We love clams. Personally, I prefer them raw on the half shell, but steamed is also pretty nice.
I saute onions and garlic, then add water, white wine, parsley and the clams - bring that to a boil, turn down the heat and simmer covered. I believe the secret to success is to monitor the pot closely, and remove each clam with a pair of tongs as soon as it opens (transferring them to a bowl that is covered with tin foil). That way you don’t overcook the early openers.
I can get about 30 good sized littlenecks in my old 5 gallon extract kettle (which I also use to make a mean vegetarian matzo ball soup for Passover).
In Belgium we eat lots of mussels. We do not, I repeat not, apply this method. Too much work. And we certainly don’t put beer in the pot. Either nothing or French wine. But we do drink beer with the mussels, and lots of it. Cheers!
The main thing is the mussels. Unfortunately not all mussels are created equal. We Belgians only eat one special type of mussels, harvested from the Waddenzee in the Netherlands. They have a very mild taste. We will never eat a bowl of Spanish, strong-tasting mussels. Since we eat 1 to 1.5 kg of mussels per person they really have to be mild. Unfortunately I’m not sure whether you can find this type of mussels in the US
Fry lots of onions and cut celery stems in butter. You may want to add a couple of garlic cloves, but it’s not obligatory. After a couple of minutes add the cleaned mussels, thyme and laurel leaves, plus lots of black pepper. Don’t add water or salt. Steam the mussels open, shaking the pot from time to time to bring the mussels from the bottom to the top and from the top to the bottom. This technique will make sure that all mussels get cooked evenly. Add a small glass of white wine and continue steaming and shaking. When all the mussels are open they should be done. Maybe continue for a few more minutes. Avoid boiling them too long, otherwise they will become rubber. This should take not more than 5 minutes or so.
Of course we eat mussels with lots of top quality fries. Many people dip the mussels in a sauce: easy recipe is a blend of mayonnaise (not the sugary crap), lemon juice or vinegar, and mustard. No ketchup with oyster juice crap! Many people do not eat mussels with a fork, but use an empty shell to pick the flesh out of the shells. Also, eat the juice and vegetables with a spoon. In restaurants the mussels are served in large one-person bowls: http://www.hollandsemosselcentrale.be/images/mosselmaaltijd.jpg
And we drink either white wine or blonde beer. Lager or a stronger ale – Duvel, Hoegaarden, tripel, Chouffe, etc. And in Antwerp, obviously we drink a “bolleke” De Coninck.
Mussels, we pick 'em fresh out at the coast or get the Washington Penn Cove ones. We have lots of favorite recipes. Here’s one…
Put 1/4 cp olive oil, 2 cps white wine, 2 bay leaves and a sprig of thyme in a casserole. Cover and bring to simmer. Add mussels, cover and steam to open. Don’t over cook. Strain the cooking liquid and reduce it to 3/4ths the original volume. Keep mussels covered and warm. Heat some more olive oil in a skilled and saute 1 cup onions and 12 minced cloves of garlic until onions just begin to brown. Add 2 cups peeled diced tomatoes and heat through. Add a small chopped hot pepper, 2 Tblsp chopped italian parsley, 1 Tblsp chopped Oreganno and 1 Tblsp Chopped Basil and reduced mussel liquid. Adjust seasoning. Arrange the mussels in bowls and top with tomato mixture. Garnish with some basil leaves and make sure you’ve got plenty of crusty french bread for mopping up the amazing sauce.
Yum! Love shellfish. Oysters, clams, mussels. Our favorite way is steamed in white wine or a nice, light Belgian beer with lots of garlic, hot pepper, olive oil, salt and pepper. With a nice baguette.
When I was a kid (long time ago) I could walk one block down the end of my street and dig a bucket of fresh clams. And, as long as you were steaming them you didn’t have to worry about pollution levels and red tide. I grew up on steamers–love, love, love them! Beer and and onion, steam 'em till they open, dip 'em in the broth (beer) and melted butter, and they would melt in your mouth.
The same beaches/shores were covered with mussels, but for some reason, we didn’t eat them. Now, however, I love mussels too. Back then, they were just an annoyance for we would cut our bare feet on them when swimming or clamming.
