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The recipes listed in Oregon's Razor Clams or Oregon's Bay Clams were contributed by clam digging enthusiasts and are cause for celebration when dinning with family and friends. Each recipe is an adventure in fine dinning ranging from an intimate dinner to a good old fashion clambake. Join in the fun. Share you favorite mussel or clams recipe by emailing us at williamlackner001@msn.com. Jerry's Gaper Clams Bill, One of the good things that came from our trip to Netarts on Thursday is that I have finally learned how good gaper clam neck can be. When properly cared for, gaper clam neck is every bit as good as, if not better, than razor clam. Here is what I did: I keep the clams alive until they relax and re-extend their necks about 20"-24" as the clam in the attached photo. Usually this takes
about 3-4 hours after they are submerged into a 5 gallon bucket filled with "saltwater". To make the saltwater I prefer course sea salt obtained from a local Asian market. Sea salt is too expensive if purchased anywhere else. Canning salt is also a good alternative. One cup of salt to 2 gallons of "chemical free" water. Chemical free water is: distilled water, well water, real spring water, or collected rain water. Remember that while the clams are submerged, they are breathing the oxygen from the water, so if you cannot clean them right away, you must at least change out the water every 5-6 hours so that they have fresh oxygen to breathe. When the clams necks are extended, with a good sharp knife, quickly cut them free of the clam at the base next to the shell. The necks will contract 4"-6", but this does no harm. Next, submerged the necks into a pot of boiling water for 5 minutes, then immediately remove them to a pot of ice water. When cold, cut away about 1/4" - 1/2" from the dark brown/pink tip; then cut the remaining neck in half length-wise. They are now ready to be "peeled". There are two layers to be removed in the peeling process, both come off together at the same time. There is the thin brown outer layer of "skin", and also there is the yellow layer of circular muscle. Once started, these should peel quite easily. When finished, what you have remaining should look like a chunk of halved banana. Cut these across the length-wise grain into 1.5" pieces. Season these on both sides with Lawry's Season Salt, cayenne pepper, ground nutmeg and black pepper. Roll in Progresso Italian Style Bread Crumbs and then quickly pan-fry in your favorite oil at medium high temp. "Quickly fry" means no more than 60 seconds per side; they are done! drain onto paper towels and enjoy! Bon Apetit! Note! The neck does not have to be boiled to peel the outter layer of brown periostracrum skin and the under layer of circular of muscle from the clam's neck. Bill
From My Family's Recipes - Fresh gaper clams are exceptional no matter how they are prepared but they are absolutely delicious when fried. The clam’s body and digger foot can be butterfly cut lengthwise and fried with the clam’s necks or combined with the mantle meat cut from the clam’s neck and frozen for later use in clam chowder. Ingredients: 1. limit of 12 gaper clam necks and bodies. 1 cup of flour 1 cup of yellow corn meal 1 tablespoon of baking powder Salt to taste Black pepper freshly ground (optional) Cayenne pepper lightly dusted (optional) White pepper lightly dusted with freshly ground nutmeg Paprika (optional) 2 individually wrapped packages of saltine crackers crushed medium 1 lemon or lime quartered Preparation: 1. To prepare gaper clam’s neck and bodies for frying, tenderize the necks. Place a clam neck on a cutting board and cover it with a clean freshly laundered towel. Pound the neck lightly using a mallet or the flat side of a meat tenderizer with just enough force to break the tissue down without destroying the clam; Or peel the tough outer layer of muscle tissue from the clam’s neck as previously described. Thoroughly pat the clams dry with a towel. Butterfly cut the clam’s digger foot and bodies lengthwise, or for a real taste treat fry the bodies’ whole. 2. Sprinkle the clams with a light dusting of Lawry’s garlic powder and your favorite seasonings; such as, salt, a twist of fresh ground black pepper or Cayenne pepper or white pepper with freshly ground nutmeg and paprika. 3. Dredge the clams in a mixture of a cup of flour and a tablespoon of baking powder. Allow the clams to stand to give the flour time to adhere to the clams.
