Steamers! Add these clams to the list of foods fun to eat. I was first introduced to steamers, or steamed soft shell clams, when I lived in Boston years ago. Unlike hard shell clams (known here as quahogs, cherry stones, or little necks, depending on their size), steamers have rather thin, brittle shells, so you have to be gentle with them. The two sides of the shell don’t close all the way. Instead, protruding from the shell is a long foot, or siphon. It’s what the clam uses to filter the sea water and eat. While hard shell clams stay close to the surface of the sea floor, steamer clams bury themselves more deeply, and extend their long siphons to the sea floor surface.
When you buy steamer clams, their siphons are mostly tucked away. But as soon as you soak them in water, the siphons start to come out, and out, and out. When we made these the other day I think we measured one that was a good 4 inches long! (Could it be where the phrase, “happy as a clam” comes from?) Anyway, soaking the steamers is a great way to freak out kids, though hopefully not so much as to dissuade them from eating them. Fortunately, my gang loves seafood. I just had to tell them they were like mussels, but with convenient handles for dipping into melted butter.
New England Steamers Recipe
Method
1 Ideally, if you have the time, place the steamers in a bucket and cover with several inches of sea water or salty water (a tablespoon of salt dissolved in every quart of water), and let sit several hours in a cool place, preferably overnight. After a while, you'll notice that each clam has a foot that will start to extend out of the shell. This is normal. The clams are usually buried in the sand with only the foot extending up to the surface of the water. The steamer clams will discharge any sand or dirt while they are sitting in the water, so the water may become rather murky. You can change the water if you want. If you don't have time to let the clams soak for hours, just put several of them at a time in a large bowl, cover with water, and gently swirl the water around with your fingers for half a minute. If the clams release sand or grit, dump out the water and rinse the clams out in the same manner again, until no more sand is released. (They may still release some sand and grit while cooking, but you will dip them in the clam broth before dipping them in butter when you eat them, helping to rinse away any remaining grit.)
2 When ready to cook, put about an inch of water (you can also use beer or a stout) in the bottom of a tall, large pot. Place a steamer rack at the bottom of the pot. Carefully place the clams on the steamer rack (if you don't have a steamer rack, don't worry about it, just put the clams in the pot with the water). The clam shells are on the thin side and can easily break, so be gentle as you put the steamers in the pot. You may notice some of the clams "spitting" water at you as you handle them. This is normal, don't worry about it. If any of the clams seem dead, are stinky, or whose siphons don't retract a bit when you touch them, toss them out. Cover the pot. Bring the water to a boil. Let the clams cook in the steam from the boiling water for about 5-10 minutes, until the steamer clam shells are wide open, then remove the pot from the heat. Any steamers that didn't open should be discarded. (The pot might foam up and boil over while cooking, so keep an eye on it while cooking.) Let the clams cool for a couple minutes.
3 Carefully remove the cooked clams from the pot, placing them in a serving bowl. Do not discard the clam broth left in the pot. Instead pour a bit of the hot broth into bowls for serving. Put the melted butter into small bowls for dipping.
4 Serve the steamers with a bowl for the clams, an empty bowl for the shells, a small bowl with broth for dipping, and a smaller bowl with butter for dipping. To eat, open the shell and remove the cooked clam. Use your fingers to pull off the skin covering the foot of the clam. Discard with the shells into the shell bowl. Grip the foot with your fingers, swirl the clam around in the hot broth (it will help to warm up the clams and to dislodge any remaining grit or sand). Dip the clam into melted butter and eat! Note, the siphon end of the clam may be a bit tough and rubbery. You can eat it or not. In any case, it makes a great handle for dipping.
Yield: Serves 4 to 6.
Links:
Clam chowder made with steamer clams from Leite's Culinaria
Beer steamed clams with bacon and tomatoes from Steamy Kitchen
What's the difference between hard shelled and soft shelled clams? from The Kitchn
Sake Steamed Clams from Appetite for China
Oh my I love a good bowl of clams, but they are hard to look at. Like your ‘happy as a clam” connection…hahaha
So different from our Pacific Northwest manilla clams! Thanks for this informative post!
Gosh I miss New England seafood it’s just the very best………..should we be waiting for a lobster meal sometime SOON!! But as I know New England does not have abalone ;)
My mom always adds some cornmeal to the soaking water – and changes the water too, as you suggest – apparently the steamers take in the cornmeal & spit out the sand…
I love this so much Elise. Every summer, I would go to this restaurant in Huntington Beach to have this dish. It’s very hard to find these steamer clams where I am unless I drive all the way up to Redondo Beach. I will have to get my fix soon!
