Clamming in December!!

[letsfish]

Great tides this week!
I hit them up yesterday and today and was off the beach at 4 each day. It is strange clamming in the late afternoon(and sunny in December). But what a beautiful way to enjoy the beach. Plenty of clams although finding the big boys was not as easy.
And crowds....Nada!

[K950]

Very nice and thank you for the report. I have not been clamming in years and was just talking about going with a few buddys. Where were you working if you don't mind sharing?

[The Trout Slammer]

Originally Posted by letsfish

Great tides this week!
I hit them up yesterday and today and was off the beach at 4 each day. It is strange clamming in the late afternoon(and sunny in December). But what a beautiful way to enjoy the beach. Plenty of clams although finding the big boys was not as easy.
And crowds....Nada!

What kind of Clams weere u gettin? We go to Tillamook county and get the Cockles and Butters.

[letsfish]

Razors at Seaside.
If you are into using a lantern to clam by later this week should be even better. I bet a guy could get off the beach with a limit today before dark.

[BgTmFsHeR77]

Is there anywhere near PC to get razors?

[death roe]

thanks for the report

[fishsauce]

Thanks for the report. I'm new to clamming and just love razors. I was wondering how well the clamming was in the winter. Just might have to get out the clam gun again.

[yomper]

Originally Posted by letsfish

Great tides this week!
I hit them up yesterday and today and was off the beach at 4 each day. It is strange clamming in the late afternoon(and sunny in December). But what a beautiful way to enjoy the beach. Plenty of clams although finding the big boys was not as easy.
And crowds....Nada!

In the UK razor clams are called razor fish and are harvested by pouring table salt in the hole and lifting them out

[fhs willamette]

Great new! Still have a package or two frozen, but I think I could enjoy a small batch of fried fresh razors. Thanks for sharing the info

[ling killer]

Originally Posted by yomper

In the UK razor clams are called razor fish and are harvested by pouring table salt in the hole and lifting them out

that is a diffrent type of clam, cousin or something. those are very narow and long clams with not much meat compared to our razor's. they are very fast diggers and can actually swim in water if needed. and there used to be some under the newport bridge, 10 years ago or better. im not sure about anymore

if i get a chance to hit newport area i'll post a report on any razors i find and where

[Pandion]

I haven't been watching the reports lately, have the Clatsop beaches been open up? That last I heard they were closed due to the toxins, I haven't seen the report where they were reopened.

Can anybody help?

[ling killer]

Originally Posted by Pandion

I haven't been watching the reports lately, have the Clatsop beaches been open up? That last I heard they were closed due to the toxins, I haven't seen the report where they were reopened.

Can anybody help?

there are websites that u could find the toxin levels on, not sure which ones, sorry


im asuming it's ok. since it's been so cold lately

[Pandion]

Ok, I was lazy, so I went into ODFW website to find the answer to my question.

Recreational shellfish harvesting status as of 11/23/09

• Mussel harvesting is open on the entire Oregon coast, from the mouth of the Columbia River to the California border.
• Recreational and commercial clam harvesting is open on the entire Oregon coast, from the mouth of the Columbia River to the California border. This includes clam harvesting on beaches and inside bays.
• The consumption of whole recreationally harvested scallops is not recommended. However, coastal scallops are not affected by toxins when only the adductor muscle is eaten.
• Domoic acid results continue to be in the safe range.
• Harmful algae bloom monitoring: South coast algae bloom reported
  

[ling killer]

Originally Posted by Pandion

Ok, I was lazy, so I went into ODFW website to find the answer to my question.


Recreational shellfish harvesting status as of 11/23/09

• Mussel harvesting is open on the entire Oregon coast, from the mouth of the Columbia River to the California border.
• Recreational and commercial clam harvesting is open on the entire Oregon coast, from the mouth of the Columbia River to the California border. This includes clam harvesting on beaches and inside bays.
• The consumption of whole recreationally harvested scallops is not recommended. However, coastal scallops are not affected by toxins when only the adductor muscle is eaten.
• Domoic acid results continue to be in the safe range.
• Harmful algae bloom monitoring: South coast algae bloom reported
  

wahoo, i geta fill my freezers again till the winter steel start to flow

[SoylentGreen]

thanks for the report, guess I'm going to have to give the December thing a try. Not having to get up early would be nice.

