whoa--old dude being cruel to clams

[franksolich]

http://www.democraticunderground.com/11576658

Oh my.

My hair stood up on end when I read this.

One dumps live clams into boiling water?

Live clams?

Stinky The Clown (45,103 posts) Profile Journal Send DU Mail Ignore

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For the second week in a row clams are available at $2.99 a dozen
For the second week in a row I shall make macaroni and clam sauce.

Last week I did this over fettuccine (we prefer that to the similar but thinner linguini). This week it will be over angel hair.

The recipe is simple.

Put on your macaroni water and let it come to a boil. Drop the macaroni when appropriate so it is done a minute or two after the sauce. Read on for an idea of how much time the sauce takes.

Live clams. (You can also use frozen clams, but they have a "taste" to them sometimes, or canned, which is what we normally do.) Depending on size, at least a dozen. I am using two dozen tonight. Scrub the clams with a stiff brush to remove any mud or sand residue. Put the clams in a big pot with a tight fitting lid. Add about a half to three quarters of a cup of white wine. You can also use water. Set them on the fire, covered, until the clams open. Maybe 3 to 5 minutes, again depending on the size of the clams. You will see a few actually open and the rest will seem to be closed. That's okay. A little undercooked is better than overcooked.

Using a clam knife or reasonable substitute, pop the clams open and catch the liquid back into the cooking pot. That liquid is your sauce. Shuck all the clams and toss the shells. Put the clam meat in a bowl as you shuck. When done (5 minutes or so, depending on how many clams you cooked), chop the clams in a nice, large dice. The joy of using fresh clams is big pieces of clam meat. Put the chopped clams back in the bowl and set them aside.

Strain the cooking liquid through a wire mesh strainer. Do this slowly and watch the liquid. There is probably some sand in the bottom. Don't try for the last drop (at this point you have way too much broth for the sauce). Discard the sandy remains. Pull off about a cup to a cup and a half of the liquid and hold that for the sauce. Put the rest into a container for the freezer. We'll talk later about what to do with it.

(This might be a good time to drop the macaroni. Unless it cooks fast, like angel hair.)

Swish out the clam pot with tap water to remove any sand in the bottom. Add some olive oil. Saute some chopped garlic (to taste). Let it go till translucent but not at all browned. Add a quarter cup or so of chopped fresh parsley. You can also add chopped fresh oregano if that's your fancy. Let this all go for a minute or so. Now add the clam liquid

If the macaroni is done, drain it and add it to the pot. If it is not done, take clam pot off the fire so as not to burn or overcook anything.

Mix the macaroni and clam sauce in the pot just until the macaroni is more or less coated. Transfer to a serving bowl. Pour on a good two to four tablespoons of olive oil and some more of the herbs, raw this time.

That's it. Enjoy.

That clam juice that's left is a great ingredient in a risotto. Or any other of a thousand uses!

[miskie]

Actually, live is how it should be done with all shellfish, save for scallops which are cut free of their shells beforehand.

Every time I get an order of mussels or clams, I check for dead ones and dispose of them before cooking.

As for clams, I will feed them before they hit the water. Placing your clams in water with corn meal causes them to eject most if not all of the sand they are carrying in exchange for it.  

The best thing though is to kill them instantly - take your shellfish and place them in the freezer for awhile, and they will go into a state nearing hibernation. The moment they hit boiling water (or in my case hot steam - I have a big steamer pot for shellfish) they are killed. Doing this really helps with lobster, as they are killed so fast they don't have time to curl up into a ball.

[Dblhaul]

miskie,
  Thanks for the tip on the corn meal! Do you know if it works for oysters also?

[NHSparky]

Steam--always do the steam.  Anyone who throws lobsters into a full pot of water should be beaten with a hammer.

Oh, and $2.99 a dozen?  You're getting ass-raped, dude.

Try digging your own sometime.  Nice workout, and much better quality.

[Ballygrl]

No comment I always want to steal the lobsters when I see them in the tank, I feel so sorry for them.

[AllosaursRus]

Steam--always do the steam.  Anyone who throws lobsters into a full pot of water should be beaten with a hammer.

Oh, and $2.99 a dozen?  You're getting ass-raped, dude.

Try digging your own sometime.  Nice workout, and much better quality.

I'm with you Sparky! Anyone who does anythin' else but steam lobster, crab, or shrimp, should just be tossed in the water with the shellfish!

[franksolich]

No comment I always want to steal the lobsters when I see them in the tank, I feel so sorry for them.

I knew this was done with lobsters, who apparently don't feel any pain being boiled alive.

But I had no idea it was done with clams too; the only clams I've ever seen in my life were in cans of Campbel's oyster stew, and I never ate the stuff anyway.....

[NHSparky]

No comment I always want to steal the lobsters when I see them in the tank, I feel so sorry for them.

As long as you don't throw them into fresh water, as has been done a time or two.  They tend not to like it too much.

[Crazy Horse]

I'm with you Sparky! Anyone who does anythin' else but steam lobster, crab, or shrimp, should just be tossed in the water with the shellfish!

You've never had She crab soup have ya, or a good crab stew, good Beaufort stew. 

[Ballygrl]

I knew this was done with lobsters, who apparently don't feel any pain being boiled alive.

But I had no idea it was done with clams too; the only clams I've ever seen in my life were in cans of Campbel's oyster stew, and I never ate the stuff anyway.....

The only fish I eat is tuna in the can, but I heard lobsters cry when put in boiling water . I had no idea that steaming them was more humane though, which was pointed out in this thread.

