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Hi, my name is Hank and I am addicted to fried clams… Face planting into a basket of fried clams is one of my earliest food memories. Crunchy batter, salty clams, that shellfishy meatiness that only a clam really has — oysters and mussels are too dainty — and just a little whiff of an “ick” factor. After all, you eat the whole clam: foot, belly and all. And who knows what clams eat, anyway?
I have this gauzy memory of being on the dock in Galilee, Rhode Island. It’s somewhere around 1975, and I am with my family. My sisters Laura and Lizz are minding me. They’ll correct me, but I think the ferry to Block Island was late that day, and we decided to eat something at one of the clam shacks that were right there.
This was probably that tipping point moment into my addiction, because I ate a lot of clams that day. A lot. So many I remember my sisters prodding my distended belly, half-joking that I might explode. Almost, but I didn’t.
Once on the Block, I ate more fried clams, as well as Block Island clam cakes, another of my favorites. I gorged myself on clams at almost every meal that year and every vacation since then all through my childhood. Funny, we rarely ate clams when we were back home in New Jersey, except for my mom’s “clam things,” which are stuffed clams.
Only when we were on vacation, or whenever we were in Massachusetts. The Bay State, I soon learned, was fried clams mecca. You see, mum’s from Ipswich — and Ipswich is in Essex, Massachusetts, the home not only of Woodman’s, but of several other legendary clam shacks (such as the Clam Box) that all vie for the title of Greatest Fried Clams on Earth. All have great clams.
Fried clams are an art. The fat must be very hot, or the clams will overcook before the batter is golden and crispy. To my mind, you must have the whole clam in there, too, belly and all. Yes, they serve them without the bellies, but that to me seems like eating a lobster pre-shelled.
No fun and certainly not part of the real experience. You want a little seasoning in the breading, but not much or it will overwhelm the clams. Lemon wedges are a must, and many reach for either tartar sauce — “tah-tah sahss,” as mum pronounces it — or ketchup. (My mom’s tartar sauce recipe is here.)
I like just lemon, then maybe a dash of hot sauce after I’ve eaten 20 or 30 clams.
Virtually all fried clams in America are either Mya arenaria, the steamer clam, or Mercenaria mercenaria, the quahog, cherrystone or littleneck clam; the names are size grades, not different species. Alas, I live in California, where my beloved clams do not.
What to do? Well… we do have littlenecks here, only they are Leukoma staminea. Not the same, yes, but damn good. Manila clams are another excellent clam to fry like this.
I found myself near my Secret Clam Spot a few months back just at the right time.
Why not, I thought? So I went there, got my limit of 50 clams in short order, and headed back inland. What to do with them? The thought of New England fried clams kept popping up as I drove. But it was still cold out. Not the right weather. Not at all. Screw it. I made them anyway.
I was glad I did, These are about as close to real New England fried clams as you can get 3,000 miles away. And I should know. I’ve eaten a lot of them in the past 48 years…
Fried Clams, New England Style
Ingredients
- 1 pound shucked clams cherrystones, littlenecks, Western littlenecks or Manila clams
- 1 cup corn flour, as in "fish fry" mix
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon of salt
- 1 teaspoon of freshly ground black pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon cayenne
- 1 cup buttermilk or evaporated milk
- oil for frying
Instructions
- Pick through the clams to make sure there are no bits of shell or obvious grit. Mix all the dry ingredients together in a bowl. Submerge the clams in buttermilk.
- Preheat the oven to 200ºF and put a rack set over a baking sheet inside the oven. Heat enough oil to float the clams, about a quart or so. What oil? Anything you feel like, but I prefer peanut oil. You want the oil hot, about 360ºF.
- When the oil is almost ready, coat a few clams in the breading. Don't do more than your fryer can handle in one batch, as you want the clams to go right from breading into the fryer. If you want super-extra crispy clams, dip the breaded clams back in the buttermilk and again in the breading; I think this is too much, but some people like them that way.
- Fry the clams until they are golden brown, about 90 seconds to 2 minutes. Move them to the rack in the oven and repeat with the remaining clams -- make sure the oil gets back up to temperature between batches. Serve with homemade tartar sauce, malt vinegar, remoulade, ketchup or hot sauce.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Red Wing. A must! I lived in Sharon Ma,now in Reno area. No fried,clams here. ( sniff)
Red wing in Walpole Massachusetts has the best and most consistently good fried clam plate. The place next to the borne bridge serves good clams also. the last time I was there I had the biggest bellies I had ever seen on a clam. I just wish there were more on the plate.
Peter
Hank,
I’m from CT and every summer return home and dig steamers, rake quahogs, even find the occasional scallop, mussel, whelk, and oyster.
Out here in the Bay Area I have no idea where to go or what to look for in terms of surface indicators of clams. You seem to have developed some good local knowledge, care to share?
Also, I continue to read that there are actually true steamer clams all over the west coast that were brought here years ago. Curious, if you can validate that with any real world experiences. If I knew I could go dig some mya arenaria within driving distance of Sunnyvale, I’d be on it like white on rice.