[ling killer]

well it was cold..... cold and wet!!!!!

thats about it

mabey next time i'll try a lil harder and stay for more than 1 1/2 hours

[eyeFISH]

Jr League is gearing up for the frigid temps as I type. Brother is on his way from Gig Harbor. Will be meeting Katosan and fish4brains at the beach. Low tide just shy of 9:00 pm tonight. Should be a beautiful moonlit night.

Looking forward to gathering a pile of meaty clams, then a nice warm bowl of Vietnamese noodle soup at the restaurant when we're done. Slippin' some fresh thin slices of razor clam into my pho for extra flavor. What could be better on a frosty winter's night?

[EMO870]

Originally Posted by eyeFISH

Jr League is gearing up for the frigid temps as I type. Brother is on his way from Gig Harbor. Will be meeting Katosan and fish4brains at the beach. Low tide just shy of 9:00 pm tonight. Should be a beautiful moonlit night.

Looking forward to gathering a pile of meaty clams, then a nice warm bowl of Vietnamese noodle soup at the restaurant when we're done. Slippin' some fresh thin slices of razor clam into my pho for extra flavor. What could be better on a frosty winter's night?

Sounds great! What restaurant at the coast do you get the noodle soup? Love that stuff. Good luck and have fun.

EMO870

[BgTmFsHeR77]

No razors around PC?

[eyeFISH]

Originally Posted by EMO870

Sounds great! What restaurant at the coast do you get the noodle soup? Love that stuff. Good luck and have fun.

EMO870

We were digging at Ocean Shores WA. Viet Hoa is the only such restaurant in all of Grays Harbor County.

My report:

Clear cold and no wind.

Clams were showing high and dry, as fast as you could dig 'em.

But they were laying a lot deeper than two nights ago. I was going for five scoops before sending a hand down, and most times just barely grasping the tip of a neck or top of a shell. Definitely more effort invested per clam than my last outing. Cold numb fingers did NOT help matters while struggling to get a grip and SLOWLY pull them up. Still managed to score seven doubles with my little one... limits sure rack up fast that way.

Easy limits for my party of four, avg size 5.0 to 5.5 inch shells. Coupla JUMBO's over 6 and a handful of dinks between 4 and 5.

Fine dry snowfall on the drive back home... driveway sure looked pretty when we arrived.

[SandySteel]

Originally Posted by BgTmFsHeR77

No razors around PC?

They are not as plentiful as the northern beaches up by Seaside but if you have some very low tides and a nice sandy beach you might just find some. It will take some exploring on your part.

[eyeFISH]

The only thing better than digging fresh clams in December is EATING fresh clams in December!

'Tis the season that emphasizes sharing, so I thought I'd share a pic tutorial on how I prepare quick-fried razors.

Start with a fresh pile of these:




Mix up a 50/50 blend of cornstarch and flour in one flat container.

Then make up an egg wash in another flat container using these proportions.... one egg, 4 shakes of Johnny's season salt, 2 shakes of Johnny's Salad Elegance, small splash of water (better yet use drained clam "nectar" leftover from your cleaning process... note the bowl collecting nectar beneath the yellow collander) . Double it for 2 eggs, triple it for three, etc. This demo uses two eggs for a dozen clam pieces.



Finally pour some panko (Japanese breading) in a third flat container. Set out a large flat tray as well. Line them up for the production like so:



Now it's just a matter of sending the clams sequentially thru each container. Dust each piece in the cornstarch/flour mixture on both sides, then douse in the seasoned egg wash on both sides, then coat liberally with panko on both sides, pressing lightly to really get the panko to stick. Shake away excess and lay each piece on the tray.

Repeat.
Repeat.
Repeat.

As one layer on the tray fills up, cover with a sheet of Saran Wrap or waxed paper before piling on the next layer. Here's me and LMWS tag-teamin' the whole process.









