A Bucket of Steamers

[jogoode]

So I order a bucket of steamers last night, at a respected oyster bar, and I get very tasty clams but also a lot of unpleasant grit. Beside the bucket, on my plate, were a little cup of clarified butter and a mug full of clammy broth. I tried different methods to avoid the grit. For example, I thought that if I soaked each clam in the broth, I would get rid of the grit but that didn't work. Soon I realized that I'd been gobbling the entire clam, each of which had what looked like a funny little black tail. For some reason, I started holding the "tail" between my fingers and eating the clams. As I pulled on the clam with my teeth while pinching the tail hard, the clam and tail went in my mouth, leaving between my fingers a part of the tail -- it was like I removed the tail from its sheath. When I ate the steamers this way, poof, no more grit! Did I stumble upon the right way to eat a steamer, by avoiding this gritty portion, or did I miss something obvious? Or did the restaurant fail to properly clean the clam?

How do you guys eat them? (I enjoyed dipping the clam in butter much more than I thought I would.)

[Fat Guy]

You basically figured it out. What you're supposed to do is peel back the "sheath" (usually called skin) to the "tail" (aka the neck) and then dip the clam in the broth and swish it around to rinse it. Then you hold the tail and bite off the clam.

[Susan in FL]

I am so confused. I have been eating clams -- raw and steamed and all sorts of ways -- my whole life and have gone clamming several times I have no idea what you're talking about!

Maybe a different breed than what I'm aware of... maybe I'm in the twilight zone...

Eagerly awaiting replies!

[bourdain]

Mmmmm....steamers....

[Suzanne F]

Susan: steamers (aka Eastern soft-shell clams) come with this . . . um . . . well, it looks just like a condom on the . . . um . . . NECK. And as described above by JJ and FG, you pull off the skin, discard the skin, swish the clam around in the broth to rinse it, and eat the clam. These are the only clams with that feature that I ever eat (that is, I don't know if other clams are thus . . . um . . . protected). Cherrystones are not, afaik.

[Pouncy]

Mmmmm....steamers....

Yeah...craving clams now.

[ellencho]

Susan: steamers (aka Eastern soft-shell clams) come with this . . . um . . . well, it looks just like a condom on the . . . um . . . NECK. And as described above by JJ and FG, you pull off the skin, discard the skin, swish the clam around in the broth to rinse it, and eat the clam.

Yes, that condomy thingie is the clam's siphon. And the clam's siphon does what regular siphons do, it's takes in and expells water. And since they live in the ocean, the water that's siphoned in and out will contain grit/sand.

[balmagowry]

Susan: steamers (aka Eastern soft-shell clams) come with this . . . um . . . well, it looks just like a condom on the . . . um . . . NECK. And as described above by JJ and FG, you pull off the skin, discard the skin, swish the clam around in the broth to rinse it, and eat the clam.

Yes, that condomy thingie is the clam's siphon. And the clam's siphon does what regular siphons do, it's takes in and expells water. And since they live in the ocean, the water that's siphoned in and out will contain grit/sand.

Um, no - the "tail," AKA "neck," is the siphon. The condomy thingie is just a condomy thingie, i.e. a protective skin worn over the siphon - 'cept that unlike a good condom it has a couple of holes in the end so the siphon can... well, siphon.

BTW, while I wouldn't care to eat the condomy thingie (which basically tastes like... nothing), I do eat the siphons. Worth it for a bit of grit - and I'm the only one in my crowd who likes 'em, heh heh, so I make a killing. I find it's actually a bit sweeter than the rest of the clam. Also, ours aren't usually all that gritty to begin with - or if they are it extends throughout the clamatomy (clam's anatomy?), so it doesn't much matter.

When I was a kid the local folk wisdom was that you could get rid of the grit by keeping the clams (still alive, alive-o, of course) in a bucket of sea-water for a few hours after pouring a lot of corn meal in with them. The theory went that over a couple of hours they would suck in the corn meal, spitting out the sand to make room for it.

Turns out that's hogwash. At least the corn meal part is. Leave them in a bucket of sea-water for a couple of hours and they'll spit out most of the sand anyway. See, clams don't LIKE having their little nostrils all full of sand, so when you put them in an environment where that isn't necessary they are perfectly happy to sneeze it the hell out. They do take in quite a bit of the water, though - as anyone can tell you who has pulled a plump clam out of the bucket and given it a good squeeze. Best candidates for this are those that have luxuriously exte-e-e-e-e-ended their siphons while purging the sand - a little unwieldy to aim, but otherwise almost as good as a water pistol!

