat as is or dipped in butter/garlic.I make clam fritters,and or use some in a chowder or ciopino.I also use the boiling clam stock or (nectar) for later cooking or use as a fish stock.Mix with tomatoe juice for Clamato juice.Really good with a shot of tequilla or vodka.

Racfish is right on. I like to let them "spit the sand" overnight and I have done this with and without cornmeal. A second option for cooking is to melt butter in a large deep frying pan, add fresh green onion and diced garlic cloves, salt and pepper. Once the onion and garlic have had a few minutes to combine their flavors, add the live clams and cover. Swish them around a few times over maybe 5 minutes or until they open, then serve. This method adds a little flavor to the clam once it opens. You can also shuck them live, then dip them in milk followed by cornmeal with seasonings you like added to the cornmeal, then deep fry them in 350 degree oil until the coating is light brown, maybe 1 or 2 minutes tops. Adjust your temp as needed. OMG good eating!!! Let us know how it goes.

:viking: i go to the crab pot for my clams they make a mean chowder. but the info given here is great . we are planing a fish stew and will use the info thanks.
stan.

I dont think overnight soak is necessary.2-4 hours of a soak should expell most of the grit.If you soak them overnight w/o aeration they most likely will not live.Never cook clams or crabs once they have expired.Unless you want to be in the Rest room all night if not getting your stomach pumped out.At least thats how I see it.

Nothing went wrong.You can lead a clam to water but you cant force them to drink.Some clams are slower to function.Water temp? the ammt of oxygen in the water,could be alot of anything.I doubt you did anything wrong.

Toni wrote:CLAM REPORT! I was mostly in sand not rocks. Boy, am I sore from digging.
I got around 15 and put corn meal in them (like sand) but some of the clams still had grit in them after they were cooked. What went wrong?

They didn't spit for long enough...

You'll get a lot of sand out, but you will never get 100% of the sand out.

I've had clams at restaurants that still had a few grains of sand in the shell or in the meat.

It's no harm no foul--the sand is not going to kill you. Heck, it may even help in the digestion (at least for birds anyways)

Racfish-you are the man!! Thanks for all the info on this post. I use corn meal as well and I still get some grit. I have come to the conclusion that if you like to eat clams, you will have to deal with a little sand once in a while. I never thought about using an aerator. I usually just dump the water a couple of times and put more cornmeal. You ever fish around Orcas?

Hey Toni,

What beach did you hit up?

Chin_nook wrote:Hey Toni,

What beach did you hit up?

Tolmie State Park

I am a "retired" server from Johnny's Dock restaurant and The Keg..Simple is best. I have had several versions of steamed clams, and a bunch of us servers and cooks have agreed that plain old steamed clams without all the hoorah is best. We let the clams sit in fresh water for several hours. Get a large pot. Put the clams in. Simple. No butter, no garlic, no white wine, no olive oil. When they opened up, go get em. Sure, drawn butter is good, but really, the clam itself is best. Nuff said.

[quote="Toni"]I believe I am coming home on Thursday with little clams. I need to know how long to cook them? Just a few minutes in water?

Also to clean them of sand do I just leave them in salt water for 3 hours?

What is your favorite way to eat them?[/quote

toni i just brought back some steamers from wilipa bay. steamed them in old bay,lemon pepper, and veg, broth. they were awsome.

:viking:

Im with Jens.As I said earlier Simplicity is the key.I love the taste of the clam as is.That briny salt taste mixed in with the soft yet chewy clam meat is superb as is.I sometimes use a lil hot sauce but thats it.Let me tell ya I can Seriously WOOF down the steamers.

racfish wrote:Im with Jens.As I said earlier Simplicity is the key.I love the taste of the clam as is.That briny salt taste mixed in with the soft yet chewy clam meat is superb as is.I sometimes use a lil hot sauce but thats it.Let me tell ya I can Seriously WOOF down the steamers.

Never thought to add hot sauce, Tobasco or another brand. Sounds good.

The hot sauce makes you drink an extra brew or two but aint nothing wrong with that.HeheheAfter all it made Bud Wiser.Booooooooo old joke...

racfish wrote:The hot sauce makes you drink an extra brew or two but aint nothing wrong with that.HeheheAfter all it made Bud Wiser.Booooooooo old joke...

I dont need much of an excuse to have one of those extra beers but.... Tobasco on scrambled eggs, german sausage, roast beef sandwichs.... good stuff.