Gluten Free: Steamers

Beautiful.

There are many delicious gluten-free products that are the counterparts of the (original) glutinous varieties, but I think it's very important to have a regular intake of food that is incidentally gluten-free.  It would be difficult to be a true foodie without having a strong, continual connection to the dishes that have been eaten all of one's life.  Unless you're a two-year-old like my daughter and are or were raised gluten-free, it's highly unlikely that items that stock gluten-free shelves in the supermarket or on Amazon are the ones that hold comfort or happy childhood memories.  Particularly, local dishes from one's hometown have this effect.

I've spent a lot of time outside Massachusetts -- in three other countries and one other state, making up most of my adult life & adding a citizenship -- but I grew up just off Route 128 in Burlington.  My father's family hails from Lynn, Hull, and mid-century Dorchester and West Roxbury for generations.  Being celiac may have taken many things from me, but it can pry my seafood out of my cold dead hands.  This is especially true with steamers, about which I've been regaled with the story of how my first experience with them at three-years-old in Nantasket (RIP Paragon Park) resulted in two pounds of steamers down my gullet and me being called the "dip-dip kid" for years.  I also spent many a hot summer day digging in the sand for my own dinner.

As an adult, the price of steamers in the grocery store versus the price of other seafood has made them a very attractive proposition this summer and autumn.  Normal prices as well as regular sales have made them considerably cheaper than they used to be and less than half the price per pound of most fish.  The quality has been very good this year as well; there was little Red Tide this summer to hurt the industry and drive the prices up, and the sustainability methods that have been used in recent years has allowed for a bumper crop.  It's also very easy to make and is a favorite of my child as well as myself.

Omnomnom.

Still, whether gluten-free or not: many New Englanders do not know how to properly buy, cook and eat steamers.  (Steamed clams to you recent transplants.  Steamahs if you're a lifer like my family.)

A complete primer and recipe:


1. Buy only fresh clams from a seafood counter you trust.  Have the person at the counter hand pick only closed, unbroken clams.  Don't bother buying them if prepackaged into a net bag -- those are for novices who don't know that too high a percentage of clams will be dead.  Never enclose them in a sealed plastic bag because you will suffocate and kill them all.
2.  When you get home, check that all the clams are closed.  If it's open, it should close when you tap it; give it a few minutes, sometimes they move slowly.  If it doesn't close then it's probably dead and you shouldn't eat it unless you want a whole different world of gastrointestinal problems.

A pot with lid like this is perfect.

3. Some people think that you have to scrub the clams or soak them in salt water.  This is false.  Just rinse them thoroughly under the kitchen faucet.
4. Locate a pot big enough to hold all the clams and its lid.
5. Put about a half an inch to an inch of cold water in the pot.  Contrary to popular belief, you do not need or want to fully cover the clams with water.  You are making steamers, not boilers -- drowning the clams in water boils them.
6. Place clams in the pot on medium heat, covering the pot with the lid but leaving it open slightly for the steam to escape.  Unless you have a fancy seafood pot like I do with a steam-releasing valve in the lid, in which case use that.
7. Allow to cook for about seven to ten minutes depending on the size of the clams and your pot or until they're wide open.  They will spit out sand and froth on their deathbed.
8. Remove with slotted metal spoon.
9. Some clams make take longer than others so give any that don't open with the rest a further five minutes ago.  Discard any still unopened clams; they were dead before they hit the cold water.  You should not eat them unless you want to experience the aforementioned new world of GI pain.  In fairness, there's a lot of disagreement over the accuracy of this, but I would (usually) rather be safe than sorry.
10. Remove the clam broth from the pot with a ladle into a bowl.  Some people say that you should add water.  Those people are incorrect.
11. Melt about an eighth of a stick of butter in a saucepan and then place it in a bowl or go the easy route and zap it in a microwave.

Ready & waiting.

11. Serve everything piping hot.
12. After carefully taking the clam out from its shell, remove the membrane (usually called skin) from the neck by loosening it from the bottom on all sides with a fingernail and then using the same nail to pull it off in one swoop.
13. Dip into the clam broth for removal of any remaining sand.  Then lightly dip into the butter, but don't douse it or you completely miss out on the taste of the fresh steamer.
14. Pop it in your mouth.
15. Don't forget to remove the scallop-like bit that gets stuck in the shell before discarding it.  Most people don't do this, but it's very tasty.
16. Make a huge pile of empty shells.
17. Smile with contentment.

Please note that most people who say they don't like steamers are simply too afraid to try them.  Even my child knows that you should try a food before you decide you don't like it.  Steamers are low on the fishy-tasting scale; even those who don't tend to like seafood have no excuse but cowardice.  The only people who get a pass here are vegans, vegetarians, Kosher-observing Jews and those allergic to shellfish.  Seriously, grow some balls -- or as a non-Kosher Jewish mother might say, "try it, you might like it."

Recommended accompaniments include fries and / or potato salad and / or (for an unstandard choice mac & cheese, onion rings, coleslaw and corn on the cob.

Enjoy your meal!