4. The clams are ready to dip in the egg milk wash when the flour mixture becomes translucent and tacky. Dip the breaded clams into an egg/milk wash, buttermilk wash or plain milk wash. Bread the razor clams fresh ground cracker crumbs or with a mixture of equal parts of corn meal and flour mixed with a tablespoon of baking powder. To make cracker crumbs use a rolling pin or a food processor to crush the crackers contained in two packages of saltine crackers fresh out of the box. Taste the cracker to ensure they are fresh and crisp. 5. Fry the clams quickly on each side for up to 30 seconds or until golden brown in 1/4 inch of Canola or peanut oil heated to 350 degrees. Fry the clams on second side for up to 20 seconds if needed. Overcooking gaper clams renders them tough and chewy and ruins the delicate flavor that they are renowned for. Drain the excess oil from the fried gaper clams by placing them on paper towels briefly. Plate the clams. Dress the clams with the juice of fresh squeezed lemon of lime. Serve with pasta Alfredo and your favorite vegetable and of course a glass of fine white wine. Leonard Sexton shares his recipe tips with us. Thanks Leonard.. I have had pretty good luck purging clams with 1/3 cup rock salt to each gallon of water. I keep the bucket with the clams soaking in a cool place for 48 hours (butter and Gaper Clams I do for 24 hours). I got that from a cook book I have called "Cooking Alaska". It seems to work pretty well. I will try the Garlic way next time. I have fried the Purple Varnish clams using the recipe in your book. They are excellent that way and rival fried razor clams!!! I have also made them as steamers. I have also shucked them after purging and using large butter clam shells I have saved and boiled cleaned well and ran through the dish washer. I put two shucked Purple Varnish Clams in each half shell. I make a garlic butter of chopped Garlic and onion with equal amounts of Olive oil and real butter in which I sauté the garlic, and chopped onions in. I refrigerate the garlic onion butter until solid. I put some of the garlic butter in the clam shell with two Purple Varnish clams and then bake in a preheated 400 degree oven on a rack over a cookie sheet lined with tin foil until done, which does not take very long. They come out very good!! I serve that with a shrimp macaroni salad and the left over garlic butter for dipping the clams in. I clean the butter clam shells and use them again. Clam digger Walt shares this tip on purging sand from purple varnish clams. Walt places the clams in a 5 gallon bucket and covers the bucket with a lid. He sets the bucket in a shady place overnight. The clams expel sand throughout the night. After blanching the clams and he washes the sand from them in a colander before rinsing them one at a time under running cold water. This is an excellent method to use when on the road. Aquarist, Jill Pridgeon answers the question, How much dissolved rock salt should be added to a gallon of cold chlorine free water to purge clams of sand and waste?” Bill, In answer to your question about how much rock salt to add to your bucket: The salinity of our water is usually 30-35ppt (3%) salt. So add 30 grams rock salt to a liter, or 3 ounces (liquid measure) to a gallon of water, or 1/3 cup plus one tablespoon rock salt to a gallon of tap water. The chlorine in city water will evaporate if you leave it out overnight, but I don't think there's enough chlorine in tap water to hurt a bivalve and wouldn't bother with dechlorinating it. Warm water stimulates oysters and clams to make sperm and eggs, so keep the bucket you're purging clams in as close to 45-55 degrees as you can, if your bucket of water gets too warm they won't be able to purge properly either. I don't think that cornmeal or other additives improve purging; they can't eat particles that big and will dump their load of sand and crap anyway. Jill, thanks taking the time to answer my question, Bill Our thanks to Viki and Jim Vogland for sharing the following recipe for Asian Clam Chowder. Seafood Corn Chowder Asian Style Note: All ingredients are “creative” and seasonings are to taste. Stir fry chopped bacon in large saucepan ‘til partially cooked. Add some chili oil, butter (about a tablespoon each), a couple green onions (tender tops included), 3 or 4 cloves of chopped garlic, half inch slice of grated ginger, and a chopped hot chili if you like. Saute carefully so garlic doesn’t burn. Add about a quarter cup chopped green pepper. Saute all ingredients. Add a fourth cup or so of sherry or white wine. Simmer for at least one minute. Add a generous cup of frozen corn, thawed and drained beforehand. Heat through, folding over frequently. Pour in a can of Swanson’s Chicken Broth and simmer for a few minutes. Add a cup of cream (whipping, half & half, canned milk, whatever