When you soak them try sprinkling some pepper in the water. The clams ingest the pepper and ‘spit’ it out along with any remaining sand. Also, if you add corn meal to the water when soaking the clams the clams will eat the meal and sweeten the taste. from Cape Cod
I fell in love with these at The Clam Broth House in Hoboken, NJ back in the 1980′s. We used to add a couple dashes of hot sauce to the clam broth. When we were done eating we’d sip the broth carefully so we didn’t stir up the sand on the bottom.
…absolutely use the pepper and meal…also,throw some sliced or chopped onion and some dried herbs into the pot just before steaming..a little olive oil..and drink the broth after eating the clams..clam nectar..from another Cape Cod clam digger.
You think those clams look happy to see you? Check out our PNW geoducks!
Wow… never knew steamers looked so HAPPY! :)
Mmmmmmm … you just made my mouth water! Love Steamers more than lobster.
Oh wow. Landlocked in Texas now, but missing the Yarmouth Clam Festival back in Maine! Thanks for the memories!
WOW…Amazing.
These cooked clams are looking delicious. Thanks for sharing :)
You steam them alive?
Yes, they must be alive. ~Elise
This Rhode Islander loves steamers and I go digging for them all the time. Instead of salt or cornmeal, I use sugar. The clams come out so sweet and tender. I like to throw a couple of cloves of garlic, one onion quartered and one link of hot chirozo into the boiling water. The broth is so delicious that you definitely must serve it with a nice crusty roll.
Brilliant! I love the aromatics and the chorizo in the broth. ~Elise
Hi Elise – we were just in Hyannis a couple weeks ago for our annual visit with my wife’s aunt. Steamers and lobster are an annual rite as well, and have been for at least the last 20 years, whether we are on the Cape or not. Great post as always!
Ah, memories !! Lobsta, scallops, quahogs, multitudes of other different clams fresh caught on or off of West Island below Fairhaven in Buzzards Bay. We must have never been politically correct with the happy as a clam term – we just plain old called them pissers.
Yum! We have these regularly in the summer here in MA. The smaller ones are preferred in our house; we think they are sweeter but it’s a matter of preference. I throw a bit of Old Bay in the steaming water which adds a nice–if old school–flavor.
Big bowl of steamers and home made lobster rolls make us happy as clams for sure! hee hee!
Steamers! One of my favorites! However, the traditional way to serve in RI and MA is to have a bowl with the clam broth in it – separate from the clams. Remove clam from shell, pull off the “skin”, dip in the broth, then the butter and enjoy! Best served with a cold beer! :)
And that’s exactly how I’m recommending them to be served here. So good! Other people have suggested adding things to the broth which also sounds good. But I’ve only had them with a plain water broth for dipping, mostly to get rid of any sand or grit. And then dipping them in butter. I love love love steamers. ~Elise
For anyone in the Philly/South Jersey area who remembers Hackney’s in Atlantic City (which unfortunately burned down in 1971), this was where I remember my first steamed clam experience. While vacationing in Ocean City as a kid, we’d make at least one pilgrimage up to Atlantic City to satisfy mom’s craving which, upon introduction, immediately became my own. I remember a bucket of 100 steamers was $1.25 with a generous cup of broth and an equally generous cup of melted butter. But that was 50 years ago when a whole steamed lobster with fries and pepper hash was still $3. *Sigh*
ok i am from Rhode island.. the ocean state!…you have the recipe wrong.lol
. you need pepper and an onion in the water some put a tiny bit of garlic also . you need to put enough water in the pot to cover the steamers or quahogs!. you then bring to a boil and wait till they all open. anything that does not toss out…..
now,,,,you also have pure Rhode island gold… all the broth!! you filter it through a cheese cloth and save the broth!! that makes great sauce for paste and what ever!!
like for instance this simple recipe:
1 box of pasta.. your choice
clam juice as it is called properly here..lol
pepper to taste
seafood of your choice.. clams,shrimp, fish
cook the pasta aldente…very aldente..
bring your clam juice up to a boil in a separate pot
drain pasta..and get rid of the water. put back into the same pot…then pour your clam juice into the pot and bring up to a simmer. you should have enough juice to get mostly sucked up by the pasta. you want a little more juice than you need because you want to have enough juice to have a really loose pasta
then add what ever seafood you want..simmer till seafood is cooked…..
then enjoy..
Sounds great, thanks Rob! ~Elise
I’m form Upstate New York. I remember when my husband was stationed at Otis Air Force Base on Cape Cod back in 1972 – we went to the local fish market for clams and what they gave us were these soft shelled clams that you speak of. I said to the fella, our clams in New York don’t have those long necks or tails sticking out. He said “of course they do, that’s how they eat” but at the time I was grossed out. In New York we have the Cherry Stones or Little Neck clams. Would love to go back to the Cape to try these, especially after reading all the great reviews.
Oh man, I used to go clamming for fresh clams and now I’m in Arizona and I would kill for some after seeing this!