Fried Clams Recipes

FRIED CLAMS

Steps:

• In a shallow bowl, combine 3/4 cup cornmeal and 1/4 cup flour with the water, forming a batter. In another bowl, combine the remaining cornmeal and flour., Dip clams in batter; shake off excess. Coat with cornmeal mixture., In an electric skillet or deep-fat fryer, heat oil to 375°. Fry clams, a few at a time, for 4-5 minutes or until golden brown. Drain on paper towels; sprinkle with salt. , Serve immediately with sauce if desired.

BATTERED FRIED CLAMS

Steps:

• In a medium sized bowl mix milk, egg yolk, butter, and salt. Sift the flour into the milk mixture stir until smooth. In a small chilled bowl beat the egg white with an electric mixer until soft peaks form. (For best results: refrigerate the bowl, mixer blade and egg white prior to mixing) Fold the beaten egg white into the milk mixture.
• In a large saucepan or deep fat fryer heat oil to 375'. Poke each clam with fork. Dip clams into the batter. Fry a few at a time around 1-1/2 minutes or until golden brown, turning once. Remove with slotted spoon, drain on paper towels or on brown paper bags. Keep warm in a 300' oven while frying the remaining clams.
• Serve with tartar sauce.

DEEP-FRIED CLAMS OR SCALLOPS

Steps:

• Thaw scallops, if frozen. Prepare Spicy Cocktail Sauce or Sweet and Sour Sauce, if desired. If scallops are large, cut in half. Rinse clams or scallops; pat dry with paper towels. Set aside.
• For batter, in a medium mixing bowl combine flour, sugar, and 1/4 teaspoon salt. In a small mixing bowl combine egg, 2 tablespoons cooking oil, and 3/4 cup cold water. Add to flour mixture; beat smooth.
• In a deep-fat fryer or a 2-quart saucepan heat 2 inches shortening or oil to 375 degree F (see tip below). Dip clams or scallops into batter. Fry a few at a time, until golden brown, turning once. Allow 1 to 1-1/2 minutes for clams and 2 to 2-1/2 minutes for scallops. Remove from fat and drain on paper towels. Keep fried clams or scallops warm in a 300 degree F oven while frying remaining seafood. Serve with sauce, if desired. Makes 4 servings. Spicy Cocktail Sauce
• In a 1-quart saucepan cook onion and garlic in hot butter over medium-high heat until tender but not brown, stirring often. Stir in water, tomato paste, horseradish, lemon juice,Worcestershire sauce, dry mustard, salt, and ground red pepper. Bring to boiling. Reduce heat, then simmer, uncovered, for 5 to 10 minutes or until of desired consistency. Serve warm or chilled with seafood. Makes about 1 cup. Sweet and Sour Sauce
• In a 1-quart saucepan combine brown sugar, cornstarch, and ground ginger. Stir in pineapple juice, green pepper, vinegar, and soy sauce. Cook and stir over medium heat until mixture is thickened and bubbly. Cook and stir sauce for 2 minutes more. Serve sauce warm with seafood. Makes 3/4 cup. Use a deep-fat frying thermometer to check the temperature of the fat. Place it so the bulb does not touch the pan. Carefully control the temperature of the fat by adjusting the heat.

FRIED CLAMS AND OYSTERS

Steps:

• Pour enough olive oil into a large, deep, heavy frying pan to reach a depth of 3 inches. Heat the oil over medium heat until a deep-fry thermometer registers 350 degrees F.
• While the oil is heating, put the buttermilk and the bread crumbs in separate shallow bowls. Working in batches, dip clams and oysters in buttermilk to coat completely. Allow the excess buttermilk to drip back in to the bowl. Dredge clams and oysters in the bread crumbs. Place the clams and oysters on a baking sheet, and continue.
• When the oil is hot, fry the clams and oysters in batches, about 3 minutes per batch. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the fried seafood to paper towels to drain.
• Immediately sprinkle the fried seafood with freshly squeezed lemon and sea salt. Serve with a bowl of warmed spicy marinara or arrabiata sauce for dipping.

FRIED RAZOR CLAMS

Steps:

• Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat.
• In a bowl, mix crushed crackers with black pepper, cayenne pepper, paprika, and garlic powder. Place eggs in a separate bowl. Dip clams into eggs, then into cracker mixture to evenly coat.
• Fry clams in the hot oil until golden brown. Do not over cook.

DEEP FRIED CLAMS

Steps:

• Gather the ingredients. Preheat the deep-fryer to 375 F or heat 3 inches of peanut oil in a Dutch oven.
• Measure cracker crumbs, poultry seasoning, salt, chipotle pepper, garlic powder, oregano, and dill weed into a large zip-top bag. Toss to combine. Set aside.
• Stir the clams into the beaten eggs. Using a slotted spoon, remove a few clams at a time and place them in the bag of herbed cracker crumbs. Shake to coat, remove clams, and place on a platter. Repeat until all clams are coated.
• Fry clams in batches, about 30 seconds, until golden brown. Take care not to crowd the clams while frying. Drain on paper towels and serve hot as an appetizer or entrée.

FRIED CLAM STRIPS RECIPE (FRIENDLY'S COPYCAT)

Steps:

• Start by heating the canola oil in a pot over moderate heat until it reaches 380 degrees F.
• While the oil is being heated, rinse and drain the clam strips in a colander.
• Stir the clam strips together with buttermilk in a large bowl.
• Drain the clam strips well in a colander. Let them set over a bowl for at least 5 minutes.
• In another bowl stir together the cornstarch, cornmeal, flour, curry powder, celery salt, cayenne, and salt.
• Dredge a handful of drained clams in the flour mixture then shake in a large sieve to remove excess flour.
• Transfer the clams one by one in a baking sheet and then shake them again to remove any excess flour mixture.
• Fry the coated clams until they're crisp and golden for about 1 ½ minutes. Then, transfer them onto some paper towels with a slotted spoon for draining. Afterward, sprinkle them with salt to taste.
• Serve with some potato fries and your desired dipping sauce, and enjoy!