EDIT to add that BTW, steamers don't live in the ocean - they live in the bay. The ocean clam is a different animal - harder shell, more symmetrical shape, less tender flesh, less sweet flavor. I am given to understand that in many commercial establishments that claim to serve "fried clams," what you're actually getting is ocean-clam rims. Easier to work with than steamers - less fragile. And under all that batter, goes the reasoning, who's gonna notice?

Edited March 19, 2004 by balmagowry (log)

[sml311]

Susan: steamers (aka Eastern soft-shell clams) come with this . . . um . . . well, it looks just like a condom on the . . . um . . . NECK. And as described above by JJ and FG, you pull off the skin, discard the skin, swish the clam around in the broth to rinse it, and eat the clam.

Yes, that condomy thingie is the clam's siphon. And the clam's siphon does what regular siphons do, it's takes in and expells water. And since they live in the ocean, the water that's siphoned in and out will contain grit/sand.

Um, no - the "tail," AKA "neck," is the siphon. The condomy thingie is just a condomy thingie, i.e. a protective skin worn over the siphon - 'cept that unlike a good condom it has a couple of holes in the end so the siphon can... well, siphon.

BTW, while I wouldn't care to eat the condomy thingie (which basically tastes like... nothing), I do eat the siphons. Worth it for a bit of grit - and I'm the only one in my crowd who likes 'em, heh heh, so I make a killing. I find it's actually a bit sweeter than the rest of the clam. Also, ours aren't usually all that gritty to begin with - or if they are it extends throughout the clamatomy (clam's anatomy?), so it doesn't much matter.

When I was a kid the local folk wisdom was that you could get rid of the grit by keeping the clams (still alive, alive-o, of course) in a bucket of sea-water for a few hours after pouring a lot of corn meal in with them. The theory went that over a couple of hours they would suck in the corn meal, spitting out the sand to make room for it.

Turns out that's hogwash. At least the corn meal part is. Leave them in a bucket of sea-water for a couple of hours and they'll spit out most of the sand anyway. See, clams don't LIKE having their little nostrils all full of sand, so when you put them in an environment where that isn't necessary they are perfectly happy to sneeze it the hell out. They do take in quite a bit of the water, though - as anyone can tell you who has pulled a plump clam out of the bucket and given it a good squeeze. Best candidates for this are those that have luxuriously exte-e-e-e-e-ended their siphons while purging the sand - a little unwieldy to aim, but otherwise almost as good as a water pistol!

EDIT to add that BTW, steamers don't live in the ocean - they live in the bay. The ocean clam is a different animal - harder shell, more symmetrical shape, less tender flesh, less sweet flavor. I am given to understand that in many commercial establishments that claim to serve "fried clams," what you're actually getting is ocean-clam rims. Easier to work with than steamers - less fragile. And under all that batter, goes the reasoning, who's gonna notice?

Great info!! Thanks!!

SML

[Susan in FL]

Good Morning, All.

OH! Softshell clams! I've never had them. ...Thank you for the great info and the laughs! What a wonderful way to start the day. Now that I've gotten back in the chair from ROFLMAO, I am trying to take one of the many opportunities here for a joke, but it's just too early.

So anyway, I'll sit here and drink my coffee and comtemplate... um, condomy thingies protecting... um, their tails, and, um, skin and swishing and eating and other aspects of clamatomy which are new to me.

[ellencho]

Um, no - the "tail," AKA "neck," is the siphon. The condomy thingie is just a condomy thingie, i.e. a protective skin worn over the siphon - 'cept that unlike a good condom it has a couple of holes in the end so the siphon can... well, siphon.

My bad, when I was referring to the condomy thingie I thought you meant that whole entire piece including the siphon plus condomy thingie because I don't eat the siphon or the condomy thingie, I just eat the body.

[loper]

New England (Well, we like to pretend they're only from New England) clam primer:

Steamers, or soft shelled clams (the shell isn't actually soft, just thinner than a quahog), are Mya arenaria. they live in mudflats and sand/mud bottoms from the intertidal to the shallow subtidal. They range from the arctic to N. Carolina, and are the main target up in Ipswich (not as many quahogs up there).

Quahogs are Mercenaria mercenaria Also known as hardshells, and graded by size: cherrystones, littlenecks, and hardshells or chowders and probably a couple names I'm missing. There is a southern quohog, M. campechienis, but I don't know much about it or if it is harvested. They range from the gulf of St. lawrence all the way to Florida, generally subtidal in mud and sand, and are farmed as well. The name mercenaria derives from the use of the purple edged shells as wampum by Native Americans.

Black or "ocean" Quahogs or Mahogany or black clams are all Arctica islandica, and generally come from deeper water, especially as you get south in their range toward N. carolina. They have a mahogany or black color, are cheaper than quahogs, and the ones I tried weren't very good. Supermarket clams though - and a couple bad ones in the lot.

