I need a recipe - Classic New England Clam Bake

Hi all,
I have heard about this dish called Classic New England Clam Bake. My friend told me about this seafood delicacy. The traditional meal dates back more than 2,000 years in time when Native Americans cooked fresh clams and seafood in sand pits on the beach using hot rocks for heat and wet seaweed as a method of steaming. And its main ingredients are Mussels and crabs, Potatoes, onions, carrots, and corn. I have been checking the internet to find a good recipe of this dish and found this one, https://www.blountsmallshipadventures.c ... clam-bake/. Does anyone here have a better recipe of this dish? I love seafood and I can’t wait to try this one.

For a better recipe, I suggest substituting four or five Maine lobsters for the carrots. Good luck!

We did one up Maine for my parents' 50th wedding anniversary in 1995. Wish I had usable pictures. Besides what is described from the link above, with plenty of seaweed, we had steamers (clams) in mesh bags, at least 2 dozen lobsters, natural casing hot dogs (they call them 'frankfurts'), and eggs--supposedly to let the cooker know that when the eggs turn hard-boiled, the lobsters and clams are done. Not scientific, but that's tradition.

Hi,

I have seen from America's Test Kitchen and other sources, information on replicating a clam back indoors.

People may quibble on this method, but we are not by the ocean, either, so grabbing seaweed is not there by reaching out.

Please do report back on what you ultimately do, because you may inspire me and others to follow your footsteps.

Regards,
Cathy2

You simply cannot replicate a Classic New England Clam bake.
First, outside of the beach atmosphere and sand/smell/wind/sun, you need soft shell clams, steamers in Maine parlance, fresh sea weed and sea water.
Steamers just don't travel well and all my sources have stopped shipping them alive. I purchase them now shucked and frozen for fried clams. Hard shell clams are a substitute but totally different clam.
Lobsters are a must and easy to obtain in the midwest (H-Mart).
Best you can do is get a big steamer, live lobsters and some cherrystones, corn whatever else and cook at home or outside.
Have plenty of melted butter and napkins, lobster picks and nut crackers, beer and your good to go.
What I do is eat the cherrystones raw, steam the lobsters and drink the beer!-Richard

I went to one once on Cape Cod and it was wonderful. IT was more of a process than an actual dish. I think you could mostly replicate it at home, it of course would not be the same but as far as I am concerned, I love lobster, corn, potatoes, etc. there were also clams or oysters don't recall cause I don't eat them and I remember getting some of the food in a little rope like bag. It was cooked in the ground.

Oysters are never included in New England!
Neither are hard shell clams.
Soft shell, steamers or belly clams or whatever you want to call them are included.
I did purchase some very nice Soft Shell clams last Friday from Dirk's, certainly good enough for a 'Clam Bake'.
I was once served 'steamed' CherryStones' on the half shell in Newport News! Never got over it.
Cooked oysters over a grill seem to be a staple of the Carolina's.
But not in New England.-Richard

HI,

I guess what I did was more a Lobster boil than anything else.

My Dad only wants his lobster as-is, as in boiled or steamed,with lots of butter. No grilling, no sauces, nothing to interfere with what he likes.

I like to try new preparations, even if later I may regret it OR like it a lot!

I have been reading about these lobster/clam bakes over the last few weeks, then decided to give it a try.

I knew from a Cook's Illustrated article, 1.5 pound lobsters steam for 15 minutes. From experience, I knew shrimp and shellfish cook far faster. Yet many of the traditional preparations had everything cooking at once together.

At H-Mart, I bought four 1.5-pound lobsters, 1.5 pounds of 20-30 count shrimp and frozen short neck clams in the shell. The 'live' short necks didn't look or smell good enough for their $6.99/pound price tag. The frozen precooked in the shell were on sale for $1.99 per pound.

After looking at fresh corn at several stores, which looked a bit dry and pricey, I opted for frozen corn ears. Not cheap exactly though I knew they likely frozen shortly after harvest. Their cook time from frozen was about as long as the lobsters.

Before cooking, I brined the shrimp for thirty minutes to improve their texture and flavor.

To my three-plus gallon stockpot, I put in two or three inches of water. I added a pound of small potatoes, which were cut in half, a pound of Usingers Linguiça, a large quartered onion and frozen corn cut into eighths.

Once everything was at a vigorous boil, I dropped in a steamer basket, then put the lobsters on top. Closed the lid and set the timer for fifteen minutes.

While the lobsters steamed over the boiling sausage and vegetables, I prepped the shrimp by removing the shells and deveined.

Once the lobsters were done, I put them into heated bowls for each person. I removed the sausage and vegetables to a hot serving bowl.

I now dropped the shrimp into the liquid for a brief cook. They were placed on top of the sausages and vegetables. I then dropped the partially defrosted short neck clams into the broth for reheating. These were the placed on top of the shrimp, then everything turned over to mix it in.

After dinner, I collected the bodies and shells from the lobster to make lobster bisque. I included the shrimp shells and cooking liquid was included in the soup as well.

All we had left were some of the vegetables.

My Dad did not object or comment about his lobster tasting any different. I felt like Mom sneaking in vegetables without their awareness. We may just do this again.

Regards,
CAthy2

My experience Memorial Day mirrors yours, Cathy2!
Bought H-Mart lobsters Monday morning, clams did not look good at all, corn, onions, potatoes.
No shrimp.
So after thinkning about experiences in Maine, what is missing besides the sand, low tide smell and salt air, is the sea water and seaweed. A typical 'Clambake' has hot rocks, coals or what have you with lobsters, steamers et all layered on top followed by layers of seaweed and allowed to 'bake'.
Without the sea water and sea weed it's just not the same!
BTW, the hard shell lobsters from H-Mart were as good as any I have ever had. Everyone loved them.-Richard

budrichard wrote:BTW, the hard shell lobsters from H-Mart were as good as any I have ever had. Everyone loved them.-Richard

Filled to brim and ready to molt!

While I was preparing to cook these lobsters, I found a seriouseats article on another way to cook lobsters: baking in an oven.

Regards,
Cathy2

Skimmed the article, waste of time and energy in my opinion.
The only 'oven' method we sometimes use is Jasper White's, where a live lobster is cut in half and roasted finished with flamed bourbon.
As to the proper way to dispatch a lobster, I've never had one complain.
Simple, boil, steam, doesn't really matter.
Curled tail, of course, would not eat one that wasn't!
THE MOST Important thing is how fresh the lobster is.
Must be with arched back when removed from water and the faster it flips it's tail, the fresher the lobster is.
I verify EACH lobster I purchase.
If I don't use that day, packed on ice in cooler for one day only.
It's really a very simple creature to cook and eat!-Richard