Several razor clams are held out after being caught on the beach in Seaside. ALEX PAJUNAS photo
Armed with a clam gun, a razor clam hunter wades through ocean waves. ALEX PAJUNAS photo
Clam up and enjoy it Digging, cleaning & cooking clams on the North Coast and Long Beach Peninsula
By Gary Adams
Could we be luckier? We live in an area with an abundance of seafood, and one of the most accessible is the lowly clam. Around this area, the North Oregon and South Washington coast, we have a virtual clam-o-rama of species but only a few are harvested. For your average recreational clammer type, Manilas, cockles and razors are those primarily on the menu.
You can buy them, but it's fun, however strenuous, to dig or rake them. But to be a successful clammer, you need to know the regulations, when closures are in effect, licensing, and very importantly, how to capture these crafty little diggers. Your Oregon and Washington Fish and Game Web sites have all the info you'll need, including where to dig and when it's safe to dig clams. By "safe," I don't mean clams go on the attack - unless you think finding out why a razor clam is called a razor clam is an assault - but that toxins that are not harmful to the clams occasionally crop up, and these toxins are harmful to you and me. So check before heading out.
Manila clams hitched a ride north back in the 1920s on some imported oyster seeds from Japan and liked it here so much they set up housekeeping and prospered. Boy, did they prosper: They have become one of this area's most abundant clams. They couldn't be simpler to catch, although it can be tough on the back, so keep the ointment handy. On a low tide, you simply rake through the surface sand until you hit and rake out the clam. Estuaries with a plethora of eelgrass are favorite homesteads for these shelled tidbits, but avoid disturbing the grass because it's a good meal for a lot of other species.
When you get them home, brush the outside with a stiff brush and rinse to remove any remaining sand. To remove any sand inside, purge the clams in a pot of salt water (1/3 cup salt to 1 gallon of water) for 30 to 60 minutes. Remove the clams, leaving the sand and grit in the pot, and cook or refrigerate. Fresh clams have a shelf life of 7 to 10 days.
Now invite over all your friends, because these little guys make great steamers. For something on the fiery side, try steaming them in a broth of cilantro, lime juice, garlic and jalapeno pepper a la the 42nd Street Café in Seaview, Wash. Add melted butter on the side for dipping. Of course, they also find uses in other dishes such as chopped and sautéed along with some chopped razor clams in white wine, garlic, lemon and chili flakes and served with Bucatini pasta, a la Seavew's The Depot Restaurant. When whole clams are cooked, the shell will open. Once open, they are ready to eat. Important safety and taste tip - any clam that does not open should be discarded.
Cockles are larger than manila steamers and can be found out a bit farther than steamers, but still close to the surface. They show with two pencil-sized holes side by side. Simply rake them out of the sand and they are yours. But because they have a very large shell protecting them from predators (but fortunately not us), they can often be found lying on the surface for the taking. Clamming doesn't get any easier than that. They too can be used in a variety of dishes but they make excellent chowder. Clean and purge them as you would a manila clam.
But for me, the king of Northwest clams is the razor. It's an exceptionally meaty shellfish which ranges from California to Alaska. Mostly found on surf-pounded ocean beaches, they also occur in sheltered areas along the coast. Alas, they cannot be raked and require a more rigorous and skilled attack.
Old-fashioned guys like me use a shovel; others prefer a clam gun. As its name implies, its edges are razor sharp and care must be taken when digging by hand. There are three telltale signs of a razor beneath the surface: a dimple, which is a small depression in the sand; a doughnut that has a raised side; and in drier sand, a keyhole shaped like an hourglass hole with very distinct sides. They show at the surf's edge and usually give a squirt when detected. Razor clams could also be called racing clams as they move quickly through the soft sand, so fast digging is a must.
If a shovel is your tool of choice - welcome to my world - place your shovel perpendicular to the clam in relation to the beach and shove down 6 inches, pointing the shovel forward to pinch the clam's neck - that makes it harder for the succulent mollusk to dig deeper. Then carefully - key word here is carefully - slide the shovel out and your hand in to find the clam and pull it out.
Clam guns are positioned directly over the hole, leaving some extra space on the seaward side. Push it into the sand. Cover the small hole on the gun and pull it slowly up using your legs. Wet sand, after all, is heavy. The suction created will hopefully result in a delectable clam prize.
Razor clams, unlike their manila and cockle cousins, should be cooked and not eaten raw.
Cleaning (sorry, they don't come pre-packaged for cooking) is a fairly simple process. Rinse all sand from your clams and using a colander or the sink, pour boiling water over them. The shells should pop open in 5 to 10 seconds. Hot water makes razor meat tough, so immediately place clams in cold tap water and remove the meat from the shell. You can also cut the four muscles attaching the meat to the shell by running a sharp knife along the inner surface of each shell.
Next, with scissors, clip off the tip of the siphon, then open up the body of the clam and cut off the gills and palps - basically all the darkest parts. You might find a pea crab or flatworm inside, but neither of these harmless critters makes your clam less safe or tasty. Next, squeeze the digger, the foot of the crab, and make a circular cut to remove the stomach. The clear rod you'll find is what the clam uses to break down the shells of the food they eat. Discard it. Finally, slit the digger so it can lie flat and pick out the small intestine that runs through the foot. Rinse and your clams are ready to eat.
Sounds like a lot, but after one or two, you'll be cleaning like a pro.
I roll the clams in flour, egg and breadcrumbs and pan-fry them. Be sure to dry them before breading. Using high heat, fry in 1/4 inch of oil. Brown quickly for about one minute or until brown (30 to 40 seconds each side), remove and lay out on paper towels to absorb any grease, and then serve. Try item with eggs and cottage potatoes as a breakfast dish. Clam Nirvana.
