Razor Clam Dig and Two Recipes

Within an hour or so, all four of us had our limit and the guys were soaked. We cleaned up as best we could, piled in the Jeep, and headed for town to eat clam chowder. Nope, not homemade. Not yet. We still had to clean our score. It was a great day, one of the best I’ve had in this part of the world. And eating the clams we dug hasn’t been so bad either. In fact, if I’m being honest, I think we’ve kind of overdosed on them! Even my husband, who isn’t a seafood lover, chowed down.

If you live in the Pacific Northwest, or visit and have the chance to go razor clam digging, do it! Here are two ways you can then enjoy your hand dug clams.

Clam Fettuccine

This is more an idea than a recipe. It’s very versatile. Use whatever pasta you have on hand—linguine, spaghetti, penne, anything will do–and any style of tomatoes and fresh herbs. Well, not any fresh herbs. I wouldn’t recommend dill, for example. But basil, parsley, a small amount of oregano, maybe even chives, would probably taste good. You can even add pine nuts if you’d like. Or zucchini, yellow squash, onions… you see what I’m getting at, don’t you?

Anyway, here’s how I made it, using what I had on hand:

For two people:

½ lb. fettuccine
¼ cup pasta water, reserved from boiled fettuccine
1 cup fresh clams, cut into bite-size pieces ( I prefer the more tender digger part.)
3 tbsp. butter
1 heaping tbsp. chopped garlic
1 tomato, diced
handful of sun-dried tomatoes, chopped
handful of fresh basil, chiffonade
parmesan cheese
salt and pepper to taste

Guidelines:

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the fettuccine and cook until al dente. Reserve ¼ cup of the pasta water, then drain fettuccine.

In a large sauté pan, melt the butter over medium-low heat. Once the butter is melted, add chopped garlic. Simmer until fragrant, taking care not to burn.

Add clams and cook in butter and garlic until they no longer look transparent, but take on a milky white color.

Add diced tomatoes, sundried tomatoes, and salt and pepper to taste. Don’t cook long, just warm through. At this point, you can add a splash of seafood stock to the pan if you have it. Otherwise, use ½ of your reserved pasta water.

In a large pasta bowl, place the pasta. Toss with the remaining pasta water. Top with the clam mixture, toss, to combine, and add freshly grated Parmesan cheese and the fresh basil.

Deep Fried Clams with Spicy Horseradish Cocktail Sauce

This is a simple breaded and fried recipe. Serve the bite-size clams pieces with the spiciest horseradish cocktail sauce you can find/stand.

For two people:

2-3 clam necks, or 6-8 diggers, cut into bite-size pieces is plenty.
2 eggs
1 ½ cup flour
1 ½ cup bread crumbs
enough canola oil to mostly fill a small sauté pan

Guidelines:

Dredge your bite-size clam pieces in flour, then egg, then bread crumbs. Fry in hot oil until dark golden brown. Remove and let drain on paper towels. Serve with the spiciest cocktail sauce you can find/stand. If you can only find mild, purchase horseradish and add some into the cocktail sauce.