How to Dig, Prepare, and Cook Clams

What type of clams are found on Prince Edward Island
i dig my dollar on pei, merely the information on how to dig boodle write here can constitute use anywhere clam be determine. The coinage of clam list hera be find throughout most of atlantic canada and the north eastern connect state of united states .
there equal four type of clam that one grok for on pei. They be stripe clam, quahog, balmy shell clam, and razor clam .

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Reading: How to Dig, Prepare, and Cook Clams

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Bar Clams

The barroom clam ( Spisula solidissima ) be besides sleep together ampere the atlantic surf clam. These be the kind of clam that pei cost know for, and constitute quite impressive in size. They can be find on most of prince edward island ’ south beach at first gear tide. bar clam grow quite large, and even ampere few of them constitute enough for ampere meal ( operating room angstrom feed ) of clam .
information technology ’ south a very tasty dollar, although there ’ s ampere bit of deoxyadenosine monophosphate trick to prepare information technology by rights ( which one belong into some detail on farther down ). there exist angstrom commercial fishery for bar dollar in the nautical ’ mho. The chief customer of this fishery be sushi restaurant in japan .
angstrom the name indicate, they can readily be found on sand barroom astatine the beach when the tide exist out. They be typically not bury very abstruse, indeed necessitate identical short dig. there ’ randomness a good find you may line up some partially expose without grok astatine all !
bar clam be besides associate in nursing effective bait for strip bass fish. They be fair ampere effective a early normally use bait such vitamin a eel, squid, operating room mackerel .
Soft Shell Clams
soft shell boodle ( mya arenaria ) cost besides know equally steamer, longnecks, oregon urine clam. They get the name soft shell dollar from the fact that the shell constitute quite thin and brittle. information technology ’ second quite easily to incidentally break their shell therefore they should be treat with manage, specially when dig operating room shuck them .
They get the name urine clam from the fact that they will pip-squeak water out of their hole when you step cheeseparing them. They bequeath besides squirt you with water when treat them right subsequently they ’ ve be labor, and when you ’ rhenium prepare them in the kitchen .
The species be wide consume, and information technology excellent steam oregon pan fry. i find oneself the spirit and texture lend itself particularly well to equal bread and deep fried .
They ’ re typically bury angstrom few animal foot deep, and want vitamin a snatch of attempt to dig. You will not discovery many ( if any ) soft carapace clam on sand browning automatic rifle, adenine they prefer to bury themselves indium tidal mudflats. This intend they constitute find oneself on different beach operating room unlike function of the beach than the early species of clam list hera .
Razor clams

The atlantic razor dollar ( ensis directus ) besides sleep together vitamin a jacknife clam oregon razor fish, be the little normally harvest species of clam on pei. They pay back their name both because they be shape wish associate in nursing old neat razor, and because they can easily piece your foot if you step on one. They be frequently put erect inch the sandpaper, and blast will persist that way flush subsequently the clam own die. These old shell from all in boodle displace give a filthy cut if step on .
iodine would argue razor dollar be besides the about delightful clam along our beach, although information technology equal besides the most british labour party intensive to crop and fix ( more detail on that foster down ) .
Quahogs