Let sit for 30-60 minutes while you prepare the rest of your meal. This will allow the coating to "gel" up on the clam, allowing more of it to stay with your finished product and less in the deep fryer.

Preheat your deep fryer to just shy of smoking hot. Peanut oil works the best as it has the highest flash point and will reach the highest temp before it starts to smoke. A good stream of fine bubbles rising from submerged wooden chopstick tips allow me to know when the oil is ready.

Dip your panko-crusted clams into hot oil one at a time. It should bubble up violently upon entry. Pause a few seconds between each dunking as this will later give you some time to retrieve each piece as it's finished. DO NOT OVERLOAD the oil with clams. Three to four pieces TOPS at a time. Placing too many clams at once will abruptly cool your oil and you will end up with tough soggy oil-drenched clams LONG before they even approach golden brown.





Cook til golden brown.... typically 15-20 seconds TOPS, flipping once at the halfway point. No more than 10 seconds a side.... yeah it's THAT fast! If you staggered the entry, it'll give you a few seconds to thoroughly let the oil drain away as each piece exits.



Set each cooked piece on a serving dish lined with several layers of paper towel.




Now here's the single biggest secret I can give you for deep frying at high temps. Strain the excess panko coating/debris out of the oil before frying the next mini-batch of clams. If you do not do this, the excess debris will quickly start to burn with your next batch of clams. I've got a fine mesh strainer and use it like a seine net, scooping repeatedly thru the oil to remove as much of the excess debris as I can before quick-frying the next batch of clams.



Here's our clam feast for the evening... including TryMe TIGER SAUCE for dipping.



Here's the Jr League wishing you all, "Bon appetit!" and a blessed Christmas season!

[Fishtail]

Those look absolutely delicious

[King Kong]

That is a GREAT tutorial! 100% right on the money with each step.

I need one of those little screens. I typically just use a large spoon to remove the extra batter/Panko that falls off.

[letsfish]

Manna from the Sands!!!! Thanks for a great tutorial Doc!

[Bonneville Dan]

Thanks for the alternative frying method to the old standard flour/egg/cracker crumbs method. We have switched to frying in olive oil, and though it's more expensive per ounce, I've read that less oil is soaked into the breading, so in the end it's nearly a wash, cost-wise. Taste isn't the same as peanut oil, but they're still great.

Limits were also easy on the SW Washington beaches on Friday night, right about the time lanterns were starting to get fired up. We also bought some ocean crab, and they were absolutely packed solid with meat. I sometimes forget how good it tastes compared to lower Columbia River or bay harvested crab. Same species, but there really is a difference.

[fishchaser]

What a mouth watering experience you just gave us. WOW You make'n me hungry for some clams. I have some in the freezer, but they are not as good as FRESH. May have to make a trip down to the coast for some freezing good time.

[ling killer]

also great tip on the peanut oil! i didn't know that it had the highest flash point

[Maddie'sDaddy]

Eyefish

I notice the Tiger sauce in the pic, My brother turned me on to that stuff when he lived over on Maui , On top of some good Tuna steaks off the BBQ its Heaven!!!! mmmmmmmmmmmmm Yummy!!!




MD

[letsfish]

Got the itch and went down to Seaside this afternoon. wind came up and made it "challenging" and cold. Shows were non-existent, so you had to pound the surf and sand. Took a couple of hours to limit. Heard yesterday was better.

[Simon Peter]

I'm serious my mouth began to water by the last picture - reflex!

Thanks for the mouth-watering tutorial!

[Rubber Robin]

Eyefish,

I was hoping that when I saw your earlier post that it would be followed by pictures. Thank you once again for an excellent demonstration on how to cook the razors.

I'm hoping to be able to retrieve this for the next time I go.

Most excellent!!!!

[duckhunter]

Doc, you have it dialed in man. Love the pics and tutorial. Give me your address and i will be there for dinner and i'll bring the beer.

[MegaByte]

What impresses me the most is here is a guy who knows how to clean a clam right! Takes forever, but it is worth the effort. Darn, I guess I am going to grab some out of the freezer right now. By the way, if you bread them and then vacuum pack them, they taste as good as fresh 6 months later....

