Well, another Christmas has come and another Christmas has gone. I hope everyone had as great of a holiday as we did! And now that we’ve had a moment to breath after all of our Christmas festivities, I’m look forward to New Years. New Years Eve, to me, is more about relaxing and eating delicious things than it is getting all dolled up and going out. Sure, those days were fun, but I prefer a nice, quiet entrance into a the new year. With that in mind, I’m certainly not above getting a little decadent with my New Years Eve food. Why not send the old year out with a bang? And these Clams Casino that I’m going to tell you about today certainly fit the bill!
This is a recipe that my Uncle Richard would make each year around the holidays. Are they healthy? Not a chance. Are they delicious? Absolutely. And even better, they’re insanely easy to make and are even meant to be made ahead and frozen. Which makes these Clams Casino even more of a win. Because we all know about my penchant for simple, easy foods.
Now the original recipe had way more butter and less clams, but I’m not trying to give anyone a heart attack before we even start the new year! So I cut down the butter a bit and got a little excited when adding clams. What can I say. It’s a celebration!
Now we typically serve these in the clam shells and then wash and save the clam shells for future batches of Clams Casino. Of course last year, my sister “accidentally” threw out the shells. So I picked up twenty five little neck clams and steamed them off with water and a bay leaf. Because come on guys, I don’t need the hassle of shucking clams and neither do you. Once they all opened up, it was super easy to remove the clams and separate the shell halves. And I had about a can’s worth of chopped clams to add to the mix.
I like to enjoy these little guys with a generous squeeze of lemon. This makes enough to fill around 50 clam halves and while it broils up just fine right after you mix it, this recipe is actually meant to be frozen and broiled directly from the freezer. Either way they taste good, but I like the texture a bit better when they’re been frozen (and the whole make-ahead aspect.
Uncle Richard’s Clams Casino
Some folks do not like to shuck clams—it is hard and you need to know what you are doing. Google a video on it to watch prior to attempting or you can put the clams on a baking sheet and bake at 350 degrees for about 10 minutes or until clams pop open. (Remember: if a clam stays shut tight, discard it.).
- Once all the clams have opened, collect any spilled clam juice from the first baking sheet in a measuring cup. When the clams are cool enough to handle, discard the top shells: Pick up a clam; holding the bottom shell and keeping the clam level, twist off the top shell. Arrange the opened clams on the baking sheet.
- You can freeze the live clams in the shells or shucked. If you choose to keep clams in shells, you must make sure that the shells are closed. Opened shells mean that the clams are dead. Clams in shells can keep in the freezer for about 3 months.
- Clams are still alive when you freeze them and when thawed come back to life. That is how they live under water in the winter. They will be as good frozen as if you bought them from the seafood store. You can tell, once thawed, if they bounce back like a freshly shucked clam.
- Can you freeze Clams Casino? Clams Casino will freeze very nicely. After stuffing them, place the sheet pan in the freezer allowing the clams to freeze. After the clams casino have frozen solid place them in a container or ziplock bag for storage.
Source: Richard Scuteri
Ingredients:
- 2 sticks of butter (the original recipe called for 4 but pump the breaks there, Paula Deen, 2 is plenty)
- 1 jar of pimentos (the original recipe called for 2 but once again, 1 was plenty)
- 2 onions, chopped
- 4 stalks of celery, chopped
- 1 1/2 cups of seasoned bread crumbs
- 5 cans of clams, drained (the original recipe called for 4, but when it comes to clams, I say the more the merrier!)
- 1/2 cup of Romano or Parmesan cheese
Melt your butter on the stove over medium heat.
While the butter melts, mix up your pimentos, onions and celery in a food processor until they are well combined (they should make a wet mixture).
Add you melted butter to the vegetable mixture and combine well with your clams and bread crumbs.
Spoon the mixture into your clam shells, and pat to smooth the tops.
