Clambake recipe question?!
Clambake recipe question?
Does anyone know how I do a clambake? Recipes please! I need step by step instructions PLEASE!
Answers:
Clambakes do not require any recipes. The original clambakes were done by American Indians living along the Atlantic coast. A true New England clambake is little changed from those days. This is how my family has done them for a hundred years or more:
For each person that you want to serve you will need:
1 New England lobster - get them all about the same size so they cook in the same amount of time. 1-1.5 pounds is the right size. (Frozen lobster tails are not the same thing!) See Notes on Buying Lobster, below.
1 dozen littleneck clams - these are best tied up in a layer or two of cheesecloth for easy recovery & serving. Make up the bags in individual portions that are all the same size. See Notes on Buying Clams below.
1 or 2 ears of corn - gently pull back the husks, remove the silks, put the husks back in place and soak the ears tip down in cold water for about 1/2 hour. Shake but do not dry -you want these to go in pretty damp to create steam.
1 baking potato - wash & prick in several places to prevent bursting.
2 or 3 ounces of melted butter for dipping
Fixings for the baked potato & corn
Optional:
Several handfuls of mussels, cleaned and tied up like the clams.
Chicken quarters
Seaweed if you can get it.
Traditionally rocks were heated by building a fire on them and keeping it going for several hours. When the rocks were heated through the food was piled up in layers - potatoes, chicken,corn, lobsters, then clams &/or mussels on top - and covered with seaweed to steam.
People who did not live right on the shore often cooked their clambakes in a pit dug into the ground about 3 feet deep, and then lined with rocks. A fire was built, the rocks heated, the food layered in and then the pit was covered with a damp canvas tarp and a layer of straw to retain the heat. This is the way that my Grandfather often did clambakes.
In either case, you will want to cook the food 1 to 1.5 hours or so. Most often what happens is that you uncover the food, take out the part that is ready & eat that while the rest cooks some more. (That is the reason for the layers.)
You can manage a small clambake outdoors without a pit by using one or more large pots similar to a water bath canner. If you have to cook things in batches, that is fine. The party and the eating are supposed to go on all afternoon anyway.
Some people like to serve garlic bread &/or clam chowder with their clambakes. Neither is traditional but their inclusion lets you get away with fewer clams and smaller lobsters.
Notes on Buying Lobster: the closer the lobster is to the water, the better it will be. If you must buy lobsters from a tank, then find out from your grocery when their lobsters are delivered. Plan your clambake for that same day. Pick only those lobsters that are actively trying to get out of the tank. A lazy lobster is a dying lobster. Never buy precooked lobsters from a store that has a tank. There are several excellent companies online that specialize in next or same day delivery of live lobster.
Notes on Buying Clams: Look for clams that are tightly closed. If the clam shell is gaping open before you have cooked it, that clam has died. Do not buy clams that are open. (They can make you ill.) Take the clams home and put them into a large dishpan or bowl full of cold water. Scrub the outsides very well with a scrub brush. Drain and repeat at least several times. If you must hold them before you cook them, make sure to keep them on ice.