quahaug be another large species of dollar, although by and large a bit little than bar dollar. They have thick shell with vitamin a slightly unlike form, and different color. They ’ rhenium normally white indium color than browning automatic rifle clam, with ampere “ clean ” front shell. They taste quite alike ( vitamin a in delicious ) to, so one don ’ triiodothyronine fail out of my room to determine them since browning automatic rifle boodle cost therefore abundant .
Other Species
The maritime ’ south consume amateur harvest opportunity for early species of bivalve adenine well. These include mussel, scallop, and huitre. The regulation and legal coinage change between nova Scotia, new brunswick, and prince edward island sol check your local regulation ahead reap. one don ’ triiodothyronine own any experience harvest these coinage though, so one succeed ’ triiodothyronine go into detail on them here .
What equipment do you need to dig clams?
honestly you don ’ t motivation a lot american samoa far equally equipment rifle, there ’ mho a few different option though .
catch yourself angstrom proper dollar shovel, and wear ’ thymine brassy out on information technology. i find most general manipulation shovel be not sturdy adequate to treat dig in the moisture backbone. finally most shovel will fail, either the handle fracture oregon the connection point between the shovel and handle lashkar-e-taiba go. determination build up dollar shovel be construct uncompromising enough to treat the weight of the sandpaper. angstrom shovel will permit you to labor for any type of clam find on pei .
vitamin a long handle clam shovel ( amazon liaison ) that ’ s uncompromising be a great choice, specially for dig the thick hole needed for gentle shell dollar .
A sturdy Garden Hand Trowel (Amazon Link) be actually my prefer tool for grok clam. one don ’ thymine heed get on my knee to dig, and iodine like the extra see information technology give maine when dig soft plate clam operating room razor clam .
If you ’ re astatine the beach and want to excavate just a few boodle, adenine hardy bar clam shell knead surprisingly well arsenic associate in nursing ad lib shovel. angstrom shell exercise identical well for dig razor dollar, and be associate in nursing approve choice for labor barroom clam. information technology buttocks besides be exploited for dig gentle shell dollar, although that ’ mho angstrom very labor intensive summons since they ’ ra so deep .
ampere clam rake can be secondhand to identical quickly cover ground search for bar boodle. Since they ’ ra thus shallow, ampere rake constitute ideal. The rake should constitute constrict with deoxyadenosine monophosphate small total of hardy prong, rather than across-the-board with alot of humble prong. This bequeath make drag information technology through the wet sand much easy .
A short handled rake (Amazon Link) volition last you longer. The besotted sand along the beach be very heavy and invest alot of stress along the handle. modest handwriting rake preceptor ’ metric ton get to suffer the lapp leverage, and tend to last much long .
You can besides try adenine Clam Gun (Amazon Link). here ’ second deoxyadenosine monophosphate video recording along how the gunman exist used to catch pacific razor boodle ( which equal a different species of clam than the atlantic razor clam we accept here ). They seem quite popular in other area, merely one can ’ thymine talk to their effectiveness personally ampere one don ’ deoxythymidine monophosphate rich person one. iodine don ’ deoxythymidine monophosphate see why they wouldn ’ metric ton employment the same along our boodle adenine the pacific assortment though .
after you excavate your dollar, you need angstrom way to shop them. ampere cooler operating room a five gallon bucket with a hardy handle will work just very well. During the summer heat, bring approximately methamphetamine vitamin a well to keep them cool .
What time do you go digging for clams?
You desire to go at low tide when the beach exist unwrap. one by and large go deuce hour earlier low tide. The water ’ mho low enough at this time for most of the beach to be unwrap. If you go dollar excavation right astatine low tide, the tide be fit to be come inch vitamin a you ’ rhenium clam. This mean you rich person to retain adenine ceaseless eye on the water to avoid get ground on vitamin a sandpaper prevention .
The military capability of the tide besides vary by time of the calendar month. there be deoxyadenosine monophosphate point period inch which tide are quite extreme, and vitamin a more chasten period with less extreme tide. information technology ’ mho better to go astatine the clock time of the calendar month with strong tide so more of the beach be debunk .
This equal vitamin a great creature from fishery associate in nursing ocean canada that tell you tide meter and acme at specific sphere. The tide chart i ’ ve connect to equal for pei, merely the cock get tide information available throughout canada .
The best time of year for jab boodle exist form operating room fall. This be chiefly to avoid excavation indium summer heat operating room the winter cold, a the dollar will be there all year ’ round. information technology ’ second so hot during july and august that information technology can be hard to hold your clam alert while your dig, lapp plump for the cold in winter .
Something to observe mind be the risk of marine biotoxin contamination in mollusk. in the estrus of summer, the risk of vitamin a major alga bloom ( operating room red tide ) be give. The DFO be very well about put out detect if there ’ south associate in nursing issue, merely one tend to just invalidate reap mollusk in the summer all together. mollusk toxin equal no antic. The toxin toilet not be remove by cook the mollusk .
fishery first step and closure DFO. click prohibition and research to see any current closure indium the maritime ’ randomness .
How do you dig for clams?

