Remember, opening clams and oysters is not a test of strength and actually requires very little physical effort. You will need a clam knife for the clams and an oyster knife for the oysters. This process will also deeply chill the shellfish and make them a bit easier to open. Any that remains can be removed with a bristle brush.

The ice will serve as an abrasive, removing most of the sand and debris from the surface of the shells. Use a wooden spoon to stir the ice water vigorously for several minutes. I like to place them in a sink with crushed or cubed ice and enough water to nearly cover them. Oysters and clams need to be washed well before any type of preparation. Keep them covered with wet paper towels, a damp newspaper or seaweed when storing them in the fridge. Once you get them home, keep them refrigerated or on ice in a cooler that has a drain. Look for shellfish that has been harvested within the last four or five days. Clams and oysters will come from the vendor with tags, stating when and where they were harvested. You need to find a good source to buy from and most likely pre-order to get exactly what you want. The initial preparation is the same for raw and cooked. When overcooked, neither is good, so mind the time and temperature. You’ve got to be careful when cooking either type of shellfish, though. Oysters especially change completely when cooked, seeming rich and fatty in the best way, while in the raw state they are anything but. The cooking intensifies and transforms the flavor. Properly cooked shellfish is a wonderful thing.

A properly shucked littleneck clam, alone, or with a drop or two of lemon and Tabasco, will make you say mmmm, every time.īut just because these shellfish are so good raw doesn’t mean we shouldn’t cook them too. A pristine oyster on the half shell, unadorned, fresh, cold and briny, is a near-perfect thing.

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