FRIED WHOLE BELLY CLAMS

Steps:

• In a small bowl combine all the ingredients and whisk together. Cover and refrigerate.
• We tried several methods to shuck the clams and by far, this was the easiest for us....
• Place the clams in a large bowl and rinse them several times with cold water to wash away the grit and sand on their shells. Cover the clams with fresh cold water and let them sit for 20 minutes so that they can expunge any excess grit in their siphons.
• Bring a pot of water to a boil. Drain the clams and add them to the pot. Blanch the clams for 20 seconds, then immediately drain the water off of them. Transfer the clams to a fresh bowl filled with cold water to stop the cooking.
• Pry the shell open with your fingers (this would be impossible to do if you didn't blanch them first.) Remove the clam and locate the black protruding neck (actually a siphon that they use to filter their food).
• Go to the base of the "neck" and pull the outer layer or membrane from the clam and discard. Cut the tip of the black siphon off and discard. Transfer the shucked clam (this includes the neck, belly and strip) to a bowl of fresh water. Continue to shuck the clams in this fashion.
• Change the water several times to make sure the grit has been removed from the clams and set aside.
• In a medium bowl, combine the flour, corn flour (or fine cornmeal), salt and cayenne pepper and whisk to combine. Set aside.
• Use another medium bowl to combine the milk, buttermilk and egg with a whisk until well blended.
• Heat 2-3 inches of peanut oil in a deep fryer to 375°. Line a baking sheet with craft paper, newspaper or brown paper bags to soak up the oil.
• Dip the clams into the egg mixture and then toss them individually in the corn flour blend to coat.
• Fry the clams in batches with no more than 8-10 clams per batch. Cook each batch for 1-2 minutes or until the clams are crispy and golden. Using a spider, transfer the clams to the paper lined baking sheet to cool. Sprinkle with a pinch or two of salt. Continue frying and seasoning the clams in this manner.
• Serve the clams with simple tartar sauce and a wedge of lemon. Most New England clam shacks also serve them with french fries... I used a frozen bag of Alexia fries and crisped them in a convection oven... worked great!

LINDA'S NEW ENGLAND FRIED CLAMS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to its lowest setting.
• Line a lg. cookie sheet with double thickness of paper towels, and place it in the oven.
• Pour vegetable oil into a deep fryer, or a lg. heavy saucepan, to a depth of about 3".
• Heat oil to 375°F.
• In a bowl, beat the eggs until well blended, then stir in the milk and salt.
• Spread the flour on a lg. strip of wax paper.
• Drop the clams into the egg-milk mixture, and let them soak for 1 minute.
• Pick up a handful of the soaked clams, and roll them in the flour until well coated. Shake off any excess flour before dropping in the oil.
• Immediately drop the floured clams into the hot oil, and deep-fry for 1-2 mins., until golden brown.
• As they brown, transfer them to the towel-lined pan, and keep them warm in the oven, while the rest are cooking.
• Serve with lemon wedges, tarter sauce, and ketchup.

FRIED CLAMS WITH TARTAR AND COCKTAIL SAUCES

Steps:

• Combine the corn flour, all-purpose flour, seafood seasoning, salt and pepper in a large bowl. Whisk together the milk and egg in a small bowl and season with salt and pepper.
• Add enough oil to a heavy-bottomed pot fitted with a deep-frying thermometer to reach 4 inches up the sides. Heat the oil to 365 degrees F and line a sheet tray with paper towels.
• Dip the clams in the milk, then into the seasoned flour. Add 8 to 10 clams to the oil at a time and fry in batches until they are crispy and golden brown, 45 seconds to 1 minute. Remove the clams to the lined sheet tray. Continue frying the remaining clams.
• Sprinkle the clams with salt and pepper and transfer to a platter. Serve with the Tartar and Cocktail sauces and lemon wedges.
• Stir together the mayonnaise, relish, dill, lemon juice, salt and pepper in a medium bowl and refrigerate at least 1 hour and up to 2 days.
• Stir together the ketchup, chile paste, horseradish, lemon juice, Worcestershire, salt and pepper in a medium bowl and refrigerate until serving, or up to 1 week.

FRIED CLAMS

Steps:

• Start by heating canola oil in pot over moderate heat until a deep-fat thermometer registers 380°F.
• While oil is heating, rinse and drain clam strips in a colander and stir together with buttermilk in a large bowl. Drain clams well in a colander set over a bowl, at least 5 minutes (reserve drained buttermilk).
• Stir together cornstarch, cornmeal, flour, curry powder, celery salt, cayenne, and kosher salt in a large bowl.
• Dredge 1 handful of drained clams in flour mixture, then shake in a large sieve over flour bowl to remove excess flour. Transfer clams, one by one, shaking them again to remove any excess flour mixture, to a baking sheet. Wash and dry lemons and cut crosswise into 1/16-inch slices. Dip 3 or 4 slices in reserved buttermilk, let excess drip off, then dredge in flour mixture, shaking off excess (don't use the sieve).
• Fry coated clams with coated lemon slices and 1/4 cup parsley sprigs per batch until clams are crisp and golden, about 1 1/2 minutes, then transfer with a slotted spoon to paper towels to drain. Sprinkle with kosher salt to taste. Return oil to 380°F between batches, removing any bits of fried batter with a fine sieve and coating next batch of clams and lemon slices. The batches will get progressively darker, but that won't affect the flavor.
• Available at Wild Edibles (212-687-4255) and many fish stores with advance notice.