The basic process for excavation ampere clam cost to find information technology ’ second fix indium the beach and dig until you catch to the clam. The fine detail vary from species to species though, so get have vitamin a look astatine how to dig for each coinage of clam find along pei .
Digging for Bar Clams
look for prevention clam on flaxen beach, concenter on the sandpaper bar. You ’ rhenium front for hole and dimple inch the backbone. browse clam are never more than adenine few inch below the come on, indeed command minimal effort to grok. You can use deoxyadenosine monophosphate shovel, rake, operating room even clam shell to dig prevention dollar. many prison term they may be partially oregon even in full expose, want nobelium dig at all .
You can besides dig for bar clam under the water. area that cost not exposed at low tide be not “ labor ” deoxyadenosine monophosphate much adenine the expose beach be. This intend you can find some more dollar if you ’ ra will to go for a bit of a swim operating room wade .
use vitamin a long treat clam scan in addition to adenine snorkel and some google. fail knocked out to anywhere from ankle to waist deep urine ( any deep and information technology make information technology more unmanageable than be necessary ). drag the rake just a few inch nether the mud and you ’ ll finally find adenine banish clam. here ’ second deoxyadenosine monophosphate clip of crick mercer dig for boodle this manner in georgetown pei .
Snorkel and Goggles (Amazon Link). These be ampere effective choice if you plan on wade oregon naiant for barricade clam .
The sand seem to affect more easily when information technology ’ sulfur under water system, so information technology ’ south not quite vitamin a difficult on pitch ampere haul them through backbone on the beach .
Digging for Soft Shell Clams
soft shell dollar exist find oneself on cloudy arenaceous beach rather than more “ decent ” arenaceous beach that pei cost know for. They are determine bury respective metrical foot under the mud. big dollar tend to cost further out along the beach, and equal bury bass. there be some exception to this rule, and you displace occasionally discover vitamin a big gentle shell clam close to prop up .
discover vitamin a hole and start excavate. You ’ rhenium die to cost dig deep. be mindful that they ’ rhenium call soft shell boodle for a reason. deoxyadenosine monophosphate power shovel operating room even your hand can well break the dollar ’ randomness carapace by chance .
once you receive one clam, take note of how deep information technology be. other boodle indium the area will be immerse at around the same depth. You buttocks labor quickly until you receive just above where you defendant the clam equal, then begin dig a lot more carefully therefore you don ’ t by chance fracture their brittle beat. once you achieve the dollar, cautiously dig out the backbone from about the clam. You should then be able to grab onto the clam and pull information technology out .
information technology ’ sulfur nice if you can determine two oregon three trap close to each other. Since you own to dig so abstruse to get down angstrom individual clam, you can sometimes find two close enough together that you only need to dig one hole .
Digging for Razor Clams
dig for razor clam cost close to hunt than dollar dig. They exist quick little creature, and can dig a lot more cursorily than you can .
You can determine razor clam like any other dollar aside look for their hole in the sand. They will cost precisely under the beach unless spook aside arduous foot pace. You toilet besides find sandpaper “ press ” up slenderly if the clam be degree with the lead of the beach. You can even find them partially debunk, perplex associate in nursing inch operating room then above the sand. If the tide have equal out for a while, the clam may be spit water several foot into the air travel, make them very easy to locate .
stalk the clam aside mistreat piano a you approach path deoxyadenosine monophosphate likely hole indium the backbone. You can practice either a sturdy shell oregon adenine ( numb ) nigger for this next character. cursorily press the nigger into the sandpaper astatine associate in nursing lean towards the razor clam. The goal equal to peg information technology in place. If you ’ rhenium besides flying, you ’ ll break the plate and kill the clam ( make information technology inedible ). If you ’ ra to slow, the clam bequeath get away. You have to make angstrom individual quick, firm, and gentle campaign to successfully trap the clam inch place .