Thanks,
Matt
Oh yum! I have no idea if it is still there but my first experience (with many more following!) with whole belly fried clams was at a clam shack called Berta’s Beach Box on Cape Cod – it was a must stop for us every summer as we headed out to North Eastham for our annual family vacation. I wasn’t even ten, but I could devour a huge box myself. Clam strips are for wimps! Good memories! Just bought myself a couple of dozen wild caught Cherrystones and may have to try this myself.
If you want the best clams on cape cod you should visit Sandy’s restaurant at the foot of the Bourne Bridge
Wow, you just brought me back over 50 years. I was born in MA. WE lived in Essex when I was a kid. Woodmans was my first encounter with clams as a child. THERE IS NO BETTER PLACE ON EARTH. Like you, I would eat clams until it killed me if I could! Thanks for the info. Just found live steamers right here in Missouri (where I live now) Needed a fry solution…can’t thank you enough!
I live in the Pacific Northwest. Near Tillamook Oregon on the coast. Yes you are correct. Do not eat the razor clam bellies. Bad tasting. But the rest of the clam is very high quality and if fried quickly very tender.
You guys make your homemade Fried Clams sounds so good that i want to try em, even if i gotta buy the frozen ones in the supermarket. But, i wanna make them fresh the way you make em! Sounds Great! Thanks!!
Actually Fetch, in your hometown of Walpole, MA there is a great place serving clams with whole bellies. It is the Red Wing Diner, and they serve my favorites.
Hey Hank, You got my mouth watering, born and raised MA. Miss those fried clams. During an extensive bit of research about alternative clams to fry(How I happened onto your site)I saw several mentions of Pacific Razor clams. My question is regarding the gut or belly. Everything I’ve read says BE SURE TO CLEAN THE GUT. Is it that they are not safe to eat, fowl tasting, or are these just people who didn’t know you can eat bellies?
Can only eat a few Whole fried clams at a time.
Nowhere in my town (Walpole, MA) serves whole bellies.
But the Bristol Square Cafe which is right by my house serves a Clam Strip Roll.
Very tasty. And ultra simple: Fry clams. Put into a New England style hot dog bun.
Hank, you’ve go me confused. Aren’t fried clams in New England Mya arenaria, not Mercenaria mercenaria?
I don’t know, you say,”Virtually every fried clam in America is Mercenaria mercenaria, the quahog, cherrystone or littleneck clam; the names are size grades, not different species.”
I love “big belly” softshell clams from Narragansett Bay. I do agree all clams are delicious and I clam whenever I can wherever I am. In the east in RI and MA and in CA near Point Reyes.
You know, Muffy – I think you’re right. I’d forgotten this, and since I posted the recipe I’ve had as many people talk about fried steamers as fried littlenecks. So there ya have it. Two clams used in New England. (I changed the post text above) Thanks for the heads up!
Was just looking for something new to try on Sunday – this will just work! thanks.
My guilty pleasure, and at last a way to cook them if I can just get decent clams in this landlocked state. Though I think many on the Rhode Island– Galilee!– and and Massachusetts coast use “steamers” rather than the harder- shelled cherrystones and quahogs (the last two being same clam different sizes).
The real ones only go from Rhode Island to about Portland ME; outside those boundaries something changes. My favorite clam shop used to be in Brant Rock, northernmost village in Marshfield, Mass, when I lived just south in Green Harbor on the Duxbury marsh. To my delight it was still there 2 years ago when i visited and I ate like a pig. Can’t buy fried clams in New Mexico!
I’ve dug a lot of pacific littleneck and manila clams the past couple years, but I have never done them fried. I’m going to have to give this a try. It looks and sounds delicious! How much of an ordeal is shucking them raw? If I’ve gotta do it 50 times, I would hope it’s not as big a pain as pismo clams or rock scallops are…
Oh, to live land-locked… my experience with fried clams is abysmal and paltry. I know what I’m looking for the next time that I travel East!
Recently, I bought some ‘Fish Fri’ (correct spelling of that particular brand), only to discover that it is nothing more than corn flour. Solution, I add a liberal amount of ‘Old Bay’ seasoning whenever I deep-fry seafood, with great results.
I do love some fried clams (baked, steamed, and raw are great too). This post, though, for some reason makes me think about whelk. I can’t recall from past posts, but have you done anything with these guys? I had a high school teacher back in NC who turned me on to them, and they’re a pretty good substitute for conch (same family, I think)… which is good, since actual conch has pretty much disappeared from the southern coast and they’re protected now. Local oystermen considered them trash, and hated them because they whelk would come in and feed on the oysters.
Anyway, fried clams made me think of fried conch, which made me think of fried whelk, which made me think that a coastal forager could do well with some of these big ol’ snails.
Have you tried Ranch 99 for clams? They have a large assortment of seafood.
I don’t buy meat or seafood anymore, so I make due with the clams I dig myself.
Yes indeed, delicious! And the bellies are the best part, I’ve eaten them several times in New England, and heard the locals ask if they are big bellies before they order.