Clam Fritters — The 5 Tastes Table (2024)

March 18, 2022 by FoodBlogChef in Appetizers and Snacks

A common shared memory of anyone who has lived near the New England seashore is the summer memory of feasting on clam fritters (also called clam cakes) from your favorite clam shack. Or, if you couldn’t afford to buy them from the clam shack, you made them at home. My grandfather and I would dig (rake) bushel baskets full of Quahogs and Little Necks which were turned into delicious clam fritters, creamy clam chowder, briny clam spaghetti (pasta alle vongole), or just eaten raw on the half-shell with a dash of hot sauce and a few drops of lemon juice. Today, as a “cook of a certain age”, deep-fried clam fritters are still associated with happy memories of carefree summer days on the coast, but now they are relegated to that special category of foods eaten less frequently and identified as “guilty pleasures”. As such, I offer this recipe for Clam Fritters in memory of my grandfather and those special days raking for clams on the Rhode Island coast. These days hard-shell clams are a pricey delicacy. If you don’t have the luxury of digging your own, buy fresh Quahogs in their shells or fresh chopped clams from your fishmonger, or as a last resort use canned clams from the supermarket. I hope you enjoy them!

CLAM FRITTERS
Makes about 15 fritters

INGREDIENTS
· Vegetable oil for frying
·1 cup finely chopped clams (about 12-15 Quahog clams; you can use a mini-food processor to chop the clams or do it the old fashion way.)
·1 egg
· ¼ cup buttermilk (add 1 teaspoon lemon juice to ¼ cup milk to make buttermilk)
· ¼ cup clam juice
· ¼ - ½ cup beer (more as needed to get the thick batter consistency you want)
·1 cup finely minced clams
· ½ teaspoon salt
· ¼ teaspoon black pepper (or to taste)
·1 ¼ teaspoon baking powder
·1 ¾ cup cake flour or all-purpose flour (cake flour produces lighter fritters)
·1 teaspoon Old Bay Seasoning

METHOD
If using Lemony Aioli, make the aioli first. (recipe below)

Set a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat and add vegetable oil to a depth of 3 inches. Bring the oil to 350 degrees F. (When you add the batter, the temperature of the oil will drop; try to maintain close to 350 F. A candy or deep-fry thermometer helps to monitor the temperature.)
In a large bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients: flour, salt, baking powder, Old Bay seasoning, and pepper.
In a small bowl, combine the clam juice, beer, egg, buttermilk.
Add the clam juice mixture to the dry ingredients and stir just until combined into a thick batter (something between a pancake and a thick cake batter).
Add the chopped clams to the batter and mix thoroughly.
Carefully, almost touching the oil to avoid splatters, drop the batter into the oil by the heaping tablespoon; work in batches of about 6 fritters so as not to crowd the pan, adjusting heat as necessary to maintain the temperature.
Fry until the fritters are nicely browned and cooked through (about 4 minutes from the time you place the first fritter in the hot oil).
Transfer the fritters to a sheet pan with a metal grate or lined with paper towels and place in a warm oven. Repeat with the remaining batter. Serve warm with lemony aioli or butter on the side.
*Note: if using Quahogs or Cherry Stone clams in their shells, if you are not familiar with shucking clams, an easy alternative is to place the clams on a sheet pan under the broiler until they just begin to open. Remove the pan from the broiler and let the clams cool until you can comfortably handle them. Pry open the shells, saving the clam juice, and chop the clams into small pieces.

Clam Fritters — The 5 Tastes Table (2024)

References