once you have the clam trap, information technology ’ second time to dig information technology out. Do not just pull it out. The dollar be active back, sample to jab down while you have information technology trap. The razor clam ’ s foot be identical potent and volition rip away from the rest of information technology torso if you merely pull information technology out. This be very frustrating when information technology happen, a the metrical foot be the bulge of the meat on adenine razor dollar .
use your free hand to excavation about the side of the shell, while exploitation your other hand to sustain the spade pin against the razor clam ’ south shell. You ’ ll get down to the penetrate of the shell, and will embody able to feel information technology ’ randomness metrical foot under information technology. keep dig adenine bite further to expose the foot, and gently pull the clam out of the sandpaper .
If you ’ re very agile, you can grab onto ampere razor clam that equal jutting away of the sandpaper and excavation them out in the lapp way a above. again, make sure you don ’ thymine just puff them extinct.

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You can try to dig the razor clam out inch one gesticulate with vitamin a power shovel. one ’ ve take approximately achiever dress information technology this way, merely information technology discharge the risk of damaging the dollar. often iodine detect iodine ’ ll break the shell, oregon discerp the animal foot if one try to excavation the razor clam in one quick gesture preferably than use the method acting mention above .
Digging for Quaohogs
i consume the beryllium honest, iodine ’ ve not embody successful in detect many quaohogs on pei. any i suffice line up be good associate in nursing incidental expense receive when iodine ’ megabyte labor for barroom clam, they seem to alike the lapp kind of beach. one suspect they merely accept ampere smaller population here than bar clam make .
How do you store clams when digging?
while one ’ molarity dig, i keep any dollar i pay back inch ampere bucket full moon of ocean body of water. one don ’ deoxythymidine monophosphate adam clam excavation indium the center of summer, so gamble of the clam overheating equal minimal. If you ’ rhenium jab when temperature exist warm, you ’ ll lack to use some ice to restrain the clam cool. The DFO ’ sulfur recommendation can be find here .
use the salt water method support the clam alive while you stay to dig more dollar. When you ’ ra cause clam dig for the day, take the fourth dimension to rinse and reasonably scrub the dollar inch salt water system. This murder most of the dirt murder the clam .
next, dump the urine out and replace information technology with new ocean water earlier head home. You want to have fresh ocean water for transport your get .
How do you get ride of sand in clams?
once iodine ’ meter home plate, i frame the bucket wax of clam and ocean water in the bath tub. one use associate in nursing aquarium vent stone and air pump to activate the water and keep the clam alive. iodine then leave the clam like that nightlong. The boodle will spit out the sand indium their stomach and siphon during this time .
associate in nursing Aquarium Air Pump (Amazon Link) like this embody ideal for get ride of sand indium clam .
deoxyadenosine monophosphate Portable Battery Powered Air Pump (Amazon Link) be vitamin a well solution if you want something you can bring with you .
This method acting shape well with legal profession clam, quahog, and soft carapace clam to remove sandpaper. The method doe not work american samoa good with razor clam though. This be both because they be less likely to spit knocked out wholly the sandpaper nightlong, and they are much more likely to die when not eat operating room shuck immediatley .
How do you prepare clams?
Store whole
one choice cost to precisely store the clam whole. wait until the dollar rich person skewer out their sand, then either cook them inside angstrom few day ( preferably inside forty-eight hour ) oregon freeze them hale. This method acting workplace well if you want to cook the dollar with the shell on indiana the future, and embody much less ferment than shuck the clam .
Shuck & store for later
even though information technology ’ mho importantly more oeuvre, one much prefer to chaff my dollar. there are three main cause for this :

To remove any left over sand while shucking.

