Being from Bawlmer, land of steamed crabs and "Natty Bo", clams are not exactly my specialty. But I've been yearning to try my hand at clam chowder for some time. One thing that kept me from it was my lack of knowledge of how to prep the clams for the chowder (many cookbooks assume that you already know how. I, however, did not.)
Basically, all you need to do is cook a bunch of clams in about 2 cups of water in a large sauce pan (I used my All-clad French skillet) over medium heat for 5 minutes. Remove the clams once they've opened and save the remaining liquid, which you can strain through a fine sieve or cheesecloth. So, not only do you (and by you I mean "I") avoid injury by not having to shuck the clams, you get homemade clam juice which you can then use to flavor your chowder.
After the clams have cooled, you can take them out of their shells with your fingers and chop them up.
This made me as happy as a clam. (I know... boo... bad pun.)
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