Clams casino should be a great dish—what could be bad about clams, bacon, butter, and bread crumbs? But all too often, it’s executed all wrong. Meet the make-ahead, no-shuck, easy-as-pie clams casino recipe that just happens to taste better than most others out there.
- We especially loved the Clams Casino and I have been thinking about making it ever since. I had never bought or cooked clams before so it made me a little bit nervous. When Prudy of Butter, Basil, and Breadcrumbs brought this dish to Fiesta Friday at the Novice Gardener, I was excited to have a great recipe to try to make it myself.
- Canned clams are shelf-stable, which means they’re at the ready when you are. Plus, there’s little food waste (versus fresh clams, where a least a few duds tend to show up in every batch). Canned clams are also a budget-friendly source of protein. A recent scan of supermarket prices found chopped clams cost between $3 and $5 for a 6.5-ounce.
- Put clams in a large kettle or clam pot with the water; cook over moderate heat, just until the shells open. Remove from the heat and when cool enough to handle, pluck the whole clams from the shells; save half the shells.
- Michael Volpe (born May 12, 1987), known professionally as Clams Casino, is an Italian-American record producer and songwriter from Nutley, New Jersey. Volpe is currently signed to Columbia Records and Sony Music.
This clams casino is layered with flavors, but easy to prepare. [Photograph: Vicky Wasik]
Clams casino should be a great dish—what could be bad about clams, bacon, butter, and bread crumbs? But all too often, it’s executed all wrong. Not this time. Meet the make-ahead, no-shuck, easy-as-pie clams casino recipe that just happens to taste better than most others out there.
Why It Works
- Toasting panko bread crumbs in rendered bacon fat makes a crispy topping that’s also a vehicle for flavor.
- Cooking the clams first allows us to collect all their juices, then reduce them down with shallots, garlic, more bacon, and white wine. The eventual result: bacon-clam compound butter.
- Pre-cooking the clams, then packing them back into their shells with the compound butter, means that this recipe, unlike most others, can be made well ahead of time and finished in the oven right before serving.
Clams Casino Pizza Recipe
Ingredients
- For the Bacon Bread Crumbs:
- 6 ounces bacon, finely diced
- 1 cup panko bread crumbs
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- For the Clams:
- 2 ounces bacon, finely diced
- 3 large shallots, minced (about 1 cup)
- 3 medium cloves garlic, minced
- Pinch red pepper flakes
- 1/4 cup dry white wine
- 24 littleneck clams, purged and scrubbed (see note)
- 1/2 cup minced flat-leaf parsley, divided
- 2 sticks (8 ounces) unsalted butter, softened
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- Lemon wedges, for serving
Directions
- 1.
For the Bacon Bread Crumbs: In a large skillet, cook 6 ounces diced bacon over medium-high heat, stirring, until fat has rendered and bacon is browned and crisp, about 7 minutes. Lower heat if skillet gets too hot and begins to smoke.
- 2.
Stir in bread crumbs to evenly coat in bacon fat and cook, stirring and tossing, until bread crumbs are lightly toasted, about 3 minutes. Transfer to a bowl to cool. Season very lightly with salt and pepper.
- 3.
For the Clams: In a large sauté pan, cook 2 ounces diced bacon over medium-high heat until fat has rendered and bacon is lightly browned and crisp, about 3 minutes. Stir in shallots, garlic, and red pepper flakes and cook, stirring, until shallots have softened, about 4 minutes.
- 4.
Add white wine and clams, cover, and cook, checking occasionally, until the clams begin to open. Using tongs, transfer opened clams to a large bowl to cool, continuing to cover sauté pan and checking frequently for newly opened clams. Continue until last clams have opened. (Some may open only a crack; this is fine, just pry the shell fully open.)
- 5.
Uncover sauté pan and cook, stirring, until wine and clam liquid have evaporated and the shallot-bacon mixture has become jammy. Remove from heat and allow to cool.
- 6.
In a medium bowl, stir shallot-bacon mixture and 1/4 cup parsley into softened butter until thoroughly incorporated. Season lightly with salt and pepper. (Clams can be salty, so be careful not to over-season.)
- 7.
Working one at a time, pry off top shell of each clam and discard, making sure no shell fragments from hinge fall into clam. Free each clam from bottom shell, then set back in bottom shell and transfer to a rimmed baking sheet.
- 8.