If you’re broiling them right away: place them under the broiler for a good 10 minutes or until well browned on top and cooked through
If you’re freezing: Freeze them on a pan individually and once they’re frozen through transfer them to a ziplock back until you’re ready to broil. When you make them, Place them on a pan and broil for 10-15 minutes or until well browned on top. Recrutement casino barriere enghien les bains alpes.
Note: Keep an eye on them under the broiler, because every oven is different. You’ll want them to brown well but not burn. This recipe makes enough to fill 50 little neck clam shell halves.
Enjoy!
Make it a meal!
A few great recipes to round out and complete this meal are:
Wann gewinnt man am besten im casino slots. You can find a full index of my recipes here.
Don’t forget to follow The Life Jolie on Pinterest for more recipe inspiration!
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February 23, 2018Learn about the Rhode Island-born dish. Plus, a recipe from Matunuck Oyster Bar.
CLASSIC RHODY DISH: Clams Casino
Digging up the dish’s history with a recipe from Matunuck Oyster Bar.
The origins of clams casino are debatable, but theory suggests that the dish was first introduced at the Narragansett Pier Casino. According to Kate Vivian, coordinator at the Towers, then-chef Julius Keller cited in his 1939 memoir, Inns and Outs, that he prepared the clams with stuffing and bacon for a private luncheon when resort guest Mrs. Paran Stevens requested a special clam dish. If there was any type of early documentation, it may have been destroyed when the Narragansett resort burned down on September 12, 1900, where the trademark granite Towers remain today.
Can You Freeze Clams Casino
Matunuck Oyster Bar serves a traditional Clams Casino using only native clams. Executive chef Jeff Cruff prefers top necks but littlenecks work, too. “My theory on doing these dishes is I don’t need to reinvent the wheel,” Cruff says. “The trick is consistency. It could be crumbly, it could be gooey, it could be sticky; the key is getting the right combination of ingredients because there’s moisture left in the clams and that will be absorbed.”
Besides the bacon, a key flavor comes from the liquor inside the clam shells. “When you shuck the clams, whatever juice is left from shucking goes right into the stuffing,” he says. 629 Succotash Rd., South Kingstown, 783-4202, rhodyoysters.com
Matunuck Oyster Bar Clams Casino
3–4 dozen littlenecks
2 cups small diced bacon (as small as you can cut it. Freezing the slices slightly will help make this process easier)
8 oz unsalted butter
½ Tbsp minced garlic
¼ cup minced shallots
1 cup small diced green peppers (no seeds and no white pith)
1 cup small diced red peppers (no seeds and no white pith)
2 oz dry sherry (any brand will do, but don’t use cooking sherry)
2 Tbsp chopped Italian parsley
Zest and juice of 1 lemon
1 tsp Tabasco sauce (or more if you like)
Salt and pepper to taste (approx. 1 Tbsp salt)
Juice left from shucking the clams
1 cup plain unseasoned bread crumbs
4 cups crushed Ritz crackers
Extra bacon to top the finished clams
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Wash and then shuck clams over a cookie sheet to catch the juice and set aside any juice. Put the clams on a cookie sheet lined with aluminum foil and refrigerate until needed.
Add the bacon and butter to a heavy saucepan and cook over medium heat, stirring often for 8–10 minutes or until you have rendered the fat from the bacon.
Add the garlic, shallots and both peppers to the bacon mixture and cook over medium heat until the peppers begin to soften, 6–8 minutes.
Add the sherry, parsley, lemon zest, lemon juice, Tabasco, salt, pepper and any clam juice. Bring to a boil and cook for 1 minute. Leave the mixture in the pan, set it aside to cool slightly.
Once the mixture cools, add the plain bread crumbs and half of the Ritz crackers and mix to combine. Add enough of the remaining crushed crackers to achieve the correct consistency. It should be moist and not crumbly, but it should not be wet and pasty. Once cooled, fill the clams with the stuffing, as much as desired, and top with a small slice of extra bacon.
Bake at 425 degrees for 8–12 minutes or until hot and toasted. Serve with lemon and Tabasco.
Can You Make Clams Casino And Freeze Them
