Melt the butter on medium heat in a sauté pan. Add the clams, corn, chervil, and beer. Cook for 4 minutes. Remove from heat, transfer to a mixing bowl, and cool.You may want to double this recipe—they are that good!
INGREDIENTS
1 Tbsp unsalted butter
2 cups minced clams, rinsed and drained
1 cup corn, preferably fresh (if you are using frozen corn, thaw and drain)
1 Tbsp fresh chervil, minced
½ cup beer (we used Stella Artois)
4 large eggs
2 cups self-rising flour
1½ tsp baking powder
½ tsp salt, plus extra to taste
Cooking oil or lard
DIRECTIONS
Melt the butter on medium heat in a sauté pan. Add the clams, corn, chervil, and beer. Cook for 4 minutes. Remove from heat, transfer to a mixing bowl, and cool.
Whisk eggs into the cooled clam mixture, followed by the flour, baking powder, and salt.
Heat a heavy pan—we suggest cast iron—on the stovetop at medium heat. Add your preferred cooking oil or fat to the pan. Make sure you have added enough oil for it to come up the sides of the fritter while it is cooking.
Scoop out 1 Tbsp of the fritter batter from the bowl and gently place it in the hot pan. Using the back of a wooden spoon, slightly flatten the fritter. If it is too thick, the center will not cook fully; if it is too thin, it will be too crispy. We suggest trying a test case, otherwise known as a sample (yum). Once the fritter has browned, turn it over and repeat.
Remove from heat and give the fritters a generous sprinkle of salt.
Forefathers’ Day was celebrated on December 22, 1769, as created by the Old Colony Club. What started out as a memorial feast of gratitude for the country’s founders evolved over the next fifty years into a political dinner with all the red tape. The Mayflower Society also celebrated this event.
LET US WEED OUT THE “UNSAVORIES”
The Old Colony Club consisted of a group of men who didn’t like hanging around the “ungentlemanly folks” who frequented the local taverns. These men created a private club that weeded out any shady characters. Founded in 1769, it is one of the oldest gentlemen’s clubs in the United States. The club members still meet to this day and continue their tradition of the Forefathers’ Day feast, where top hats are required.
The Mayflower Society, as you may know, is a group that can certifiably trace their heritage to one of the original 102 settlers in Plimoth in 1620. It was founded in 1897. During this same time, many other groups that celebrated patriotism and heritage had started to form, such as the Daughters of the American Revolution. The Mayflower Society has chapters in all fifty states and continues to develop educational programs that highlight the crucial role the first settlers played in our history. If you’re interested, get on one of those ancestry sites and trace your lineage. You could become a member of this prestigious society.
SUFFERIN’ SUCCOTASH!
The celebratory but somewhat solemn meal of Forefathers’ Day almost always included the dish known as succotash. Succotash traditionally contains corn, beans, and lard (and sometimes salt pork or corned beef). It dates back to 1751 and most likely came from the Algonquin Indians in Rhode Island. The name itself originates from the Narragansett Indian tribe’s sohquttahhash, which translates to “broken pieces.” While traditional succotash consists of all vegetables, Plimoth succotash was a special version served at the Forefathers’ Day dinner. Instead of a medley of beans and corn, it was a broth containing chunks of game bird and/or meat that was sliced at the table. Ingredients included gray corned beef and salt pork, along with navy beans, potatoes, turnips, and hominy.
We are not entirely sure how the succotash of Forefathers’ Day was established.
