Post by Admin on Oct 5, 2022 23:06:14 GMT
Cleaning Softshell Clams
Clams taken from clams with broken shells taste every bit as good as those taken from clams with unbroken shells. The shells of softshell clams are very fragile and easily broken. Clam diggers are required to keep all softshell clams regardless of size or condition. Approximately a half a dozen of the softshell clams shown in the photos had broken shells. Clean the clams with broken shells as soon as able to do so. The clams with broken shells must be cleaned separately because the clam meat when exposed to the boiling water during the blanching process overcooks easily.
Pick the pieces of broken shell off of the clams with broken shells and cut the whole clam away from the unbroken half as shown in the photos. The removal of the skin from around the neck of softshell clams is the reason the clams are blanched with boiling water. Notice the clams from the broken shells are lowered into a large stock pot in a net bag for approximately five seconds to blanch the periostracum to loosen the skin from the clam’s neck. Notice the shriveled periostracum skin around the necks of the clams in the bowl. The clams in the net cotton bag are quickly blanched before being submerged in the cold water of the kitchen sink to stop the clams from cooking...
Cleaning softshell clams with a knife is similar to cleaning gaper clams but more difficult because of the problems encountered removing the periostracum from the softshell clam’s neck because some of the periostracum skin remains on the siphon tube. Blanching the unbroken softshell clams is the most efficient method to clean the clams. Whenever blanching clams never fill the pot more than half full of water; in addition, keep children and pets away from pots of boiling water.
To clean the clams Immerse them into a pot of boiling water until the shells pop open. The time the clams take to open depends to some extent the size and the number of clams, somewhere about 30 seconds, so keep an eye on the clams. Once the clams begin popping open, immediately remove the immersion basket from the boiling water and empty the clams into the cold water in the kitchen sink to stop them from cooking as shown in the photos.
Separate the softshell clam meat from the clams that have popped open. Use a paring knife to open the softshell clam that did not open. Run the blade of the knife between the mantle and the shell cutting through the abductor mussels. Clean the clam’s neck as shown in the photographs. 9 Cut the clam’s body from the clam’s mantel using a pair of scissors. Discard the clams body. 10 Pull the periostracum skin from the mantle down and 11 over the clam's neck pinching the skin between your thumb nail and the index finger. 12 Improve the eye appeal of the clams by brushing the dark pigment from the clam’s neck using a stiff bristle brush. Brushing the clams siphon tube removes any of the remaining contaminated periostracum. Rinse the clams in running water. 13 Butterfly cut the clam’s neck by inserting the bottom blade from a pair of scissors into the bottom siphon tube of the clam’s neck cutting through the wall of the siphon tubes. 14 The clam’s necks are ready for cooking. Not shown in the photo array is using a pair of scissors to cut the dark tip of the clam's siphon tubes.
The bodies and digger foot of softshell clams are too small for me to take the time necessary to clean them so I discard them. However for those who choose to use the bodies and digger feet Remove the gills by snipping the face of the stomach using a pair of scissors. Snipping the gills and the skin off the face of the stomach facilitates removal of the visceral material and crystalline style. Grasp the clam’s body with your left thumb and index finger and squeeze the gut bag with your thumb and index finger of your right hand to force the digestive track out. We recommend discarding the bodies from all the clams by recreational shellfish harvesters because shellfish bio accumulate toxins... The Smaller softshell clams are excellent when the necks are served as steamer clams and the larger clams are excellent either fried whole or minced for clam chowder, clam fritters, clam fettuccine or clam ravioli. I miss sharing my clam chowder with my family and friends, because I made the best clam chowder that ever found the inside of a spoon, bare none... Bill
Additional Recommendation: It is at this point in the cleaning process where we recommend testing the cleaned clams to determine the level of contaminates contained in the clam's neck, mantel and bodies are at toxic levels. We need to know if the level of contaminates found in the body of the clams are present at greater levels than the level of contaminates present in the Clam's neck for all species of clams consumed by recreational clam diggers??? This is a question the State has refused to answer As long as the State is going to allow the harvest of shellfish; recreational shellfish harvesters must know the level of contamination in the clams that we are harvesting before consuming them... Point of fact is that I no longer eat clams. mussels or oysters because I do not believe those shellfish products are fit too eat or feed to my family or friends... Bill
u
Clams taken from clams with broken shells taste every bit as good as those taken from clams with unbroken shells. The shells of softshell clams are very fragile and easily broken. Clam diggers are required to keep all softshell clams regardless of size or condition. Approximately a half a dozen of the softshell clams shown in the photos had broken shells. Clean the clams with broken shells as soon as able to do so. The clams with broken shells must be cleaned separately because the clam meat when exposed to the boiling water during the blanching process overcooks easily.
