New England has its hits and clams are definitely one of them. But not any type of clams, these are New England Style Baked Stuffed Clams and are my favorite way to cook up clams at home. Yes, it takes some time but it’s well worth the effort and results!
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I remember the first week I met my husband at work. He had brought in a plastic container filled with quahog (large clam) stuffing for us to taste. I remember how flavorful that stuffing was. I remember his pride in sharing it with us. A true New Englander, this man is from Harwich, Cape Cod and knows his clam stuffing, so I decided to buy some clams and talk through his recipe, so I can share it with you all!
This recipe is packed with clams, bacon, linguisca (Portuguese sausage) and flavorful herbs and vegetables that might seem not very traditional to New England (here’s looking at you, cilantro) but I promise you these are the best stuffed clams you’ll ever make.
The recipe process below calls for a food processor but if you don’t have one, you can make this stuffing by finely mincing all the ingredients together with a chef knife. It’ll be a ton more work, but still worth it!
What clams can I use?
At local seafood markets, the most common types of clams are cherrystones, quahogs, and littlenecks. The bigger the clam, the easier the process will be because the bigger the clam, the more clam meat inside.
What other recipes can I make using clams?
Here are some of my favorite clam recipes, on my blog and a few from my best food blogging friends:
Creamy Caribbean Clam Chowder, this recipe is such a good one – my take on the classic New England chowder, with a Dominican twist.
Linguine and Clams, a classic pasta recipe, linguine and clams is so so simple to make and so impressive at the table!
Grilled Stuffed Quahogs, another version of these clams, but using the large quahog clams and grilling them instead of baking them.
Spicy Coconut Milk Clams by Nutmeg Nanny, this recipe looks so delicious and I love the flavor combinations of briny clams and creamy coconut milk.
New England Style Baked Stuffed Clams
Ingredients
- 2 dozen clams
- 2 stalks celery
- 1 medium-sized red bell pepper
- 2 small yellow onions
- 2 strips bacon
- 2 linguisca sausages
- handful fresh cilantro
- bread or bread crumbs
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon pepper
Instructions
- Steaming clams is very simple: give the clams a good rinse under fresh water, place in a large pot with about an inch or two of water, and cover. High heat until the clams open. Make sure they are all in one single layer. Clams that don't open, throw out!
- Once clams are steamed and cooled, shuck the clam meat off the shell and save the shells. You're going to use these to stuff later on.
- In the meantime, place everything in the food processor and mince until it becomes a chunky paste. Season with salt and pepper. If the mixture seems too wet, add bread crumbs until the mixture slightly tightens up.
- Quick tip: I like to sauté up a little of the stuffing in a saute pan before I stuff all the shells, to make sure the flavors are on point. Do that. Then proceed to stuffing all the shells you saved.
- Stuff them and pack in the stuffing.
- From here, you can do one of two things: place them in a single layer tray and freeze, to bake later. Or you can bake them all off right away.
- To bake, brush them with melted butter and bake at 400F until golden brown. Serve with fresh lemon wedges, and cocktail sauce if that's your thing.
DID YOU TRY THIS RECIPE? I want to see it! Follow Cooking with Books on Instagram, take a photo, and tag me in it. I love to know what you are making and how you made this recipe your own!