Cape Cod Stuffed Quahog Recipes

STUFFED QUAHOGS

Steps:

• Scrub the shell of the quahog with a brush to remove any dirt. Discard any cracked or open shells.
• Place cleaned quahogs on a rimmed baking sheet and place in freezer for about one hour. Open the quahogs and save the meat and juice in a freezable container. Freeze quahogs until mostly frozen. (Or you can freeze the meat and juice for a later date. Just remove the container from the freezer and let thaw slightly.)
• Clean any remaining meat and hinges from the shells. Place shells in a large pot of water and bring to a boil for 5 minutes. Remove from water, rinse and store in a plastic bag in the freezer.
• Remove the container of quahogs with juice and the shells from the freezer. Rinse and dry the shells.
• Fry bacon until it is about ¾ of the way cooked. Drain on paper towel and set aside.
• Chop the frozen block of quahogs.
• Heat 6 tablespoons of butter and ¼ cup of olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Saute onion, celery, and red pepper until the onions are transparent. Place quahogs on top of the onion, pepper, and celery mixture. Don't stir quahogs into mixture until they start to release their liquid. Then stir and add the chopped parsley. Cook for approximately 10 minutes or until the quahogs are cooked. Turn this mixture into a large bowl. Add the cubed bread, beaten egg, pepper, and a cup of breadcrumbs. Mix this together and add more breadcrumbs until the stuffing has the consistency of holiday stuffing.
• Fill with stuffing to the top of a single shell. Make a little hole in the center of the stuffed quahog and place ¼ teaspoon of butter in the hole. Top each quahog with 5-6 drops of lemon juice, a light sprinkle of Parmesan cheese, a piece of bacon, and a sprinkle of paprika.
• Quahogs should bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes or until they are lightly browned on the top and hot. Serve with lemon.

TIM O'TOOLE'S FAMOUS STUFFED QUAHOGS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Bring water to a boil over high heat. Add sausage links; reduce heat to medium and simmer for 10 minutes. Remove links from broth; reserve the broth. Remove casings from the sausage.
• Bring the broth back to a simmer and add the quahogs; cook until they open, 5 to 10 minutes. Remove the quahogs; reserve the broth. Remove the cooked quahogs from the shells. Separate the shell halves. If necessary wash the shells.
• Place the sausage and quahog meat into the bowl of a food processor; process until chopped, about 12 seconds, depending on your processor. Scrape mixture into a bowl. Add chopped onion to the processor; chop about 5 seconds. Stir in to the meat mixture.
• Make the full container of stuffing according to package directions, using the margarine, and substituting the sausage/clam broth for water. There may be more broth than you need.
• Mix together the stuffing and sausage/clam/onion mixture. Spoon filling into empty clam shell halves and top each with a small pat of butter (about a third of a teaspoon).
• Place the shells on a baking pan; bake in the preheated oven until toasty brown on top, 15 to 20 minutes.

STUFFED CLAMS ~ CAPE COD APPETIZER

Steps:

• 1. Saute' onions and pepper in butter or margarine until soft. Mix all ingredients together. Stuff into clam shells. Put pat of butter on each clam and sprinkle with paprika. Squeeze a few drops of juice over each clam. Bake in pre-heated oven for 15 minutes at 350 degrees.