Preparing clams is even easier than mac & cheese! So give it a try!
Let me start by stating that I am by no means a cuisine cook. And when it comes to seafood I am in very foreign waters, my family did not explore anything more complicated than a simple fish!
Last year my husband brought home two dozen clams and steak and said that we are having Surf & Turf, you do the clams.
I looked at him, I looked at the clams and said: do what now? My cheerful better half stated that cooking clams is so easy even I could not screw it up. Yes, he knows my talents in the kitchen!
But he knows I am obsessed with a computer so he just told me to look up a simple clam recipe on the net. Sounds easy, right! I did Google many many key words and decided that clam chowder or few other very complicated recipes were not my cup of tea! I could not find any website to show how simple cooking clam can be!
So here we go, after trying few times I came up with the simple way to make you look like an actual chef without much effort at all! And to me the greatest price is the fact that my kids inhale these clams and love them and cooking them is so easy and fun!
So here is my tips for someone who never bought or cooked clams before!
1. Clams are seasonal, in US you find them in summer months in local stores, if you see them in for sale, it is a good time to buy and try them without breaking the bank!
2. I buy clams as an appetizer or a side dish, count about 2-5 clams per person depending what you serve. My 4-year-old daughter ended up eating 12 last summer so you CAN buy more and make a meal around them!
3. Wash them up! Just take them out of the bag and place them in your streamer to get any excess sand or dirt out. Many stores already have their clams so clean that this is just a precaution. Only use closed clams, I did read that you can knock the shell if it is open and if it closes use the clam, otherwise throw the open clam out!
4. Use your widest skillet or pot with a lid. I use my big skillet with a glass lid. Start by chopping a medium onion. You can also use garlic cloves, one head is enough.
5. Place the chopped onion and garlic to your skillet. Place the clams on top. If your skillet or pot is too small to have them side by side, use as many as you can fit without piling them up too much.
6. Get a beer. Any beer. Or white wine if you prefer that. Pour it to your skillet. You will need about an inch, no more than two inches of liquid to create enough steam for your clams.
7. Cover with a lid and use medium high to high temperature depending on your stove. In about 5-8 minutes your clams will start to “pop” open. As soon as they are totally open, they are done!
8. I use my thongs to pick up the open clams from the middle and place the unopened clams more in the middle. When the water boils I turn the stove down a notch. I place the cooked open clams in a bowl with a paper towel underneath to drain any excess liquid.
9. If I still have a clam which is not open in about ten minutes even if it is placed in broiling beer/wine I will toss it out!
10. Sometimes there is sand inside so rinse the clams gently before serving.
And that is it! Really, how can you mess it up. Clams are bit salty and we do not use any spices, I think they have enough natural taste as is!
So trust me, you CAN serve the Surf & Turf this summer, at least if you already know how to grill that perfect steak. But that will be another article altogether..
Enjoy!
