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Fried Whole Belly Clams
Course: Appetizers4
servings30
minutes40
minutesIngredients
- Fried Clams:
72 72 whole belly clams in their shell (aka: steamers, Maine clams, or Ipswich clams)
1 cup 1 corn flour (also sold as fish fry or use fine ground cornmeal)
1 cup 1 all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp 1/2 cayenne pepper
1 tsp 1 salt, plus more to season after frying
1 cup 1 milk
1/2 cup 1/2 buttermilk
peanut oil, for frying
- Tartar Sauce:
1/2 cup 1/2 mayonnaise
2 tbsp 2 finely chopped dill pickle
1 tsp 1 chopped capers
1 tsp 1 whole grain Dijon mustard
1/4 tsp 1/4 lemon zest
1 1/2 tsp 1 1/2 lemon juice
3/4 tsp 3/4 chopped fresh dill
1/4 tsp 1/4 black pepper
1/4 tsp 1/4 kosher salt
1/2 tsp 1/2 sugar
- Serving:
lemon wedges
Directions
- Tartar Sauce:
- In a small bowl combine all the ingredients and whisk together. Cover and refrigerate.
- Shucking Ipswich Clams:
- We tried several methods to shuck the clams and by far, this was the easiest for us….
- Place the clams in a large bowl and rinse them several times with cold water to wash away the grit and sand on their shells. Cover the clams with fresh cold water and let them sit for 20 minutes so that they can expunge any excess grit in their siphons.
- Bring a pot of water to a boil. Drain the clams and add them to the pot. Blanch the clams for 20 seconds, then immediately drain the water off of them. Transfer the clams to a fresh bowl filled with cold water to stop the cooking.
- Pry the shell open with your fingers (this would be impossible to do if you didn’t blanch them first.) Remove the clam and locate the black protruding neck (actually a siphon that they use to filter their food).
- Go to the base of the “neck” and pull the outer layer or membrane from the clam and discard. Cut the tip of the black siphon off and discard. Transfer the shucked clam (this includes the neck, belly and strip) to a bowl of fresh water. Continue to shuck the clams in this fashion.
- Change the water several times to make sure the grit has been removed from the clams and set aside.
- Fry Blend:
- In a medium bowl, combine the flour, corn flour (or fine cornmeal), salt and cayenne pepper and whisk to combine. Set aside.
- Use another medium bowl to combine the milk, buttermilk and egg with a whisk until well blended.
- Frying the Clams:
- Heat 2-3 inches of peanut oil in a deep fryer to 375°. Line a baking sheet with craft paper, newspaper or brown paper bags to soak up the oil.
- Dip the clams into the egg mixture and then toss them individually in the corn flour blend to coat.
- Fry the clams in batches with no more than 8-10 clams per batch. Cook each batch for 1-2 minutes or until the clams are crispy and golden. Using a spider, transfer the clams to the paper lined. baking sheet to cool. Sprinkle with a pinch or two of salt. Continue frying and seasoning the clams in this manner.
- To Serve:
- Serve the clams with simple tartar sauce and a wedge of lemon.
Inspired by The Lucky Pelican – Sarasota, FL
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