Mike Grattan's clam boil!
Two great teams, two great regions, both known for winning football games and great local seafood. Be a winner, serve seafood from The Local Catch during the big game with this great recipe from our very own Mike Grattan. (Say hi to Mike at the Aquidneck market!)
What you will need:
- 32 quart seafood boiler with steaming basket and lid
- 100 Local Catch Littlenecks
- 16 oz. jar of minced Garlic
- Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- Italian Seasoning
- (Optional--if you want to add some heat) Red Pepper Flakes (NOT grounds or granulated)
- Melted Butter
- Be sure to inspect your Littlenecks and rinse thoroughly just prior to placing in the boiling water to remove any remaining sand or shell chips that may have occurred while handling.
- Fill stock pot with enough water to completely cover 36 Littlenecks (with an extra 2-3 inches) Do not place Littlenecks in water yet!
- Put 8oz of minced Garlic (half the jar), 1/3 dry cup of Italian Seasoning and 2 tablespoons of Red Pepper Flakes in water and bring to a boil. Let it boil for an additional 3-5 minutes to "steep" your garlic and seasonings.
- Place steamer basket in stock pot.
- Carefully place approximately 36 Littlenecks in boiling water. (If not completely submerged, add more hot water to cover them with 2-3 inches of water.)
- Pour 1 cup of Extra Virgin Olive Oil over the top, cover stock pot and bring it back to a boil.
- Once water is at a boil, remove move lid check to see if all Littlenecks have opened. (You may need a very long set of tongs for this step.) Remove Littlenecks with steamer basket once they have all opened.
- Place in large bowl and serve with drawn butter.
For the second batch, you can use the existing water over again (as long as your littlenecks have been thoroughly rinsed) and just repeat the steps, however, only add ½ of the ingredients:
- 4oz minced Garlic
- 2-3 Tablespoons of Italian Seasoning
- 1 Tablespoon Red Pepper Flakes
On the third batch, follow the same procedure as above except omit adding Red Pepper Flakes, unless you like your Littlenecks with an extra kick.
You can reserve the leftover broth and freeze it for all sorts of cooking applications that call for seafood or clam broth--with the spices already incorporated, it will add extra flavor to all your recipes. Just be sure to ladle it from the pot--do not pour--as there may be traces of sand or shell chips in the bottom.
Red Pepper Flakes are optional--I usually don’t use them as I like to reserve the broth for other cooking applications later.