Razor Clams - Looking for Alternative Recipes

[Sitka_Blacktail]

boil grind and feed to the dogs  ugh clams so gross

Muk, I'm so disappointed in you. But I guess you probably weren't raised in a family where you were gnawing on clam necks while still in your diapers. So I have to cut you some slack.

[Gobble]

I made an excellent clam chowder with them... and they had been frozen.

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Me Too! I will take my hand processor (the kind you buy at the fair that you crank by hand) and chop them up very small with some water added, this makes a great clam base for chowder and also cuts the clams into very small pieces that you don't have to chew on for 5 min after each bite, we also do the egg wash and flour, or egg wash and corn meal, can't really go wrong with razor clams   

[Bullkllr]

That is correct.  The diggers are the real tender part, the best for frying.  The siphon, on the right above, is very tough.  Best to can or pressure cook them.  All the other edible parts in the middle go in with the siphons for me.

If you fry them correctly, the necks, or siphons, can be cut with a fork and aren't at all tough. The secret is getting the grease good and hot and frying them just long enough to brown them and then flipping them. The longer you cook them, the more tough they will be.

  It literally takes like a minute per side.

Also, pouring boiling water over razors before cleaning to pop the shells starts the toughening process. They're easy to de-shell with just a thin-bladed knife.

[Sitka_Blacktail]

That is correct.  The diggers are the real tender part, the best for frying.  The siphon, on the right above, is very tough.  Best to can or pressure cook them.  All the other edible parts in the middle go in with the siphons for me.

If you fry them correctly, the necks, or siphons, can be cut with a fork and aren't at all tough. The secret is getting the grease good and hot and frying them just long enough to brown them and then flipping them. The longer you cook them, the more tough they will be.

  It literally takes like a minute per side.

Also, pouring boiling water over razors before cleaning to pop the shells starts the toughening process. They're easy to de-shell with just a thin-bladed knife.

The secret to scalding the shells off is to count to eight as soon as the clams go in the boiling water. Then immediately remove the clams from the water and dump them in very cold water. this prevents them from cooking and the will still be moving in their hands when you clean them. We use a stainless steel steamer pot like the picture I am including.  We usually steam 6-8 clams at a time because if you use more, they will cool the water enough that the shells won't come off all the clams. Return the water to a boil before steaming the net batch.

[DRobnsn]

That is correct.  The diggers are the real tender part, the best for frying.  The siphon, on the right above, is very tough.  Best to can or pressure cook them.  All the other edible parts in the middle go in with the siphons for me.

If you fry them correctly, the necks, or siphons, can be cut with a fork and aren't at all tough. The secret is getting the grease good and hot and frying them just long enough to brown them and then flipping them. The longer you cook them, the more tough they will be.

  It literally takes like a minute per side.

Also, pouring boiling water over razors before cleaning to pop the shells starts the toughening process. They're easy to de-shell with just a thin-bladed knife.

The secret to scalding the shells off is to count to eight as soon as the clams go in the boiling water. Then immediately remove the clams from the water and dump them in very cold water. this prevents them from cooking and the will still be moving in their hands when you clean them. We use a stainless steel steamer pot like the picture I am including.  We usually steam 6-8 clams at a time because if you use more, they will cool the water enough that the shells won't come off all the clams. Return the water to a boil before steaming the net batch.

  I usually just de shell them on the patio, I use my BBQ's side burner for the pot of hot water then dunk them into a bucket of cold water. I use the same nets we throw them in when digging to de shell them.

[Forks]

Clarify butter or margorine
Sift some flower into a pan
Clams in pan, season with Johnny's/Lowry's (save the clam juice!)
Heat butter/marg till it turn clear
Cook Minute and half per side
Plate clams
Same pan add a little butter, lemon juice and clam juice
Pour sauce over top of clams
If it's for breakfast add a couple eggs over easy on top.

[Bullkllr]

Clarify butter or margorine
Sift some flower into a pan
Clams in pan, season with Johnny's/Lowry's (save the clam juice!)
Heat butter/marg till it turn clear
Cook Minute and half per side
Plate clams
Same pan add a little butter, lemon juice and clam juice
Pour sauce over top of clams
If it's for breakfast add a couple eggs over easy on top.

Doesn't get much better than that. Never been tired of razors that way yet.

[acnewman55]

Good stuff here, thanks everyone!

We ended up with 10 limits over two days, so I've got a lot in the freezer in vacuum bags now.

I don't boil them to get them out of the shell, I cut them out with a knife - based on advice from some locals.  I'm pretty damn good at it now with a few hundred under my belt.  I just use a thin-bladed stainless morakniv.

I separate the diggers from the necks and I pound the necks out with a tenderizer.  The result is a pretty tender neck that is very good fried.

Tried two recipes over the weekend:

The classic:  dredged them in flour then dipped in egg, and then dipped them in a mix of Ritz Cracker crumbs, garlic salt and lemon pepper.  Serve those with lemon wedges and cocktail sauce.

The fancy pants: dredged in flour then fried in butter. remove when cooked and crispy and set aside.  throw in some garlic and toast it in the butter, deglaze the pan with 1/2 cup white wine, 1/4 cup clam juice, then a few tablespoons of capers, half tablespoon lemon zest, two tablespoons of lemon juice (to taste), salt, black pepper.  simmer and let it thicken a little with the flour left in the pan from the clams. when it's reached a thin-sauce consistency, pour it over the fried clams and serve immediately with a sprinkle of Italian parsley and Parmesan cheese.

Both of these recipes are great.  I'm going to try some fritters and chowder as well.

Thanks everyone!

[SkookumHntr]

 

[hornhunter1987]

Add olive oil, garlic salt, pepper, onion powder, parsley to a gallon ziploc bag. Take a meat tenderizer to the necks and cut the diggers in half. Add clams to bag mix thoroughly and marinate over night. Then grill on the bbq on high heat and you have delicious clams.

[chester]

I can't bring myself to fry them anymore.
Dredge in flour , egg, ritz cracker or panko crumbs. Onto a greased cookie sheet and into the oven at 450 for 7 minutes. Always come out tender for me.


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[KNOPHISH]

Smoke em. These are like candy.

2/3 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup non iodized or sea salt
1/4 tsp ground ginger- potent stuff don't use too much
1/2 tsp ground cayan pepper- I like zesty with a tad more
1/2 tsp ground garlic
Enough dry brine for about 2 limits
Lay out clams on cookie sheet cover with brine for 1-2 hours

I just use bodies but whole clam could be smoked.
Cut off neck & leave about 1 inch to skewer thru.
Maybe 6-8 clams on each skewer & thread thru smoker racks to hang.
Maybe 1 hour in smoker depending on temp.

[deerhunter_98520]

I had smoked clam diggers recently and they were 

[Odell]

Somewhere I got a recipe for a razor clam/mango ceviche. Super good and a fun change.

[NRA4LIFE]

We had fried clams and scrambled eggs for breakfast today.  Very tasty.