Razor Clams.......can't beat em!

[cqaigy2]

I've not seen the razor clams done with the hot dip, but with geoducks. I've learned something new today!

[Pete Judd]

Jerry, clams are good raw. Always eat the breast of Geoduck raw, sliced thin. I miss the days when I lived in Alaska, and the limit for the east side if cook inlet was 60 per person, i could dig 3 limits 180 (one for the wife and oldest son, as well as myself) in 30-40 minutes, but would be up until the wee hours cleaning. And they were so much bigger than the ones down here. For those not from the PNW the picture is of a Geoduck.

[creekbend]

Jerry, clams are good raw. Always eat the breast of Geoduck raw, sliced thin. I miss the days when I lived in Alaska, and the limit for the east side if cook inlet was 60 per person, i could dig 3 limits 180 (one for the wife and oldest son, as well as myself) in 30-40 minutes, but would be up until the wee hours cleaning. And they were so much bigger than the ones down here. For those not from the PNW the picture is of a Geoduck.

Those are large. Are they tough due to the size?

[JD 4520]

How do you get the gritty sand out of them? I hate chewing sand!

Leave them in a pale of salt (sea) water over night and they will clean themselves out. Some people will add something to the water but not necessary.

[/pine]

I was born and raised on the west central coast of FL in a fishing community...the local clams were OK but nothing compared to northern "cherry stones"
Not sure where they come from but I do like calico and or mahagony clams the local seafood joints have sometimes...little necks are OK too...

As for favorite seafood...got to be fresh stone crab claws...followed by live caught shrimp...if you've never had fresh, live caught (never frozen) shrimp you really don't know what a shrimp is supposed to taste like! likewise with fresh (live caught) scallops...which are just as good raw as they are cooked (taste almost the same)

favorite fin fish...Gag (often called "black") grouper...followed by (has to be fresh) pompano and hog nose or yellow tail snapper... and any member of the flounder (flat fish) family...wahoo is very good too..

The cool weather has got me craving some Apalachicola oysters...

[JD 4520]

Those are large. Are they tough due to the size?

Yes, they can be tougher, however you use them for clam strips or chopped fined for chowder. That way they aren't tough or you don't notice it. Those are worth big bucks.

[creekbend]

I was born and raised on the west central coast of FL in a fishing community...the local clams were OK but nothing compared to northern "cherry stones"
Not sure where they come from but I do like calico and or ebony clams the local seafood joints have sometimes...little necks are OK too...

As for favorite seafood...got to be fresh stone crab claws...followed by live caught shrimp...if you've never had fresh, live caught (never frozen) shrimp you really don't know what a shrimp is supposed to taste like! likewise with fresh (live caught) scallops...which are just as good raw as they are cooked (taste almost the same)

favorite fin fish...Gag (often called "black") grouper...followed by (has to be fresh) pompano and hog nose or yellow tail snapper... and any member of the flounder (flat fish) family

The cool weather has got me craving some Apalachicola oysters...

It has been awhile since we have conversed. Rememember our talks relating to red fish, St. Pete, Clearwater and Village of Cortez? Your post brought back memories regarding the "Stone Crab Claws".

[/pine]

It has been awhile since we have conversed. Rememember our talks relating to red fish, St. Pete, Clearwater and Village of Cortez? Your post brought back memories regarding the "Stone Crab Claws".

Sure I remember, cheers!...and you know "What I'm talking about"...
Nothing better IMO if you can get them before they're iced after cooking...(for those that are unfamiliar they have to be cooked before they can be sold by retail markets)

[creekbend]

Sure I remember, cheers!...and you know "What I'm talking about"...
Nothing better IMO if you can get them before they're iced after cooking...(for those that are unfamiliar they have to be cooked before they can be sold by retail markets)

Thanks for replying. Some members may not be aware that wooden traps are used for Stone Crab and metal traps for Blue Crab. A Stone Crab will cut right through a metal Blue Crab trap.Cheers, back at you.

[edlegault]

I grew up in Western Washington state, not too far from the ocean beaches. When I was a kid we could still camp on the beaches. When clam season was on and the tides were good (even at night) my family went razor clam digging. Some of us used a "gun" but mostly we used clam shovels -- right out near the surf where the holes usually showed well.

We tried eating fried clam strips, but they were too tough. My mom's recipe for razor clams (and geoducks, too) was to let them sit a little bit in water for them to spit some of the sand out. But, we would use an old pair of barber/hairdresser scissors (my mom was trained as a hairdresser in beauty school -- guess who always cut my hair) to clean the guts out of the clam and then slit the neck lengthwise. Then you could just wash off the remaining sand.

Then you could beat them to try to soften them up for pan frying. But, we didn't like that. What mom did was to grind them up with a hand-cranked food grinder. Drained off the liquid. Then ran some saltine crackers through the grinder to clean out all the clams. Ran the ground up crackers right into the ground-up clams (after draining). Added a little bit of flour or bisquik, an egg or two for binder, salt and pepper. Made patties with your hand, then cooked in a pan of hot oil (vegetable or now days canola). Cooked until outside browned. Eat plain or with tartar sauce or ketchup with some ground horseradich. Yum. Delicious. Makes me homesick.