Before steaming the clams, they should all be closed. If any of your clams are open, give them a tap and if they stay open, then it is bad and you should take it out of your batch to prevent it from ruining the other clams.
After you have steamed the clams, most of them should be open. Clams steamed in wine with butter and herbs. Immediately get rid of anything with broken or damaged shells. Clams and mussels shells should be slightly open, and should shut quickly when you tap on them. Introduce them to the trash. Do not add too many clams to the pan at once. If the clams are stacked on top of each other, the weight of the other clams will make it more difficult for the clams on the bottom to open.
With this method, you should only cook enough clams to cover the bottom of the pan. Stir the clams around in the garlic butter until the shells are coated, this will evenly distribute the heat within shells. This creates the steam required to open the shells. It will also decrease the overall heat within the pan. Cover the clams with a lid--the clams will receive heat evenly from all sides. After about 4 minutes, remove the lid. Most, if not all of the clams should be open. Freshwater and Saltwater Fish.
Provided By RecipeTips. Do not use a sharp kitchen knife. Access to cool running water. A bowl to catch the liquor from the shell when opening.
A towel that can be used to protect your hand while opening the shell. Check for Freshness Clams are at their best if they are no more than four days old.
Ask your fish monger for the harvest date. When at the market, the clams should be stored in or on ice. Unless they have been shucked and frozen, clams should be alive when you buy and cook them.
If the shell is tightly closed, it is still alive. If the shell is slightly open, it should close promptly when tapped. If the shell is open and does not close when tapped, throw it out. Throw out any clams that have broken shells. Never eat a clam whose shell is not open after cooking. Opening Clams Before you begin: Chill the clams in the freezer for an hour or longer to make them easier to open. Scrub clams under cool running water using a stiff kitchen brush.
Over a bowl, hold the clam firmly in your hand and insert the clam knife between the top shell and bottom shell. A towel can be used to protect your hand. Work the knife around to cut through the hinge muscle. The bowl will catch the liquor from the clam. When the clamshells steam open, the clam juice spills out. And that juice creates the perfect base for any flavorings you might want to add.
Clams are alive when you buy them and they need air, which is why most fishmongers poke holes in the plastic bags that carry them. You'll want to bring the little fellers home as quickly as possible, take them out of the bag, cover them with a damp towel and store them in the cold back part of the refrigerator. Oh, and be sure to cook them within a few days. According to Rick Moonen, one of my favorite seafood chefs, most clams these days are cleansed of excess sand before they're sold.
Then, just before cooking the clams, scrub them well with a brush under cool running water until the shells feel clean and sand-free. The easy part about cooking clams is that they tell you when they're done by opening.
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