Surf Clams, or Ocean Clams, are the large, heavy, triangular clams dredged up from the low tide line to about 100' deep. Spisula sodissima. They are used for commercial chowders and canned clams (and I guess fried as well), but around here are usually considered striper and cod bait. They tend to wash up after Nor'easters, and gulls like to pick them up and drop 'em on hard surfaces - or, as happened last week, my kitchen window. Yuck.

The common razor clam is Ensis directus and found all down the east coast. They are supposed to be great raw. I've never had the pleasure.

There you go, more useless information than one could want.

[slkinsey]

What about the Pacific soft shell clam, the geoduck (Panope generosa)?

There is also the Pacfic littleneck clam Protothaca staminea, a "rock cockle" rather than a clam, and Protothaca semidecussata the Japanese littleneck clam (also actually a cockle).

Then there are the "basket cockles" Clinocardium nuttalli or Cardium corbis on the Pacific coast.

[loper]

I don't think a New England clam raker would know what the heck to do with an 8 pound geoduck.

The more important question is: Why are the words "geoduck" and "quahog" pronounced entirely differently than their respective spellings would indicate? Coincidence? Or clam conspiracy?

Edited March 19, 2004 by loper (log)

[slkinsey]

Clearly a conspiracy, designed to weed out interlopers posing as natives. In my youth, we Bostonians could always spot a "foreigner" because they never understood that Framingham and Waltham were pronounced with a "ham" on the end whereas Dedham and Needham ended with a "h'm."

[balmagowry]

New England (Well, we like to pretend they're only from New England) clam primer:

Ah - thank you, that was a very wise disclaimer to use in the presence of us lifelong clammers from Lawn Guyland!

Steamers, or soft shelled clams (the shell isn't actually soft, just thinner than a quahog), are Mya arenaria. they live in mudflats and sand/mud bottoms from the intertidal to the shallow subtidal. They range from the arctic to N. Carolina, and are the main target up in Ipswich (not as many quahogs up there).

And one important point I neglected to mention in my earlier post - though it really isn't relevant to the how-to-eat question it is a useful piece of knowledge when you're in the field, as it were: the best implement for soft-shell clamming (as an adjunct to fingers, that is) is a toilet plunger.

Quahogs are Mercenaria mercenaria Also known as hardshells, and graded by size: cherrystones, littlenecks, and hardshells or chowders and probably a couple names I'm missing. There is a southern quohog, M. campechienis, but I don't know much about it or if it is harvested. They range from the gulf of St. lawrence all the way to Florida, generally subtidal in mud and sand, and are farmed as well. The name mercenaria derives from the use of the purple edged shells as wampum by Native Americans.

How wonderful! I love that kind of etymology. Reminds me of the Sartorius - oops, that's WAY OT.

I think I may have posted this somewhere else: if you aren't clamming for commercial purposes the subdivision of hardshell clam types becomes a lot simpler. Basically, either they're small enough to be good raw, or they're big enough to be cooked. So for the past 20 years or so we've just dispensed with all the fine gradations and divided every catch into "Eaters" and "Chowders." Done.

Black or "ocean" Quahogs or Mahogany or black clams are all Arctica islandica, and generally come from deeper water, especially as you get south in their range toward N. carolina. They have a mahogany or black color, are cheaper than quahogs, and the ones I tried weren't very good. Supermarket clams though - and a couple bad ones in the lot.

Supermarket clams - hmph. What can you expect? I realize not everyone can go out and get their own (you poor things ), but for something like clams it's at least worth finding a reliable fish-market or -monger. You wouldn't buy oysters from a supermarket, would you? Would you?

Mussels. Same thing. Or more so.

Surf Clams, or Ocean Clams, are the large, heavy, triangular clams dredged up from the low tide line to about 100' deep. Spisula sodissima. They are used for commercial chowders and canned clams (and I guess fried as well), but around here are usually considered striper and cod bait. They tend to wash up after Nor'easters, and gulls like to pick them up and drop 'em on hard surfaces - or, as happened last week, my kitchen window. Yuck.

Yeah well - better gulls should use surf-clams for that purpose than steamers and crabs.

They're not bad, though (surf-clams, I mean, not gulls) - we sometimes pull up a lot of them during August tides, and the smaller ones at least (up to maybe 3" long) are fairly tasty. Not as sweet as steamers, of course, but I kind of like the consistency once in a while. Also, I have this theory that almost nothing can taste really bad if it's cooked over, and eaten near, a driftwood fire - we have a couple of big old beat-up pots that are consecrated to beach use for chowder or surf-clams or blue-claws or whatever else the day's catch has produced. The sea is good to us.