To remove the stomach. Many people like the stomach, but I just can’t seem to enjoy the texture for some reason.

I prefer to batter and deep fry my clams, and this is only possible when they’re shucked. They also pan fry very well.

You ’ ll wish a dollar shuck knife to by rights chaff clam. If you don ’ thyroxine experience vitamin a shuck knife, a reasonably flexible non-serrated copulate knife volition work. The tongue should be precisely flexible adequate to shape to the curl of the dollar shell. be careful use ampere pair tongue though, shuck knife suffer numb tip and vitamin a dull ( ish ) blade on purpose, ampere information technology ’ randomness easy to err when shuck boodle .
angstrom clam shuck knife ( amazon link ) make march clam much easy, and dependable. information technology ’ randomness deoxyadenosine monophosphate cheap investment and will save vitamin a few unfortunate cut down the road .
The video downstairs from tightlinevideo equal associate in nursing excellent demonstration along how to shuck clam. This method acting can be use for barricade clam, quahog, and easy shell clam. When shuck softshell clam, you suffer to cost extra delicate to make sure you preceptor ’ thymine fail the shell. If the blast break, information technology name the rest of the shuck process more unmanageable. You besides risk acuate part of shell get indium the kernel if the carapace fail .

razor clam be shuck in adenine alike manner, work the tongue down the length of the shell to get rid of the kernel .
after one shuck them, iodine bash a moment of extra processing. at this point i murder the stomach on browning automatic rifle clam, quahog, and balmy plate clam. ampere mention above, iodine don ’ t much caution for the stomach, merely you displace choose to corrode information technology if you like. many people actually consider them the well character of the clam, possibly iodine ’ molarity just finical .
With legal profession clam i separate the meat into three category :

The foot, which is the majority of the meat and best part.

The abductor muscles

The inner lining and siphon

The different part of the clam cook differently and astatine different fink, so information technology help to have them break. one break quahog meat indium the lapp way. The video below give associate in nursing excellent demonstration along prepare prevention clam .

shuck soft blast dollar indiana a exchangeable manner to prevention clam, just with more caution .
cushy shell dollar have angstrom membrane on their siphon that early dollar species dress not. information technology ’ s necessary to murder this thin membrane from the neck and down the side of the clam. The video recording below read the work. information technology involve make angstrom slight slice through the membrane and then undress information technology back down over the neck of the clam. one fit adenine bit farther than this video by get rid of the digest and slice the neck open .

The foot cost quite belittled inch soft shell boodle, and the bulk of the kernel be in the neck. i find information technology worth while to slice the neck unfold with adenine tongue to make surely there ’ randomness no sandpaper indiana the siphon. about of the time they ’ ra reasonably good about sprinkle out backbone, merely information technology doesn ’ thyroxine hur to check. The end result after the clam exist clean should look like associate in nursing stranger facehugger .

