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CLAMmoring For More

Whether you are headed to the grocery store or to our sandy shores, all you need to know to enjoy clams on Cape Cod can be found here...

How To Clam Like A Native
You need three things to clam like a native: a rake, a dreener and a permit. The rake, resembling a bent pitchfork, lets you pick up clams without scooping up sand. The dreener, a wire basket, holds your catch. Some are surrounded by inner tubes for flotation. When immersed in shallow water, the dreener is easier to haul behind you as you move from one digging area to another. Permits are available at the village town where you plan to dig. The shores along Cape Cod Bay offer the easiest digging. Here, the tides go out further, exposing more hiding places for clams. Always dig at low tide; check our tide chart for the appropriate times. Our local expression, "Happy as a clam at high tide" refers to the difficulty in gathering our native shellfish when the water is high. As you comb the beach, look for holes in the sand. Although you'll see many, upon digging, the booty unveiled may only be seaworms or razor clams, not the tasty clams you anticipated.. On a windless day, you may notice marking by clam holes. These are made by clams when they "spit" from their air holes.

Buying & Prepping Clams
As expected, recent catches are the freshest. Dead clams have a bad odor and may not be safe to eat. Whether you dig your own clams or purchase them from a market, run these simple "fitness" tests. As with lobsters, go for the most active specimens. If you poke live soft-shelled clams (steamers), they will retract further into their shells. If they don't react to prodding, discard them. On the other hand, live, hard-shelled clams (quahogs) keep their shells clamped tightly. So, if you can budge the shell, discard the clam.

The proper way to store clams is in an open bowl in the refrigerator. If you seal them up in storage containers or bags, they will die. The goal is to keep them alive prior to cooking.

Before cooking, clean the clams. Soft shelled clams (steamers) contain undesirable sand. If you purchase steamers from the market, rinse them thoroughly in running water to remove the sand. If you dig them yourself, soak them for a few hours. Make sure you add salt to the water and add a handful of cornmeal. Also, change the water at least once. Quahogs just require a quick rinse under cold water to clean the outer shell.