[dampainter]

I think u need a expert taste tester (me of course!) to confirm. no charge just get a hold of me BEFORE next time and I will provide my service for free....... for you I will extend this service for all your needs. seriously though I just about ate my computer screen. good job keep up those posts much appreciated.

[Nuchal Rouge]

Excellent presentation. Those look delicious. Those blue trays look awfully familiar, uhmmmm, hope they were never used. . You are dead on, on not over cooking them and by the way you did a wonderful cleaning job. Thanks for the demonstration.

[fyshndad]

Francis
I sure hope those girls of yours know how fortunate they are to have a father that not only is a great outdoorsman but a supreme chef

Want to adopt a son???

[Fshklr]

Eyefish....post that tutorial in the recipe forum

[eyeFISH]

I tacked it onto the thread "Razor clam batter ideas needed".

BTW I used to do a beer batter recipe on them, but found that batter just grabs WAY too much oil. It's also tough getting the batter to "stick" as well as the panko.

[negoc8]

Thanks Eyefish, We made a batch using your recipe and tips on cooking, simply put, the best batch of razors we have eaten, from my kitchen or anywhere else. I'll keep that one for sure!!

[Smj]

eyeFISH is certainly the master...Love seeing the interaction with the kids! Wonderful! One thing I do different, and mainly because it's so easy to over cook these guys, I take the necks off before frying and put them aside for grinding and making clam fritters. That way if you overcook a bit the necks aren't there to become so EXTRA tough. When I'm cleaning and have the clams that aren't perfect, or you broke some digging...Those are the ones that go for fritters. When grinding, the necks get ground twice and the bodies once.

Smj

[eyeFISH]

Hopefully heading to the beach later today with LMWS to dig up some fresh Christmas razors!

For those brave enough to try it, thought I'd share a little recipe for preparing RAW Razor clam necks as a light appetizer.

.
.
.
.


I actually stumbled across this unique combination of ingredients in a recipe for preparing raw geoduck necks. Put my own twist on the basic ingredients to make an oh-so-easy sauce that is light, tart, and refreshing.

Not only is it good for geoducks, but it's excellent on thinly cross-cut RAW razor clam necks as well. The whole package is just very FRESH tasting!

Also great drizzled over fresh sliced cucumbers.

So tonight, I tried it drizzled over steamed salmon bellies. OMG! Broke da mout!

I don't have EXACT measurements for the ingredients as I just sorta play it by ear, but these are pretty close.

One 3/4 - 1 inch nub of fresh ginger, peeled, finely minced.
Two stalks fresh green onions (whites removed) finely chopped. Fresh chives would also work.
Juice of 1/2 a fresh lemon
2-3 Tbsp EVOO
Generous splash of soy sauce
Fresh cracked pepper
Generous dash of salt (omit if you are pre-salting the clams/fish/cuc's)
Generous dash of MSG (optional for those who are sensitive)

Mix thoroughly or shake in a small jar like you would a vinegar/oil dressing. Drizzle over your chosen dish.

Bon appetit!

[Barviewrocks]

Thanks for the detailed steps. I have tried one modification that I like. Instead of using whole eggs, I use egg whites or the egg substitute you get in the carton. I think it makes the clam panko coating lighter and a bit crisper.

Happy Holidays to all!

Originally Posted by eyeFISH

The only thing better than digging fresh clams in December is EATING fresh clams in December!

'Tis the season that emphasizes sharing, so I thought I'd share a pic tutorial on how I prepare quick-fried razors.

Start with a fresh pile of these:




Mix up a 50/50 blend of cornstarch and flour in one flat container.

Then make up an egg wash in another flat container using these proportions.... one egg, 4 shakes of Johnny's season salt, 2 shakes of Johnny's Salad Elegance, small splash of water (better yet use drained clam "nectar" leftover from your cleaning process... note the bowl collecting nectar beneath the yellow collander) . Double it for 2 eggs, triple it for three, etc. This demo uses two eggs for a dozen clam pieces.



