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How to shuck a butter clam

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8.4K views 11 replies 9 participants last post by  Ocean Invader Aquaholic  
#1 Ā·
First, get yourself some butter clams. These came from Netarts. They are a little bigger than average. Pretty easy to come by, and probably one of the most underutilized resources in Oregon, but that's another topic.
950739

Split em to the hinge with a knife. Put em in a bucket, let em drip. SAVE THE JUICE!
950740

Scoop em out with a spoon. They are attached at the abductors and lips. I save the shells to BBQ shucked oysters (shucking oysters is for pros and suckers) and to use as money after society collapses. Save the juice!
950741

Cut off the tip of the neck, the gills, the membrane, scoop out the green in the end of the foot. There will be some green in the foot you can't remove. Eat it, it's good for you. Better yet, call me, I will come get your feet. Seriously, fried butter clam feet are one of my favorite foods.
950742

This is a cleaned butter clam. Well almost clean. Pick the dog hair off the abductors before eating. At my house, labrador hair isn't a condiment, it's a staple. I like the necks and lips for clam strips, the abductors for ceviche or clam cocktail or eaten raw by the handful. The feet are the best part, breaded in panko and fried. All are good for chowder.

950743

TADA! the juice you saved is for the base of your chowder. 2 liters of clam juice is a pretty good base to any seafood stew. One limit made 2.5 pounds of clam meat, about 2/3 of a pound of bait, and 40 shells for cooking oysters or clams casino.
950744
 
#5 Ā·
We (back in the 60's) "east coasters" called those "little neck" clams but I think it was the west coast guys selling them locally that told me their name was little necks. Clams with that size shell, no appendages are what restaurants around these parts refer to as steamers. Back in my early childhood days we'd go out into Peconic bay on a low tide and pick those clams out of the mud. We called them cherry stone clams. Rinse them off in the bay water, open em up and down the hatch they'd go. YUM YUM! The bigger ones had another name but that escapes me. Help me out! Reminiscing on eating clams is a good memory!!!
 
#6 Ā·
fishin"G"man said:
We (back in the 60's) "east coasters" called those "little neck" clams but I think it was the west coast guys selling them locally that told me their name was little necks. Clams with that size shell, no appendages are what restaurants around these parts refer to as steamers. Back in my early childhood days we'd go out into Peconic bay on a low tide and pick those clams out of the mud. We called them cherry stone clams. Rinse them off in the bay water, open em up and down the hatch they'd go. YUM YUM! The bigger ones had another name but that escapes me. Help me out! Reminiscing on eating clams is a good memory!!!
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Clams and their names are a pretty funny buisness. Most have at least 2 names, some have 3 or 4. Gaper, horseneck, blue, empire are all the same clam, Tresus capax. Butter clams are usually called butters, martha washington, or quahogs (and they definitely aren't east coast quahog clams.) all referring to Saxidomus giganteus.
 
#7 Ā·
Pretty much how I clean them too. Only difference is I take an old oyster shucker bent the blade a bit to match the shape of the shell. I insert it and slide it across the inside of the shell to release the abductor muscle and it just pops open. Run it along the other side and the entire clam just slides out of the shell.
 
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