Baked Clams
And on the 7th day of fishes, God made baked clams.
Full Recipe Video:
Servings: 4-5
Ingredients:
Clam Stuffing:
18 Little Neck claims on the half shell (see notes below)
1 cup Italian bread crumbs
1 tsp. garlic powder
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tbsp. chopped fresh parsley
1/2 lemon, juiced
Salt & pepper to taste
3/4 - 1 cup olive oil (see notes below)
Sauce:
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 stick butter
1 clove garlic, minced
Splash of white wine (see notes below)
Dash of fresh parsley, chopped
Sauce:
We like to make the sauce ahead of stuffing the clams, as we feel we don’t have enough time to make it while the clams are under the broiler. We find it easier to make the sauce ahead of time and re-heat when we’re ready to serve.
In a small sauce pan, coat with olive oil. Over medium heat, brown garlic. Add butter, white wine (we like something crisp like a Sauvignon Blanc), lemon juice, and parsley. Let all ingredients cook down for a few minutes and set aside.
Clams:
Always get your clams from a quality fish market or counter. We prefer the Little Necks because of their small size. We also ask the fish market to open them for us - so much nicer when they give them to you on the half shell. They might tell you the clams shouldn’t be opened ahead of time, but they typically put them on ice, and as long as you’re making them that day, they will be fine. Just bring them home and put them in the fridge immediately, and pull them out when you’re ready to stuff them. We also like to leave the clams whole in the shell - some people like to take the clam meat and chop it up within the stuffing mixture, but we prefer to put the stuffing right on top of the whole clam meat.
In a large mixing bowl, add all of your stuffing ingredients. For the olive oil - you want your mixture to have the texture of wet sand. You want it moist and pliable so you can easily stuff your clams and the stuffing stays in place, but you don’t want it drenched. Add a little olive oil at a time and mix everything together. Keep adding oil until you get it to this consistency. Make sure everything is thoroughly mixed. Now you’re ready to stuff your clams!
Using a tablespoon, spoon mixture onto each clam shell, slightly overstuffing them. Mixture should be mounded on top of the clam. Place each clam onto a baking sheet or a baking dish. Once all clams are stuffed and in your baking dish/sheet, pour about 1/4 cup water into the bottom of the sheet/dish and add a drizzle of olive oil. Do not pour over the top of the clams, just enough to cover the bottom of the baking sheet/dish.
Put clams uncovered under the broiler on medium. Make sure to watch them so they don’t burn (should only be golden brown on top). This should take no longer than 5 minutes.
While your clams are in the broiler, turn the heat back onto your sauce on the stove top to get it hot. Once you pull the clams out of the oven, spread a generous layer of the sauce onto a medium/large serving dish, and place each clam on top of the sauce.
When serving, provide a large spoon so people can spoon the sauce over the top of the clams, and serve with some toasted bread if you like - the sauce is great for dipping! You don’t want to pour any of the sauce over the clams before serving, as this will make them soggy.
Notes:
We love these as an appetizer, or side dish around the holidays.
GoodCooking’s Picks:
Favorite Italian Bread Crumbs:
West Coast: Progresso Italian Bread Crumbs
East Coast: 4C Italian Bread Crumbs
