Projo Football Food & Spirits

A delicious low-carb and light alternative to heavily breaded Stuffies. Feel free to double or triple this recipe for a crowd. You could also use smaller clams -- steamers or little necks -- if you have a willing and tireless shucker. If you do, this recipe is a cinch.

Baked Quahaugs
2 lbs. fresh quahaugs
1 small clove garlic
1/4 tsp. chives
1 tbsp. white wine
1 - 2 tsp. bread crumbs
pepper to taste
no salt is required, quahaugs have a natural salty taste from the ocean

Shuck quahaugs, keeping the shells. (My husband bought an oyster knife for this.)

Clean them well and then pat dry. Cut them into small bite-sized pieces. Crush and puree the garlic. Mix well with the quahaugs and wine and sprinkle with chives and pepper. Fill the empty shells. Sprinkle bread crumbs on top and drizzle with butter. Bake at 400 degrees for 10 to 15 minutes. Serve with a lemon wedge.

From epicurean.com

The Rhode Island Sea Grant Quahog Fact Sheet by By Eleanor Ely has just about everything you'd ever want to know about these large clams. Here's an excerpt that may help with this recipe:

...Once you get the quahogs home, rinse them in cold water to remove sand and discard any that have opened (they are either dead or dying). They will keep up to a week in the refrigerator if they are unopened and laid on their sides.

Shucking (opening) quahogs can be frustrating, especially for the novice. Clams "relax" and become much easier to open if they are chilled, on ice or in the refrigerator, for several hours. To open a clam, hold it in your left hand (if you are right-handed) and use your right hand to work a special shucking knife (available at the housewares departments of most stores, or at many fish stores) into the space between the shells. As soon as the knife penetrates, slide it along the inside of one shell to cut the two adductor muscles). Open the clam and detach the meat by cutting the other side of the adductor muscle. The quahog is now ready to be served on the half shell, used in recipes, or frozen for later use. Quahogs make excellent chowder, clam cakes, stuffed clams, and clam sauce for pasta. However, they are too tough to make good steamed or fried clams.

Though purists would object, quahogs that are not going to be eaten raw may be steamed or placed in a microwave until they begin to open. These procedures make opening the clams much easier but they also slightly toughen the meats.

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