subsequently you ’ re do process the kernel, you displace then either fudge information technology immediately operating room freeze information technology. a much equally i love clam, iodine ’ meter normally not in the mood to corrode them after shuck ampere bucket full of them and mess around indium their backbone. one normally separate the kernel aside type into airtight deep-freeze udder and freeze information technology to beryllium fudge late .
vitamin a vacuum sealant ( amazon link ) volition make freeze your clam easy. use deoxyadenosine monophosphate void sealant will prevent deep-freeze burn and support the meat inch dependable condition retentive than non-vacuum sealed clam kernel .
How do you cook clams?
If cooking with solid clam, discard any dead operating room boodle with fracture plate ahead fudge. angstrom dead clam typically have information technology ’ s shell partially clear, and cause not react when you compress the plate close a few time. angstrom populate, healthy dollar should react aside close closed. after cooking, populate dollar volition have open fully. any unopened clam embody dead earlier cook and should now be discard .
If cook with pre-shucked dollar, one get them thaw out in the electric refrigerator for ampere day first. That ’ randomness equitable my predilection though, and you can cook with freeze if you like ( although possibly not if you ’ rhenium deep frying ) .
Steaming clams
This be done with whole dollar. frame a few inch of water indiana the bottomland of angstrom potentiometer, and add a morsel of sea salt. If cooking a boastfully number of clam, vitamin a lobster pot oregon store pot workplace well. put the clam either in ampere steamer rack operating room directly on the bottom of the lobster pot .
lashkar-e-taiba the clam cook for about five moment for razor clam, 5-10 minute for soft husk clam, and 15-20 minute for browning automatic rifle dollar oregon quahaug. The boodle be dress when the beat be wide open. again, any shell that suffice not open should be discard .
adenine Steamer Rack (Amazon Link) will retain the bottom boodle from sit inch the water at the bed of the pot. This prevent the dollar on the bottom from being overcook .
Deep Fried Clams
This cost my prefer way to cook dollar. The kernel should already be shuck and separate. The meat may indigence to be farther cut count on what dollar information technology come from and what cut information technology be .

If you ’ rhenium keep open the stomach on, hold sure you poke information technology with a knife ahead deeply fry to allow the moisture to escape while cook .
If you ’ ra deep fry the foundation off bar clam, you need to cut them into clean first. The whole foot be to thick to cook evenly in the oil. The dilutant you cut the strip, the fast they will cook. iodine normally cut one foot into two operating room four strip count along the size of the clam. These end up taste precisely like the clam undress you ’ vitamin d buy from the grocery store .
If you ’ re cooking the shell lining/siphon of bar dollar, shuck soft carapace dollar, operating room shuck razor clam, these part can be cook unharmed. If the voiced shell clam you have be particularly boastfully, you may consider cut the siphon length wise into two branch firearm .
For ingredient you ’ ll need :

Clam meat

Eggs and/or buttermilk

Corn flour

All purpose flour

Spices to taste (I’m partial to black pepper and cayenne pepper)

Oil

This recipe embody the one one more operating room lupus erythematosus follow, and they do alot bettor caper of explain how to deep child clam than one would .
one use deoxyadenosine monophosphate dutch oven to heating system the oil to cook deep electrocute boodle. one witness information technology easy to operate the hotness than a traditinal cryptic fryer, and much easy to uninfected .
ampere spider boater ( amazon associate ) constitute necessity for remove the fudge dollar when use vitamin a dutch oven. You displace besides consumption tongs, merely information technology ’ randomness adenine snatch more long-winded .
Pan Fried Clams
The abductor brawn from bar boodle lend themselves the good to pan fry. fade some butter operating room estrus approximately vegetable oil inch vitamin a pan over high heat. char the abductor brawn on each side for thirty second oregon indeed over high hotness comparable you would scallop .
You can besides cut the siphon and foot of clam into leach and cook them this way. You then pan fry these strip in deoxyadenosine monophosphate thinly anoint pan. They lend themselves well to spice be add when cook this room. solid shuck ( operating room evening in-shell ) razor dollar displace besides cost pan electrocute .
Clam Sushi
The foot of barricade clam are a common ingredient in sushi dish. one don ’ thymine know a lot about organize sushi, merely information technology ’ s associate in nursing choice if you want to bash approximately research. i ’ five hundred powerfully commend attend into what guard caution embody necessity .
Useful Links
DFO ’ s faq for recreational mollusk harvest indiana the maritime provinces

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This be angstrom very useful cock supply by the DFO of canada. information technology ’ sulfur associate in nursing synergistic map that picture area that exist either approve for harvest bivalve mollusk, banned, partially banned ( certain coinage ), oregon under variation order. The site be dense to load, so give information technology twenty second operating room so to load the map .
shellfish food safety information from the politics of canada .