Finally pour some panko (Japanese breading) in a third flat container. Set out a large flat tray as well. Line them up for the production like so:



Now it's just a matter of sending the clams sequentially thru each container. Dust each piece in the cornstarch/flour mixture on both sides, then douse in the seasoned egg wash on both sides, then coat liberally with panko on both sides, pressing lightly to really get the panko to stick. Shake away excess and lay each piece on the tray.

Repeat.
Repeat.
Repeat.

As one layer on the tray fills up, cover with a sheet of Saran Wrap or waxed paper before piling on the next layer. Here's me and LMWS tag-teamin' the whole process.









Let sit for 30-60 minutes while you prepare the rest of your meal. This will allow the coating to "gel" up on the clam, allowing more of it to stay with your finished product and less in the deep fryer.

Preheat your deep fryer to just shy of smoking hot. Peanut oil works the best as it has the highest flash point and will reach the highest temp before it starts to smoke. A good stream of fine bubbles rising from submerged wooden chopstick tips allow me to know when the oil is ready.

Dip your panko-crusted clams into hot oil one at a time. It should bubble up violently upon entry. Pause a few seconds between each dunking as this will later give you some time to retrieve each piece as it's finished. DO NOT OVERLOAD the oil with clams. Three to four pieces TOPS at a time. Placing too many clams at once will abruptly cool your oil and you will end up with tough soggy oil-drenched clams LONG before they even approach golden brown.





Cook til golden brown.... typically 15-20 seconds TOPS, flipping once at the halfway point. No more than 10 seconds a side.... yeah it's THAT fast! If you staggered the entry, it'll give you a few seconds to thoroughly let the oil drain away as each piece exits.



Set each cooked piece on a serving dish lined with several layers of paper towel.




Now here's the single biggest secret I can give you for deep frying at high temps. Strain the excess panko coating/debris out of the oil before frying the next mini-batch of clams. If you do not do this, the excess debris will quickly start to burn with your next batch of clams. I've got a fine mesh strainer and use it like a seine net, scooping repeatedly thru the oil to remove as much of the excess debris as I can before quick-frying the next batch of clams.



Here's our clam feast for the evening... including TryMe TIGER SAUCE for dipping.



Here's the Jr League wishing you all, "Bon appetit!" and a blessed Christmas season!

[bignate]

Just got done at Longbeach. 10 min tops to dig limits. It took me longer to get geared up than to dig all the clams.

Now to start cleaning...




Nate

[freespool]

Two limits for us at Seaside, medium size, 20 minuets.

[MegaByte]

Okay Mr eyeFISH. Here is your quote "'Tis the season that emphasizes sharing," So I ask, when do you want me over to help you eat those nasty things?

I hit Long Beach today and it was unbelievable. 15 clams in 15 minutes. I dug in the water. One tap of the shovel handle and I would see 1 to 4 holes. Medium size. Perfect eaters.

[eyeFISH]

So today after seeing a couple urgent patients earlier in the day, we decided to hit the beach for some delectable December eats! Just a daddy-daughter outing on a glory day on the WA coast. Words can't describe how glad I am to have her back in the game.

Oh yeah, and the clamming wasn't too shabby, either.







Couldn't ask for a better Christmas present.

[top_pin_or]

Originally Posted by eyeFISH

So today after seeing a couple urgent patients earlier in the day, we decided to hit the beach for some delectable December eats! Just a daddy-daughter outing on a glory day on the WA coast. Words can't describe how glad I am to have her back in the game.

Oh yeah, and the clamming wasn't too shabby, either.







Couldn't ask for a better Christmas present.

Where is the "Like" button?.....This put a big smile on my face bud. Even though I have never met you. I was sad when you told us all that she didnt want to do these trips anymore. I am so happy to see you guys back at it. Always hate to see a "DREAM TEAM" break up.

[Green Willie]

Hey Doc,

To your magic sauce recipe, try adding one clove of garlic finely minced, and equal splashes (same amount as the soy sauce) of mirin and sake. Some people will use rice wine vinegar in place of the lemon juice, but the lemon juice is superior for this, in my view. Or, one can take a short cut and use commercially bottled ponzu in lieu of the soy and lemon.

Happy eating!