you prefer). Add a can of high quality coconut milk (shake the can first). Simmer gently. Whisk in one can of Cream of Chicken Soup. If more thickening is desired, you may also whisk in instant mashed potato flakes, or flour, or corn starch. Season to taste, adding such things as: sweet chili sauce, parsley, cilantro, Old Bay Seasoning, coriander, powdered ginger, tumeric, garlic salt and pepper, whatever inspires, etc. When chowder is gently simmering, add desired amounts of fresh shrimp (cooked, cleaned and drained) and raw chopped clams (I use kitchen scissors to cut clams into the chowder). Cook just ‘til heated through. Adjust your seasonings if desired. Chowder is good spritzed with freshly squeezed lemon juice and garnished with a sprinkle of either fresh parsley or fresh cilantro just before serving. Jerry's Left Over Clam Omelet Preparation 10 Mins. Total Time: 20 Mins. Makes: 1 serving INGREDIENTS: ¾ cup “left over” fried clams. 2 large eggs. 1 tablespoon olive oil. 1 medium sized Roma tomato. 1 medium sized mushroom. 2 tablespoons sour cream. ½ teaspoon Cavender’s All Purpose Greek Seasoning (available in supermarket’s spice section). DIRECTIONS: 1. Prepare the eggs by breaking them into a small bowl and stir with fork until thoroughly mixed. 2. Chop the “left over” fried clams and the Roma tomato into approximately 3/8” chunks. 3. Slice the mushroom into ¼” slices. 4. Place a large non-stick skillet over medium-high heat and coat with the oil. Add the clams, mushroom and tomato chunks. Cook and stir for a few minutes until the mushrooms are tender. Transfer the mixture to a plate lined with paper towel to absorb the excess oil. 5. When the same pan has reheated, pour the eggs into the center and gently swirl the pan to cause the eggs to spread and cook out onto the inside edges of the pan. This will both enlarge and lighten the omelet. As the egg liquid is becoming about 50% cooked (by appearance), stir the center of the mass using your flipping utensil so as to open the center down to the pan about the size of a U.S. quarter coin. As this fills back in and cooks, sprinkle the Cavender’s seasoning over the surface of the cooking egg. Place the preheated clams, tomato, and mushroom mixture across the center of the cooking egg mixture and top it with the two tablespoons of sour cream. 6. Using your flipping utensil, fold the egg mixture from one side over the top of the clam mixture and allow too cook for one minute longer. Roll the omelet directly from the pan onto your serving plate. Top with your favorite condiment, or not at all. Enjoy, Jerry
Smoked Purple Varnish Clams: When association member Leonard Sexton responded to my request for his recipe for smoked purple varnish clams I was thrilled with his response.
"Hi Bill, I use a stainless steel screen on top of my smoker racks. I purge and clean the clams. I then soak them for 30 min. in a brine of 1 gal. of water, 2 cups salt, 1 cup brown sugar, 1/4 cup lemon juice, 2 cloves crushed garlic. I let them dry a bit and then smoke them until they start to shrink. I pack 18 clams to each 1/2 pint jar with about 2 table spoons of olive oil, you can use any oil you wish. Process in a pressure caner at 10 psi for 70 minutes. I hope this helps?? Leonard Sexton" Clams Casino...Brandon, the ClamSlayer, Williams shares his recipe for butter clams. He cuts the butter clams in half by severing the adductor muscle on the end of the clam near the neck and then with additional gap he severs the adductor muscle near the foot. Twist the shells to separate, then remove stomach and gut (you can rinse, but to make sure there's no grit just remove the body in the center. Rinse well then use a spoon to remove body from the half shell, then replace (this makes it easy to scoop out when you're eating them later). Add a couple drops of your favorite hot sauce, then a 1" long strip of regular thin bacon and top with shredded sharp cheddar cheese. Preheat the oven and broil at 425 for 12 minutes or until bacon and clam curls up and cheese is toasted well. Enjoy! Join in the fun! Nothing compares to the flavor of freshly dug clams prepared with the recipes in our books or submitted by our fellow clam diggers. Checkout the traditional and new recipes for clams contained in Oregon's Clams.
Enjoy our critically acclaimed clam chowder, Oregon's Clam Chowder by clicking here to view the recipe but to you will have to dig the clams to make the chowder. Purchase Oregon's Razor Clams for $11.90 or Oregon's Clams for $13.20. Send a check or money order to Digging Clams in Oregon, P.O. BOX 746, Newport, OR 97365. Or click HERE to purchase with a credit or debit card using PayPal the most widely accepted way to pay for purchases on the Internet. Return to Oregon's Razor Clams, Return to Oregon's Clams. |
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