Frying a Better Razor Clam

Hubby would not be discouraged by previous unsuccessful clamming expeditions. And his perseverance finally paid off this spring.

It took him only an hour to reach the legal limit of 15 clams.

If I wasn’t so busy working on my next cookbook Marinades, I would’ve gone with him and bagged another 15 in no time at all.

The usual way to prepare razor clams is to coat them whole in breadcrumbs or cracker crumbs and then pan-fry them, like this. It’s quite delicious. But after trying it, I reasoned that deep-fried clams would be even more delicious. Clams have a tendency to be chewy no matter how expertly they’re cooked, and submerging them completely in hot fat would minimize the cooking time, thereby lessening any chance they’d get tough. Cutting the clams into strips would further ensure tenderness. But it would also expose a lot more surface area, and that much breading would have been heavy and overwhelmed the clam meat. Switching to a light flour coating would create a nice balance of clam to crust. Finally, adding a bit of cornstarch to the flour would make for a super-crisp coating. All that reasoning proved to be correct—the result was the best fried clams ever, even if I do say so myself.

But before I get to the recipe, Flavored Butters continues to get positive mentions in the press. I have to thank Food Republic for endorsing it and featuring the Caramelized Onion Butter, the Red Chile Butter, and the Caviar Butter. Thanks to Mommypage for the interview about the book and BND.com for featuring the Tarragon Butter. I’m ever so grateful to The Spokesman-Review for calling the book a “mouth-watering gem” and featuring the Bed & Breakfast Butter. And finally, thanks to Mother Earth Living for sharing the lessons on how to form a log of butter and how to shape compound butter and featuring the Gorgonzola-Chive Butter, the Radish Butter, and the Whipped Vanilla Bean Butter. I love that so many are getting on the butter bandwagon—it feels amazing!

Deep-Fried Razor Clam Strips with Buffalo Dipping Sauce
Printable Recipe

3 tablespoons mayonnaise
2 teaspoons Tabasco sauce
¼ teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
¾ cup all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons cornstarch
½ teaspoon paprika
½ teaspoon granulated garlic
¼ teaspoon onion powder
Generous pinch celery seeds, ground
Generous pinch cayenne pepper
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
Canola oil, for frying
5 razor clams, cleaned, rinsed, patted dry, and cut into 3/8-inch wide pieces

Blend together the mayonnaise, Tabasco, and Worcestershire in a small bowl and refrigerate.

Whisk together the flour, cornstarch, paprika, granulated garlic, onion powder, celery seed, cayenne, and a generous pinch of salt and pepper in a large, shallow dish. Add enough oil to a large, heavy pot to come to a depth of 3 inches. Heat the oil to 375°F. Meanwhile, add the clams to the flour mixture and toss to coat, separating any pieces that stick together. Shaking off any excess flour mixture, add the clams to the oil and fry, stirring occasionally, for 1 to 2 minutes, or until golden brown. Using a skimmer, remove to a paper towel-lined plate and immediately season to taste with salt. Arrange the clams on individual plates and serve immediately with the buffalo dipping sauce.

Serves 2. When frying, be sure to use a pot that's large enough to accommodate the displacement of the oil from the clams and also the bubbling of the oil. Serve with Classic Coleslaw and corn on the cob or fries.

Fifth Blogiversary!

Hungry Cravings is celebrating its fifth blogiversary this month. Back when I started it, I never would’ve guessed that I’d still be at it five years later. This little blog has seen me go from aspiring writer to published cookbook author, and it has taught me a thing or two about the art of food photography. Though work keeps me busy and posts here are less frequent than they once were, I look forward to each opportunity to check in more than ever.

So I dug through the freezer for the last of the huckleberries we gathered last summer. I’d been saving them for a special occasion…a special occasion just like this one!

Lemony Huckleberry Crumb Bars
Printable Recipe

6 ounces (1 ½ sticks) cold unsalted butter, shredded, plus more for greasing the baking dish
1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour
¾ cup powdered sugar
Grated zest of 1 lemon
¾ teaspoon kosher salt
1 ½ cups fresh or frozen huckleberries
1 tablespoon sugar
2 teaspoons cornstarch

Preheat the oven to 375˚F. Butter an 8-inch square baking dish and line with parchment paper. Whisk together the flour, powdered sugar, lemon zest, and salt in a large bowl. Add the butter and, using a pastry cutter, cut the butter into the flour until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Transfer about half of the dough to the baking dish and press into an even layer. Refrigerate for about 15 minutes. Toss together the huckleberries, sugar, and cornstarch in a medium bowl. Spread the huckleberry mixture evenly over the crust and then spread the remaining half of the dough evenly over the huckleberry layer. Bake for 40 to 45 minutes, or until golden brown. Let cool to room temperature.

