Steamer Clams and Littleneck Clams: What is the Difference?

[MULTIZ321]

Steamer Clams and Littleneck Clams: What is the
Difference?

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Richard

 

[Glynda]

I love lobster but if it comes down to a choice of one over the other, I'll take steamers! Love them!

 

[Conan]

Classy cooks use littlenecks, but New Englanders chop up quahogs for the chowder pot.

Quahog Chowder -pronounced "ko-hog"

Made with a hard-shelled,thick shelled American clam. We can dig for these in the salt pond near our home. The shell is not as soft as the clam sold in the can commercially....

www.justapinch.com

New England Clam Chowder

Get New England Clam Chowder Recipe from Food Network

www.foodnetwork.com

 

[missyrcrews]

They are all slimy little bottom feeders. BLECH BLECH BLECH. I guess I'll always be a Midwest farmer's daughter. Give me a good steak any day.

 

[Glynda]

Classy cooks use littlenecks, but New Englanders chop up quahogs for the chowder pot.

Quahog Chowder -pronounced "ko-hog"

Made with a hard-shelled,thick shelled American clam. We can dig for these in the salt pond near our home. The shell is not as soft as the clam sold in the can commercially....

www.justapinch.com

New England Clam Chowder

Get New England Clam Chowder Recipe from Food Network

www.foodnetwork.com

I was in a restaurant in MA and the menu read big bellied clams steamed. OH, how awful they were! Are big bellied Quahogs?

 

[Conan]

Are big bellied Quahogs?

If quahogs are steamed or boiled they’re going to be chopped into chowder or cooked through and sliced into a salad.

The bellies/no bellies question usually comes up with fried clams which can be done either way. Either bread and fry the whole steamer-type clam, Ipswich or similar (with bellies) or cut fleshy strips of meat from quahog or similar and bread and fry them (clam strips). Whole clams are the real thing, but it can be disconcerting to bite into a crispy fried clam and discover a juicy center.

 

[jojo777]

Steamers are thin shelled clams that you steam and they open. You peel them and You dip them in broth from the boil, in case of any sand or mud. (Not usually a problem if you soak them first) Next you dip them in melted butter. They are sweet and delicious.

Littlenecks, sometimes called steamers outside of New England, where they may steam them, not at all the same. They are usually shucked live and served with cocktail sauce. Its a red sauce with ketchup and horseradish. Sometimes they are in seafood dishes with pasta. I like them on the half shell with stuffing. Some folks steam them but they are a bigger tougher clam. I once orders steamers in New Jersey and didn't know any better, they served me steamed littlenecks.

 

[Glynda]

If quahogs are steamed or boiled they’re going to be chopped into chowder or cooked through and sliced into a salad.

The bellies/no bellies question usually comes up with fried clams which can be done either way. Either bread and fry the whole steamer-type clam, Ipswich or similar (with bellies) or cut fleshy strips of meat from quahog or similar and bread and fry them (clam strips). Whole clams are the real thing, but it can be disconcerting to bite into a crispy fried clam and discover a juicy center.

I don't mind a juicy center in the soft shell steamers but the steamed big bellied whole clams were really tough and nasty.

 

[JeffC]

As a former clam digger I’ll put my two cents in. The two most commonly consumed clams are the hard shell (quahogs in NE) and the soft shell. Both can be eaten steamed. The soft shell clams aren’t eaten raw, I’ve always called them steamers.
There are different grades of hard shell clams based on size. Little necks are the most expensive and the smallest. They’re most often eaten raw but can be steamed. Middle necks and top necks are the next two grades. They can be eaten raw but are more often used for baked clam dishes, like clams casino. The next grade are the cherry stones, which are pretty big. They’re usually chopped and used in stuffed bake clams or chowders. The cheapest grade are the chowders, they’re used for fishing bait mostly. We used to throw them back in the water because they’re the most prolific spawners and the buyers wouldn’t want them anyway.
The soft shell or steamer clams are also used for making fried clams. Smaller ones are breaded and fried whole, the bigger ones sliced then fried.
Where I came from the hard shell clams were found in the bays. Clammers would tread, rake or tong for them. The soft shell clams were in the ocean and harvested by dredging. Bon Apetit.