The common razor clam is Ensis directus and found all down the east coast. They are supposed to be great raw. I've never had the pleasure.

Raw! Duh, never thought of that. I've cooked 'em on occasion, and they're a bit tough and rubbery, as you might expect from the way they dig. Nice flavor, but hardly worth the effort. But raw. Good, this year I will make a point of trying it. And report.

There you go, more useless information than one could want.

Useless? Is Euell Gibbons useless? Not to those who love shellfish. I for one am immensely grateful and edified.

[balmagowry]

I don't think a New England clam raker would know what the heck to do with an 8 pound geoduck.

Sure he would. Dump it in a bucket. Take it back to shore. Sell it.

Baymen are pretty imperturbable, you know.

The more important question is: Why are the words "geoduck" and "quahog" pronounced entirely differently than their respective spellings would indicate? Coincidence? Or clam conspiracy?

Conspiracy, obviously. Not unlike most of the rest of the English language, now I think of it.

[balmagowry]

Clearly a conspiracy, designed to weed out interlopers posing as natives.

A shellfish shibboleth!

In my youth, we Bostonians could always spot a "foreigner" because they never understood that Framingham and Waltham were pronounced with a "ham" on the end whereas Dedham and Needham ended with a "h'm."

Not to mention that Waltham is "Wal-tham" (with the 'th' sound elided) rather than "Walt-ham."

And then there's Quincy ("Quinzey"), and don't forget Billerica ("Bill-RICK-a")!

[jogoode]

BTW, while I wouldn't care to eat the condomy thingie (which basically tastes like... nothing), I do eat the siphons. Worth it for a bit of grit - and I'm the only one in my crowd who likes 'em, heh heh, so I make a killing.

Thanks for all the info, everyone!

I definitely enjoyed eating the siphon. And I'm excited to go back to the oyster bar and eat my whole bucket the right way. Now, how do I know if my clams have their bellies attached? On a few of the clams' bodies, I noticed a black, shiny thing. Was this the belly?

And are razor clams those that look more like rods than clams? If so, I had my first in Italy this summer. I was in Liguria when I ate them, but later in my trip I also saw them wash up on the coast of the Adriatic.

I enjoy geoducks when they're the topping for nigiri sushi; they are called mirugai (in Romanji). I also like akagai, often called "ark shell clam" in English. Any info on ark shells?

[slkinsey]

In my youth, we Bostonians could always spot a "foreigner" because they never understood that Framingham and Waltham were pronounced with a "ham" on the end whereas Dedham and Needham ended with a "h'm."

Not to mention that Waltham is "Wal-tham" (with the 'th' sound elided) rather than "Walt-ham."

And then, to make matters even more confusing... Waltham = "Wal-tham" but Chatham = "Chat'm"

[Adam Balic]

If one were not living in the States with all its clammy bounty, but still wished to make the various chowders etc, what types of clams could be substituted in the UK?

I have access to: Cockles, Whelks, Venus Clams and Razor clams. What is more important in the chowder the flavour of the clam or clam meat, as all of the above have little flesh and what is there becomes very tough when over cooked.

[jogoode]

The more important question is: Why are the words "geoduck" and "quahog" pronounced entirely differently than their respective spellings would indicate? Coincidence? Or clam conspiracy?

loper,

How do you pronounce geoduck? I've just been saying GEO-duck. Your answer will save me a world of embarassment...

[slkinsey]

I also like akagai, often called "ark shell clam" in English. Any info on ark shells?

"Ark shell" is kind of a catch-all for clams of the genus Arca with a "heavy toothed shell with a deep boat-like inner surface." They look like this.

[slkinsey]

How do you pronounce geoduck? I've just been saying GEO-duck. Your answer will save me a world of embarassment...

GOOEY-duck.

[slkinsey]

If one were not living in the States with all its clammy bounty, but still wished to make the various chowders etc, what types of clams could be substituted in the UK?

I have access to: Cockles, Whelks, Venus Clams and Razor clams. What is more important in the chowder the flavour of the clam or clam meat, as all of the above have little flesh and what is there becomes very tough when over cooked.

What you might consider is doing a variation of Doug Psaltis' technique at Mix: puree a bunch of flavorful clams (razors, for instance) to simmer in the chowder, then add some smaller, more tender clams (I like cockles) off the heat at the last minute to cook in the resitual heat of the chowder. In New England, most of the clams used for chowder are those which are too large and tough to be eaten as-is. They are chopped up and used for chowder. This is to say that a little chewyness in the cooked clams is not inappropriate.