Using the parchment paper, lift the bars out of the pan and transfer them to a cutting board. Cut into portions and serve.

Makes 12 bars. Huckleberries have a short summer season. Use frozen huckleberries the rest of the year, but do not thaw them. Small blueberries make a fine substitute if huckleberries are unavailable. These bars are best on the day they’re made.

Blog Touring and Guest Posting

Flavored Butters is on an “I Can’t Believe it IS Butter” blog tour! Today’s stop: I’m Denise’s guest over at Chez Us. Please come join me there. My guest post is all about making and using sweet flavored butters and includes the Passion Fruit Butter recipe from the book.

Also on the blog tour…

· Creative Culinary featured the Citrus-Vanilla Bean Butter.

· A Little Loveliness highlighted the Whipped Vanilla Bean Butter.

· A Well Crafted Party posted the Whipped Vanilla Bean Butter.

· Willow Bird Baking presented both the Coffee Butter and the Salted Caramel Butter.

· Celebrations at Home offered up both the Gorgonzola-Chive Butter and the Bed & Breakfast Butter in apricot.

· Divine Party Concepts spotlighted the Whipped Chocolate Butter.

So it looks pretty safe to say that the Whipped Vanilla Bean Butter is becoming a crowd favorite! To go with all that vanilla, I’ll leave you with a little bit of chocolate!

Of course, the recipe for this Whipped Chocolate Butter appears in Flavored Butters.

Thanks to all of the wonderful bloggers for hosting a stop!

Bonus Butter

My new book is part of The Harvard Common Press’s 50 Recipes series. I tried to sneak in 53 recipes thinking there’s no harm in giving people more than what they paid for. But I was busted. My editor caught me and made me do some cutting—when they say 50 Recipes, they mean 50 Recipes. It wasn’t easy deciding which three had to go. One recipe that ended up being sacrificed was the Black Garlic Butter, not because it’s somehow inferior to any of the others, but because black garlic is a bit hard to come by. The butter is in fact quite delicious, so I thought I’d offer it up here as a bonus recipe. (By the way, if you’re wondering why in the world anyone needs 50, let alone 53 recipes for flavored butters, here’s an explanation.)

Before I get to the recipe, I have to say how grateful I am for the warm reception Flavored Butters is getting in the media and blogosphere. I’ve been called a “butter goddess” and a “butter genius”, and it might just go to my head! (But more likely, it'll go to my butt!) But seriously, I have to thank The Atlanta Journal-Constitution for the shout-out, the Chicago Tribune for the great review (and the dozen or more other media outlets that picked up the story), The Kitchn for another fantastic review, and the Akron Beacon Journal for the mention in this article on herbs and gardening. I also want to show my appreciation to The Best Cookbooks List, Magnolia Days, and Fake Food Free for jumping on the butter bandwagon—the support means so much! And while this has nothing to do with Flavored Butters, I owe one more thank you to HuffPost Taste for including my Passion Fruit-Coconut Bars in their passion fruit recipe roundup.

And now to the Black Garlic Butter. Black garlic, which seems to have originated in Korea, is a product of fermentation.

The ink-colored cloves have a soft, gelatinous texture and a complex sweet and mellow garlic flavor with candy-like hints of molasses, caramel, smoke, and fruit. Roasted garlic fans would certainly love it. Blend black garlic with butter to use as a spread for crostini or as a sauce for seafood such as grilled or seared* scallops.

Black Garlic Butter
Printable Recipe

4 ounces (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
4 cloves black garlic
2 teaspoons soy sauce

Combine the butter, black garlic, and soy sauce in a food processor and pulse until smooth. Form into a log and refrigerate until firm before slicing and serving, or use another shaping method described in Flavored Butters.

Makes 8 servings.

*For everything you ever wanted to know about searing, plus dozens of fabulous searing recipes, check out my first book Seared to Perfection.