As the recently minted owner of a deep fryer, I felt there was only one thing I could do with my little babies when I came home from clamming with a full limit of razor clams.
The clamming itself required getting up early, a long drive, some hard physical labor and not falling asleep on the drive home. The cooking itself required taming the squirmy beasts long enought to clean out their innards–which sometimes had (safe!) worms or crabs hanging out in them. Yeah, it still makes my tummy turn. I squealed. But then, then it gets to be more fun. Definitely check out my partner in crime, FoodBat, who has a brilliantly illustrated post on these parts of the clamming journey. My first bite of the foot or digger, I crunched through the breading, and the clam itself, flavored of the sea, yet pillow-like in texture. It reminded me of the soft fried tofu like in agedashi-dofu, but with the taste of an oyster. These were good. We also tested out a body, which had this al dente bite, almost a crunch, with a fair amount of chew–the only thing I can liken it to is geoduck, which I realize doesn’t help too many people out! After eating our test clams, we realized we’d need a sauce, so I whipped up some homemade horseradish mayonnaise.
When our friends arrived (about 5 of my 15 clams easily fed the four of us) we fried up the rest, as well as an entire taro root, chopped into french fries. Pause, let me talk about taro–it is freaking delicious! Why is it not used more? I’m not sure, but I think I’m about to start. It has this naturally savory flavor like the sweet potato has that natural sweetness. That’s it, it is the savory potato!
Here’s the taro fries, all chopped up and waiting to go into the oil!
Fried Razor Clams
5 Clams, cut into 2 inch pieces for easy eating
Whole Wheat Flour
2 Eggs
Berebere (or cayenne or other spice of choice)
Salt
Line up three bowls, one with flour, one with egg and one with flour, spice and salt. dip each piece in order, into the three bowls, then fry them in oil. We deep fried, but pan frying should work just as well if you don’t have one.
The GastroGnome 
Great blog — my family used to clam here in California and your story reminded me of that. And the taro fries – yum! Hope to meet you at the IFBC next month.
Hi Charles! I’ll be there on Sunday only–my company is catering B’fast, so look for me serving up amazing S. African sausages etc!
Can’t wait! Looking forward to it.
Oh I’m so glad you posted this, I was going to take my boys clamming last weekend and wasn’t able to make it, so I lived vicariously through you! I grew up in Olympia, not far from Aberdeen so clamming is a part of my life that I get to do every couple of years. Thanks for the memories! We went last year and had a contest with our neighbors on who had the best coating for their fried clams. Mine won taste, hers won for stickability LOL.
Oh, this would have been a contestant for stickability–it stuck to the clams, to my fingers, to pretty much every surface in my kitchen… I thought the flavor worked well too, it was just a little too much crunch and definitely needed the extra texture of a sauce–maybe if it were an airier coating, like tempura or panko I could have forgone the sauce. I’m glad I could help you remember the joys of clamming, I can’t wait to go back!
[…] finding the most delicious foods, whether it’s locating an underground izakaya in New York or digging my own razor clams from the ground. I can’t put my finger on just why food is so much more delicious when I’ve spent time, […]
[…] that this would be the right spot. I wish I had a better answer. I wish it were like crabbing or razor clamming, where a few dollars and some time will virtually guarantee you at least a modicum of success. […]