Steam cooking opens the clam's shell.
Clam digging is an outdoor adventure. Cooking your fresh harvest of clams into a steaming pot of clam chowder is the ultimate reward. If you don't live anywhere near the coast, purchase fresh clams from the grocery store. Before adding the clams to the chowder, remove the sand. Steam cook to open the shells.
Instructions
1. Scrub each clam's shell with a stiff vegetable brush under running water.
2. Place the clams in the soup pot and cover with cold water.
3. Stir in salt and cornstarch to the water. Soak the clams in the water for one hour. This helps remove the sand.
4. Pour the clams into a colander. Discard the water solution. Rinse the clams and wash the soup pot.
5. Place the clams in the clean soup pot with 1 cup of water and bay leaves. Put the lid on the pot. The lid should be tight.
6. Heat the pot over medium high and allow the clams to cook for 15 minutes to open the shells.
7. Discard shells and clams that remain closed. Use tongs to remove the clams from the pot.
8. Strain the liquid through cheesecloth. Reserve to use as clam juice, also called clam liquor.
9. Dice the clams into 1/4-inch pieces and add using the amount specified in your chowder recipe.
Tags: clams into, clam shell, clams from, open shells, Place clams, remove sand