Dig Clams

[Adapted from Fresh Fish by Jennifer Trainer Thompson]

A bad day of clamming is still a great day. It’s you, the wind, the water, maybe a friend, and intense digging. It’s clams squirting back at you when you least expect it. There’s something timeless about a vast stretch of untouched beach.

To go clamming, you don’t need much more than a sense of adventure and the following:

• A shellfish permit
• A clam rake (a spoon or garden hoe will do in a pinch)
• A basket or bucket (a beach towel will work if you’re unprepared)

1. 1. Get a permit if necessary. Tidal flats are a public resource and can be harvested by anyone with a shellfish permit. You can usually get a temporary one — or at least get the skinny on it — at the local town hall. If you’re a vacationer or nonresident, expect to pay twice what a local would pay for your license.
2. 2. Before cooking, discard any clams that are opened.
3. 3. Hard-shell clams just need to be rinsed off before being cooked or served, but soft-shell clams (steamers) should be rinsed several times under cold water and then immersed in seawater or salted water (a tablespoon of salt for every quart) for at least an hour to remove any sediment before being cooked.

Storing Fresh Clams

If you’re not cooking for a few hours, it’s convenient to leave the clams in a bucket of salt water in a cool place, and they can stay there for up to 8 hours. If the water gets murky, feel free to change it — the clams are simply discharging their sand and grit. Don’t keep clams submerged in water for longer than 8 hours. If you aren’t cooking them until the next day, take them out of the water and store them in the refrigerator or on a bed of ice in a cooler.