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Clam cakes. They’re just like crab cakes or fish cakes, only with clams, right? Oh no, my friend. If you think that, you would be terribly, tragically wrong. Because as much as I like crab cakes, a true Rhode Island style clam cake is so, so much more.
Think clam beignet, or donut hole. Only savory. Crispy, golden brown on the outside, pillowy and light on the inside. Steam rises from the first bite. The slightest aroma of brine surrounds you. Tiny chunks of clam nestle themselves in the folds of the pillow, offering surprising bites of chewy meatiness as you down one of these little glories after another. And another.
With the possible exception of the Pacific Northwest, no region can boast mastery of the humble clam like New England. And within New England, it is Rhode Island that does it best. I have never seen these clam cakes any other place. They are a masterpiece of street food. To me, they are why you arrive early at the port of Galilee to await the Block Island ferry.
When I was a boy, I was partial to gigantic plates of fried clams. When I grew a little older, I discovered these clam cakes. And I’ve lusted after them ever since. They are to me the gateway food of Block Island, which is the place I learned to forage and the place whose natural beauty I still hold closest to my heart. My fondest wish is to die an old man in a little cottage on that island. But not just yet.
I am 3,100 miles from Block Island right now, a long way from Galilee and Rhody clam cakes. A few days ago, as I drove home from Bodega Bay, laden with clams, I realized that this was my first real chance to make clam cakes with fresh clams I had caught since I’d moved West years ago.
I looked at my bucket of horseneck clams, dug an hour before. While they are certainly not the glorious quahog of my youth, they would do just fine in a clam cake — after all, you grind the clams anyway.
As it happens, these are basically clam beignets. My recipe has no corn. More clams than the typical fritter, cake flour instead of all-purpose, and a touch of maple syrup. Maple syrup? Trust me. You need it.
Now normally Rhode Island clam cakes are served with Tabasco and tartar sauce. As you might imagine, I am more of a Tabasco man. But I could not keep thinking about how much these were like New Orleans beignets. So I decided to break from Rhode Island tradition and add a little bit of the Big Easy to this recipe: Remoulade.
If I thought I loved clam cakes before this, I may now be a clam cake junkie. Holy crap but this was good! The recipe I made was way too much for Holly and I to eat at one sitting, but I decided to make them all anyway. We gorged ourselves on clam cakes until we were about to burst. I put the leftover cakes in the fridge.
And you know something? They fried up almost as good the next day. Popped back in the deep fryer for 2-3 minutes, they came out fine.
Premade fried food? Yes, please.
Rhode Island Clam Cakes
Ingredients
- 1 recipe for remoulade
- Canola or other vegetable oil for frying
- 3 beaten eggs
- 1/2 cup buttermilk
- 1/2 cup clam broth
- 1/2 cup cold beer
- 2 teaspoons maple syrup
- 1 1/2 cups chopped or ground clams
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 3 1/2 cups cake flour, or all-purpose flour
Instructions
- Make the remoulade first and set aside. Heat the oil to 350°F.
- Mix all the liquid ingredients together except the beer. Mix all the dry ingredients together. When your oil is hot, add the beer to the liquid ingredients and mix gently. Stir in the dry ingredients just until combined.
- Drop a tablespoon of batter into the hot oil at a time. Do not crowd the pot. Let them sizzle for 30 seconds or so, then dislodge any that are stuck to the bottom with a chopstick or wooden skewer. Fry until golden brown on both sides, about 5 minutes.
- Drain on paper towels and serve while hot with the remoulade, Tabasco or tartar sauce. And beer. Lots of beer.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
My family had a summer camp you could only get to by boat on the Parker river Newbury Mass. Fish was on the menu everyday. . My cousin and I were 9 when we would be sent downriver at low tide to walk the sandbars and feel with our feet for sea clams. Grandma would grind them up and we ate clam cakes on friday and leftover cakes with beans saturday night baked on an open fire. That was in 1960 ty for making me remember that
How many cups of oil should be used for frying?
Marissa: As much as you need for your pot. It’s a deep fry, so the cakes should be able to be submerged. You can reuse the oil by straining it after it cools, putting it in a jar labeled “fish fry oil,” which you can then use a few more times.
Hi – you posted this recipe 12 years ago so curious if you have had an opportunity to make these with ground razors? I live in Oregon and only fry and eat fresh razors after I dig them. The remainder go in the freezer and I typically make chowder but I think these might be a good fit. Thanks for all your hard work and recipes!
Why the maple syrup in clam cakes and can it be omitted?
Robin: It’s a family recipe thing, and yes, you can omit it.