STEAMED CLAMS

Wash and scrub the shells.

Put them in a kettle without water, cover closely, and cook till the shells
1/2 open, or more.
Take them out with a skimmer, pour the clam water into a pitcher, and let it
settle.
Straining is not sufficient, as the fine sand will go through the finest
strainer; but the water will be clear if care be taken not to disturb the
sediment.

Remove the clams from the shells, peel off the thin skin around the edge,
and cut off the whole of the black end. Scissors are better than a knife for
this purpose.

Rinse each clam in a little of the clam water, and if very large, cut the
tough part into small pieces.
When the water is clear, pour it into a saucepan, add the clams, and heat
again till just hot, but do not let them boil.

Serve with brown bread, or toasted crackers; and let each person season them
to taste with melted butter, pepper, and vinegar.
> wrote in message
news
> I've recently started steaming clams, but have only done
> it a couple of times. In the past when other people did
> it, I remember them as opening pretty wide. But when
> I've been doing it they only open a little bit, and I have
> to cut the muscles on each side to get them open the
> whole way. Maybe I'm not cooking them enough? Will
> they open more as they cook longer? They did seem
> a bit less done than I remember them being when other
> people cooked them, but I don't want to cook them
> too much either. I was cooking mid size long neck(?)
> clams, and had the same result with the bigger ones
> also.
>
> Thanks for any help!
> David