Catch It, Cook It, Eat It #1
(From By the Shore: Explore the Pacific Northwest Like a Local)
CLAMS
Dig for your dinner! Clams are a great source of protein and free of hormones and dyes, and they are ravishingly delicious grilled over an open fire and dipped in butter.
Where to Go
Unlike Puget Sound or the Pacific Coast, Hood Canal rarely has beach closures from paralytic shellfish poison particularly south of Quilcene, and for this reason Dosewallips State Park is the place to go for clam digging. It is a large and scenic park on Hood Canal with 5 miles of shoreline studded with clams and oysters. From the Bainbridge Island ferry dock, the drive is just over an hour. Manila and the native little- neck clams are abundant here, and you can dig your limit on the beach in a short amount of time. Gather friends and family and make it a clam fest by camping or staying in one of the rustic cabins at the park; cook the bounty on a campfire. For reservations, visit https://www.parks.wa.gov/223/Reservations
More Clamming Beaches
There are hundreds of beaches to dig for clams up and down the Salish Sea. For a complete list from the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, visit https://wdfw.wa.gov/places-to-go/shellfish-beaches following is a short list of popular beaches and the types of clams most abundant there.
Washington
BIRCH BAY STATE PARK: Littleneck and manila clams
SEQUIM BAY STATE PARK: Butter and native littleneck clams
INDIAN ISLAND COUNTY PARK: Butter, manila, littleneck, horse clams, and geoducks below a minus-2-foot tide
Oregon
• TILLAMOOK BAY: Butter, cockle, and horse clams • NETARTS BAY: Butter, cockle, and horse clams
Equipment
Shellfish license
Handbook of Washington Sport Fishing Rules (available free where you buy your license), Oregon Sport Fishing Regulations
Clam gauge, for measuring size (available at most sporting goods stores)
One bucket per person digging (mixing clams between people is prohibited)
Small hand rake or trowel
Frozen cooler pack
Rubber boots (or hip waders if desired—you will be walking and kneeling in muddy sand)
WARNING
Paralytic Shellfish Poison
Paralytic shellfish poison (PSP) is a naturally occurring biotoxin caused by algae blooms, sometimes called a red tide, that is filtered through mollusks, including clams. You cannot cook PSP out, and it can be fatal if you ingest affected shellfish. The biotoxin doesn’t harm the shellfish but can climb to levels dangerous to humans until the bloom subsides and the clams flush it from their systems. PSP has always been around, and scientists are unsure of what causes the toxic blooms. In earlier centuries coastal tribes would rub a small piece of clam on the inner lip. If it tingled, there was PSP present. Today we have shellfish monitoring hotlines that will inform you if it is safe to dig, and it is critical to call before you hit the beach.
For Washington beaches, call the Shellfish Safety Hotline at 1-800-562-5632.
For Oregon, call the Oregon Department of Agriculture’s Shellfish Safety Hotline: 1-800-448-2474.
Technique
You will need to dig for all shellfish at low tide. For manila and littleneck clams, look for a “show”—small holes in the mud or gravel, often in a cluster. For horse clams, look for a hole that squirts a jet of water at you. Use the hand rake to dig several inches down and the manila or littleneck will appear; usually they are only 3 to 6 inches deep and you do not need to dig far to uncover them, while horse clams are up to 10 inches deep. Geoducks are the king of clams, but you can dig for them only on minus-2- foot tides. Use a regular-size shovel; they are buried 2 to 3 feet deep.
Measure the manila and littleneck clams with the gauge: they need to be at least 1.5 inches long at the widest distance across the shell to keep. You can also use a Sharpie to mark 1.5 inches on your bucket and measure against that. There are no minimum size restrictions for geoduck and horse clams. Be sure to fill the hole back up when you are done digging. Place the clams in seawater in your bucket as you collect them and keep the water cold by placing the frozen cooler pack inside.
Clams bought from the store are already purged, but it is a good idea to purge clams collected on the beach to get rid of the sand and grit they hold inside. To purge them, keep the clams in the bucket of seawater stored in a cool place for several hours. The rule of thumb is 4 hours, though many cooks do this overnight. Check them once in a while; they should have their siphons out, a good sign. After purging, you will see the sand collected at the bottom of the bucket. Rinse the clams, place them in a colander with a plate underneath, settle a wet dishcloth over them, and keep them in the refrigerator. The clams will stay alive up to 2 days. Be sure to discard clams that do not close when you tap them, and do not store live clams in a plastic bag or they will quickly die.
Steamed Clams in Shallot Butter Sauce
MAKES 4 TO 6 SERVINGS
Steam these clams on a bonfire at the beach or make them at home. At the beach, you have license to toss the clamshells over your shoulder as you eat. Serve with a big loaf of crusty bread on the side to soak up the sauce. For open-fire cooking, you will need a camp grill, available at most sporting goods stores. Use it for all your beach-fire recipes.
INGREDIENTS:
1⁄2 cup salted butter
1⁄2 cup diced shallots
6 cloves garlic, chopped 2 cups sauvignon blanc or dry white wine of your choice
2 cups chopped fresh tomatoes, divided
1 bunch fresh flat-leaf parsley, stemmed and chopped
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
6 pounds manila or littleneck clams, scrubbed clean and purged if self-harvested
Build a campfire (see How to Build a Bonfire, page 60) and let it burn down to low flames
and coals. Place a camp grill over the coals. Place a paella pan or other large, heavy-
bottomed pan on the grill and add the butter. When the butter has melted, stir in the
shallots and sauté for 2 minutes. Add the garlic and stir. Cook for 1 minute more. Add the
wine, 1 cup of the tomatoes, and half of the chopped parsley. Season with salt and pepper,
and add the clams. Using oven mitts, cover the pan tightly with aluminum foil. Steam the
clams, shaking the pan frequently, for 5 to 6 minutes, or until the clams have opened.
Remove the foil lid and, using tongs, discard any clams that remain closed. Add more salt
and pepper to taste, sprinkle the remaining parsley and tomatoes over the steamed clams,
and serve in bowls.