Neptune's Delighters, you are in for a treat! We are really excited to be offering these rare and delicious clams for you this week. Check out our special Butter clam info page for more details, or read on for some basic info on your delicacy.

The Meat

Butter clams are delicious buttery mollusks of total wonderment. I can't believe we have them for sale. They are wild gathered from Tillamook Bay Oregon by professional clam divers. (I think that's what I want to be when I grow up). Anything that can be done with a clam can be done with a butter clam. You can eat them raw. You can steam them. You can use them in a chowder. I personally like them in chowder. But that's me.

Prep

Butter clams have a hard time closing their shells all the way. So if they are a little bit open when you get them that doesn't mean they're dead. Tap the neck of the clam. If it withdraws, or moves a little, it's alive. It's a good idea to cut off the dark tip of the siphon (neck).

To eat raw, take a sharp knife and cut the clam right down the middle of the two shells. You will then have meat on both sides. Take your knife and shuck the meat just like you would an oyster, then slurp it down! Yum! Look out, it's nature's viagra! How to prep a butter clam video (prep starts at 6:30, enjoy the diving part first!)

For chowders, soups, paellas, cioppinos etc you may want to tenderize them: drop them in the pot, bring to a boil, when the shells open fully they're done. Remove the clams from their shells and beat them lightly with a tenderizing mallet.

Health Concerns

All filter feeding bivalves (mussels, clams, oysters, scallops) are potential PSP risks. The area where these clams are gathered in Tillamook Bay is checked regularly by biologists to ensure a safe product.

ORIGIN: wild gathered from Tillamook Bay, Oregon by professional clam diver Brad Farmer

RECIPES: click for recipes!

VIDEO: How to prep a butter clam video (prep starts at 6:30, enjoy the diving part first!)

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