Clam help please

[C_Run]

We caught the minus tide at Netarts this morning and each got limits. This was my first time digging bay clams other than having raked cockles once a long time ago. We got about one third gapers and two thirds butter clams. During the initial learning curve we managed to break about six gapers and one butter clam. I just got done dealing with them and it was a mess but now feel I am pretty familiar with clam anatomy. The trouble is that there is a lot of conflicting opinions about how to handle clams on the internet. You can add to my confusion by addressing a few questions. I have opted to leave the intact clams in a bucket of clean sea water in the fridge overnight to deal with them in the morning. Presumably they are taking in cornmeal and spitting out sand. (We opted for the cornmeal method this time.) I just got done watching a video of a guy cleaning butter clams and it looks like he throws about half the clam away, that is, parts you would save from a gaper. I was under the impression you ate the whole butter clam. Which is it? Also, from some other videos I have watched before regarding other clams, I've seen where you can quickly pop them in boiling water to open them, then ice water to cool them, then clean. The guy in the vid was simply cutting them open live. ??? Any opinions there? With the broken clams, I boiled them about half a minute, then cooled, and then cleaned. It seemed to go ok. We plan to clean the rest them tomorrow and then make chowder on Sunday, keeping the cleaned clams refrigerated for a day. Does that all sound kosher? Thanks for any input. We have never done this before.

C

 

[Irishrover]

I just finished cleaning a limit of razor clams. From the beach to the house I have them in a small cooler with sea water. I boil up some water, put the clams in a bucked with cool water and then add the hot water. This causes the clam to open up and it's easy to remove the clam from the shell. I use a pair of scissors and do a bit of snipping to open the clam up and get the green brown stuff out, along with removing the gills. Then into the vacumpacker they go.

For steamers I keep them in sea water then they go into to boiling water just prior to eating. They are an eat the whole thing clam. Like you saw on the internet some of the rest are optional with regard to how you clean them. My wife removes all the green and brown stuff from the blues and gapers and cleans them like a razor clam. The nice thing about razor clams is the neck, you do not have to skin it. The butter clam, you can do the hot water opening trick with them to. If you open the gut with a pair of scissors you can just remove the green and brown stuff and you are good to go just make sure it's clean.

 

[C_Run]

Thanks, Irishrover. We muddled through it and pretty much did what you said, that is, using hot water to help open them and remove the green and brown stuff plus the gills on the gapers. Tomorrow it's chowder making time. My wife fried up a half dozen of the gaper necks for lunch just now...Delicious. We bought clam guns and will try to get out for razors some time this year. This all started a few months ago when she ordered razors in a restaurant. We have been wanting to try it ever since.

 

[Irishrover]

Razor clam are awsome. dip them in your batter of choice.......then let them sit for at least three hours before they go into the pan. This helps to keep the batter stuck on the clam while it is cooking. I use a cast iron pan on a crab cooker, about an inch of oil. I put the clam in for 30 seconds on a side that's all they need any longer and the get tough as rubber. Tomorrow for fathers day dinner it's razor clams.

 

[JeannaJigs]

This is all excellent info Lon! I have been wanting to go clamming but have never done it and wouldn't have a clue how to deal with them after lol. I don't think there's any razor clams here, but I always see people digging for them in the mud flats near the north jetty of the siuslaw

 

[C_Run]

Razor clam are awsome. dip them in your batter of choice.......then let them sit for at least three hours before they go into the pan. This helps to keep the batter stuck on the clam while it is cooking. I use a cast iron pan on a crab cooker, about an inch of oil. I put the clam in for 30 seconds on a side that's all they need any longer and the get tough as rubber. Tomorrow for fathers day dinner it's razor clams.

That's kind of how we do oysters. We pick some up at Winchester Bay fairly regularly. If you can get past the appearance......



.....they are quite delicious.



We made 2 1/2 gallons of chowder and it's about the best we have had. I must have done something right because we did not get any sand or tough, inedible parts in the chowder. We are planning to try razor clamming next opportunity.

 

[Irishrover]

O'boy that looks good. Claming is a great way to have fun and it adds to the coast expierence.

 

[DrTheopolis]

Been lots of years since I've done it, but digging in the rocks at Netarts is hard work. But it doesn't have to be a full-on minus tide to get to the beds, just a fairly low one.

 

[Socaaron]

Razor clam are awsome. dip them in your batter of choice.......then let them sit for at least three hours before they go into the pan. This helps to keep the batter stuck on the clam while it is cooking. I use a cast iron pan on a crab cooker, about an inch of oil. I put the clam in for 30 seconds on a side that's all they need any longer and the get tough as rubber. Tomorrow for fathers day dinner it's razor clams.

Ever try the buttermilk marinade?
Soak them overnight in buttermilk before battering, tenderizes them a bit which helps with the chewiness if they get a touch overdone. Most importantly it's delicious!

 

[C_Run]

Ever try the buttermilk marinade?
Soak them overnight in buttermilk before battering, tenderizes them a bit which helps with the chewiness if they get a touch overdone. Most importantly it's delicious!

We picked up two dozen oysters from the Triangle folks at Winchester Bay this week. We did a taste test of buttermilk marinaded vs. plain before we doused them with Tabasco and lemon juice. The buttermilk has a subtle effect on the flavor, in a good way, hard to describe, and not that the plain ones are not also great. That was a good tip, Socaaron.