Pick the pieces of broken shell off of the clams with broken shells and cut the whole clam away from the unbroken half as shown in the photos. The removal of the skin from around the neck of softshell clams is the reason the clams are blanched with boiling water. Notice the clams from the broken shells are lowered into a large stock pot in a net bag for approximately five seconds to blanch the periostracum to loosen the skin from the clam’s neck. Notice the shriveled periostracum skin around the necks of the clams in the bowl. The clams in the net cotton bag are quickly blanched before being submerged in the cold water of the kitchen sink to stop the clams from cooking...
Cleaning softshell clams with a knife is similar to cleaning gaper clams but more difficult because of the problems encountered removing the periostracum from the softshell clam’s neck because some of the periostracum skin remains on the siphon tube. Blanching the unbroken softshell clams is the most efficient method to clean the clams. Whenever blanching clams never fill the pot more than half full of water; in addition, keep children and pets away from pots of boiling water.
To clean the clams Immerse them into a pot of boiling water until the shells pop open. The time the clams take to open depends to some extent the size and the number of clams, somewhere about 30 seconds, so keep an eye on the clams. Once the clams begin popping open, immediately remove the immersion basket from the boiling water and empty the clams into the cold water in the kitchen sink to stop them from cooking as shown in the photos.
Separate the softshell clam meat from the clams that have popped open. Use a paring knife to open the softshell clam that did not open. Run the blade of the knife between the mantle and the shell cutting through the abductor mussels. Clean the clam’s neck as shown in the photographs. 9 Cut the clam’s body from the clam’s mantel using a pair of scissors. Discard the clams body. 10 Pull the periostracum skin from the mantle down and 11 over the clam's neck pinching the skin between your thumb nail and the index finger. 12 Improve the eye appeal of the clams by brushing the dark pigment from the clam’s neck using a stiff bristle brush. Brushing the clams siphon tube removes any of the remaining contaminated periostracum. Rinse the clams in running water. 13 Butterfly cut the clam’s neck by inserting the bottom blade from a pair of scissors into the bottom siphon tube of the clam’s neck cutting through the wall of the siphon tubes. 14 The clam’s necks are ready for cooking. Not shown in the photo array is using a pair of scissors to cut the dark tip of the clam's siphon tubes.
The bodies and digger foot of softshell clams are too small for me to take the time necessary to clean them so I discard them. However for those who choose to use the bodies and digger feet Remove the gills by snipping the face of the stomach using a pair of scissors. Snipping the gills and the skin off the face of the stomach facilitates removal of the visceral material and crystalline style. Grasp the clam’s body with your left thumb and index finger and squeeze the gut bag with your thumb and index finger of your right hand to force the digestive track out. We recommend discarding the bodies from all the clams by recreational shellfish harvesters because shellfish bio accumulate toxins... The Smaller softshell clams are excellent when the necks are served as steamer clams and the larger clams are excellent either fried whole or minced for clam chowder, clam fritters, clam fettuccine or clam ravioli. I miss sharing my clam chowder with my family and friends, because I made the best clam chowder that ever found the inside of a spoon, bare none... Bill
Additional Recommendation: It is at this point in the cleaning process where we recommend testing the cleaned clams to determine the level of contaminates contained in the clam's neck, mantel and bodies are at toxic levels. We need to know if the level of contaminates found in the body of the clams are present at greater levels than the level of contaminates present in the Clam's neck for all species of clams consumed by recreational clam diggers??? This is a question the State has refused to answer As long as the State is going to allow the harvest of shellfish; recreational shellfish harvesters must know the level of contamination in the clams that we are harvesting before consuming them... Point of fact is that I no longer eat clams. mussels or oysters because I do not believe those shellfish products are fit too eat or feed to my family or friends... Bill
u