Using a butter knife, pack clam butter all around and over each clam, sealing each into the bottom shell. Sprinkle a small amount of bacon bread crumbs on top of each clam, pressing lightly to adhere. At this point, you can cover the baking sheet with plastic and refrigerate clams for up to 1 day before cooking. (You will have clam butter left over; keep it refrigerated in a sealed container for up to 1 week. It’s delicious tossed with spaghetti for an easy weeknight meal.)
- 9.
When ready to serve, place clams in a 450°F oven and cook until butter is melted and clams are fully heated through, 3 to 5 minutes. Stir remaining 1/4 cup parsley into bread crumbs, then sprinkle a generous amount on top of each clam. Return to oven for 1 minute to warm bread crumbs, then serve right away with lemon wedges.
Special Equipment
Rimmed baking sheet
Notes
To purge clams, submerge them in a large container of salted cold water and let stand for 30 minutes. Lift out clams. If there is no sand in the bottom of the container, they’re ready to scrub and use. If there is sand, drain and rinse the container, fill with fresh salted water, and return clams for 30 more minutes. Continue this process until the water is clear and free of sand.
Source: Read Full Article
How To Make Great Clams Casino Without
Who doesn’t remember their first car? I sure do! Mine was a 1981 Dodge Colt that I purchased in 86. This hatchback meant everything to me. It gave me the freedom that my adventurous side was craving. When I put the key in the ignition, I felt like there were no borders and no limitations on how far I could go – what stopped me was my disposable income… Nonetheless I planned many road trips with my friends. Because I was living in Montréal, going down the American East Coast was the right choice although my true dream was to drive along the West Coast which I finally did a little over 20 years later…
That year, with two of my girlfriends, we went to New York City during Canadian Thanksgiving. For an inexperienced driver, it was quite a challenge to drive in the big apple! I think that if it wasn’t the fact the three of us were so cute, we would probably have received more profanity from the taxi drivers. Besides that issue, the trip was a lot of fun. We had a great time exploring the city, shopping a little and going out to great restaurants. That is when we all discovered the classic Clams Casino! It was so good, we all ordered a second one. I don’t remember what else I ate during that trip except this lovely appetizer.
The other times I had the chance to savor this appetizer was when I was travelling to the US – I don’t recall having Clams Casino here in Canada. Anyhow, I made them a couple of times and for no particular reason, I just forgot about them. Last summer we had our friends Louise and Tim over for dinner and suddenly we started talking about classic food from the 80s that just disappeared from the restaurant menus – Clams Casino was on the list. I remembered how flavorful they were and decided to remake them again…
In this video, I’ll show you my version of the classic Clams Casino appetizer. As I said, it’s my “version” of it! I’m not too sure if there’s cheese in the classic one but I sure do enjoy mine with some! It is an easy recipe to make and the beauty of it is the bacon mixture can be prepared the day before so when you are ready to serve them, the only thing you have to do is to steam the clams, spoon the mixture on top and broil them… tada! So for your next dinner party or soirée, be sure to keep this delicious appetizer in mind!
Bon Appétit!
Here are a few other seafood/fish appetizer recipes for you to try…
– Crab Artichoke Pepper Dip
– Sausalito Smoked Salmon Dip
– Sardine Cups
– Prawn Saganaki
– Ceviche de Pescado ~ Fish Ceviche
– Vietnamese Summer Rolls
and for even more appetizer recipes, click on this link… Recipe Category • Appetizers
Don’t forget to subscribe to our YouTube channel by clicking on this link… Club Foody YouTube
Servings : 24 clams casino
- 24 largeManila clams, rinsed
- 3slicesbacon, cut roughly in 1-inch pieces
- 2tbsp.butter'TIPS & TRICKS #1'
- 1/3cupshallots, finely chopped
- 1/3cuproasted red peppers, finely chopped'TIPS & TRICKS #2'
- 1/4cupdry white wine
- 2largecloves garlic, pressed
- 1/2cuppanko breadcrumbs
- Freshly ground black pepper, to taste (I always use mixed peppercorns)
- 1smallpinch cayenne pepper, or to taste
- 1tbsp.fresh parsley, finely chopped'TIPS & TRICKS #3'
- 1/4cupGrana Padano, grated and divided
- Lemon wedges, for garnish
TIPS & TRICKS #1: Here's a great informative link on cooking oils and others... Know Your Oils and Their Smoke Points
TIPS & TRICKS #2: Click on this link to learn... How to Roast and Peel Peppers
TIPS & TRICKS #3: Find out how to keep your parsley longer by clicking on this link... Extend the Shelf Life of Parsley & Cilantro
10 minutes | 20 minutes | N/A |