Fried Whole Belly Clams Recipes

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!

FRIED IPSWICH WHOLE BELLY CLAMS WITH TARTAR SAUCE

Steps:

• Line a baking sheet with wax paper. Set up for what we call "standard breading procedure": Put the flour in a shallow bowl; put the eggs in a second shallow bowl and beat them with a fork; put the cracker meal, bread crumbs, cornmeal, and Old Bay in a third shallow bowl and whisk to combine.
• Spread the clams out on several layers of paper towels and blot them as dry as possible.
• Heat about 3 inches of canola oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat to 360°F.
• Toss the clams in the flour and shake off any excess. Dip the clams into the egg, coating them completely. Lift them out by the handful and let any excess egg drip off, then put the clams into the breading mixture and toss to coat them completely. Keep one hand dry and use the other hand for wet. Transfer to the baking sheet. If the breading begins to clump, put it through a coarse sieve.
• Fry the clams in small batches-crowding the pan will lower the temperature of the oil and the clams will come out greasy-until golden brown and crisp, about 1 minute. Drain on paper towels.
• Pile the clams on 4 dinner plates and serve with individual bowls of tartar sauce-and some fries.