[NHSparky]

The only fish I eat is tuna in the can, but I heard lobsters cry when put in boiling water . I had no idea that steaming them was more humane though, which was pointed out in this thread.

No, they don't cry.  And they don't have a nervous system like humans, so they don't feel pain per se.  So they're not crying, either--that sound some people think is screaming or crying is simply the insides popping as they're steamed.

And steaming has nothing to do with the humanity.  Just the taste and texture of the meat.  Boil a lobster and it turns into watery mush compared to the firm, rich texture of a steamed lobster.

[Ballygrl]

As long as you don't throw them into fresh water, as has been done a time or two.  They tend not to like it too much.

Flipper was the Producer for Hannity's show, Sean sent her a lobstergram, Flipper was horrified, she decided to set the lobster free, so what did she do? she went to a Lake near her house and put the lobster in the lake, she even left the rubberbands on the claws, she did this to save it!

[Ballygrl]

No, they don't cry.  And they don't have a nervous system like humans, so they don't feel pain per se.  So they're not crying, either--that sound some people think is screaming or crying is simply the insides popping as they're steamed.

And steaming has nothing to do with the humanity.  Just the taste and texture of the meat.  Boil a lobster and it turns into watery mush compared to the firm, rich texture of a steamed lobster.

Oh, so you're steaming for taste? Didn't someone up-thread say it was more humane also though? I'm not judging LOL, my husband steams clams and eats lobster once in a while when we go out, I despise fish though so I tend to stay away from it.

[miskie]

miskie,
  Thanks for the tip on the corn meal! Do you know if it works for oysters also?

It works with all living shellfish. I don't know what it is about corn meal, but they love it. Other varieties of meal and flour are far less effective. Just remember, you need to salt the water, and leave them in it at least overnight. They aren't the fastest moving creatures.

The result is a far less 'gritty' dinner.

[franksolich]

The old dude's got three primitive comments (he had none when I originally posted this) now, but only two are worth hauling over here.

Denninmi (2,153 posts) Profile Journal Send DU Mail Ignore

2. I'd make clam chowder if I could get live clams at that price.

Yum.

And of course the doddering old fecund grasswire primitive:

grasswire (32,969 posts) Profile Journal Send DU Mail Ignore

3. what kind of clams are they?

Manila? ?

Gee, I'll never forget the time in your neck of the woods (Ocean City) when I first saw horseshoe crabs on the beach. Just came to my mind. Crazy-weird critters.

[miskie]

Oh, so you're steaming for taste? Didn't someone up-thread say it was more humane also though? I'm not judging LOL, my husband steams clams and eats lobster once in a while when we go out, I despise fish though so I tend to stay away from it.

Steaming tastes far better - boiling washes out the flavor - and its not the steam that kills them humanely - it is the switch of temperatures. Put them in the freezer for a few hours so they start to hibernate and drop them into the already hot pot (be it boiling water or steam). The sudden change in temperature kills them in seconds.

What is wrong is letting them heat up gradually as the temperature slowly rises.

[NHSparky]

Oh, so you're steaming for taste? Didn't someone up-thread say it was more humane also though? I'm not judging LOL, my husband steams clams and eats lobster once in a while when we go out, I despise fish though so I tend to stay away from it.

Think of it as the difference between baking a roast versus boiling it.

Or steaming vegetables versus boiling them.

And I need to eat more fish, but Scoobs ain't the biggest fan of it.  I do agree I don't like the "fishy" taste in most locations, but living near the coast (and particularly here) means good fresh fish is readily available.  I'm not a big fan of "heavier" or super-oily fish like swordfish or smelt or the like, but other types like tuna, trout, and salmon are fine, and of course who doesn't love a good baked or broiled haddock or cod?

[Ballygrl]

Steaming tastes far better - boiling washes out the flavor - and its not the steam that kills them humanely - it is the switch of temperatures. Put them in the freezer for a few hours so they start to hibernate and drop them into the already hot pot (be it boiling water or steam). The sudden change in temperature kills them in seconds.

What is wrong is letting them heat up gradually as the temperature slowly rises.

I just read this thread to my husband, he says he always steams his clams, but he doesn't have the sand issue because the stores clean them before they sell them.

Think of it as the difference between baking a roast versus boiling it.

Or steaming vegetables versus boiling them.

And I need to eat more fish, but Scoobs ain't the biggest fan of it.  I do agree I don't like the "fishy" taste in most locations, but living near the coast (and particularly here) means good fresh fish is readily available.  I'm not a big fan of "heavier" or super-oily fish like swordfish or smelt or the like, but other types like tuna, trout, and salmon are fine, and of course who doesn't love a good baked or broiled haddock or cod?

We have family in Maine so my husband has gone up there a lot of times and nothing beats fish from your area. He always says if you can smell fish it isn't good.

[miskie]

I just read this thread to my husband, he says he always steams his clams, but he doesn't have the sand issue because the stores clean them before they sell them.

We have family in Maine so my husband has gone up there a lot of times and nothing beats fish from your area. He always says if you can smell fish it isn't good.

I usually have to clean mine because they were in the ocean doing whatever it is clams do 24 hours or less before ending up in my possession. And he is right about the fish.

Fish that smell like ocean = good.
Fish that smell like fish = bad.

[67 Rover]

miskie,
  Thanks for the tip on the corn meal! Do you know if it works for oysters also?

It works with all filter feeders.