A delicious and salty appetizer for Christmas Eve, the Italian Stuffed Baked Clams are so good and easy to make. Add a little squirt of lemon and some olive oil and people will love them!
Looking for more seafood appetizers? Try our Mussels in Tomato White Wine Sauce or Garlic Sage Seared Scallops.
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Christmas Eve
Baked clams are a staple at my house and my in-laws' house every Christmas Eve. On the one hand, my in-laws prefer the clam to stay intact, while my family prefers the clam to be chopped up and mixed with the breadcrumbs. I tend to side with my family on this, although Marisa likes the clam to be intact.
Finding 7 fish to make on Christmas Eve can be daunting, but stuffed clams, is an easy one to put on the menu. They don't take long to make, especially if you buy them already shucked. Just ask your fishmonger to give you the clams after he cleans and shucks them so you can fill them with your stuffing.
Purging the Clams
If you bought the clams as is, then we'll start by purging the clams of sand and debris. If you bought them pre-shucked, just skip to the next step.
To purge the clams, basically, put them in a salty, ice bath for 1 hour before shucking them. This will allow them to "suck" in the fresh water and filter out any of the sand.
After you remove the clams from the bath, rinse and scrub the clams of any debris to clean the shells. Then shuck the clams. Basically, you use a shucking knife and slide it into the side of the clam with some force. Then twist the knife and pop them open.
Step-By-Step Directions
Step 1: The first thing you want to do is clean out the shell with warm water removing any debris. Then rinse the clams of any debris.
Step 2: Roughly chop the clams and then mix them with all of the ingredients. The other option is to leave the clam intact, place it in the bottom of the shell, and then put the stuffing on top. I prefer to mix it all together.
Pro-Tips
- If you need to save time, just get the clams preshucked. It will be a little more expensive but if you only shuck clams once a year, you're going to be wasting a ton of time doing this when you're trying to prepare other meals for a holiday!
Step 3: Stuff the clams with about 1-2 tablespoon of stuffing depending on the size of the shells you are using. Drizzle a little bit of olive oil on top of each clam once they are stuffed.
Step 4: Preheat your oven to 350°. Bake for 15 minutes and then broil for 1-2 minutes to brown the tops of the clams. They should have a nice golden brown edge like these once they are removed from the oven. Watch them carefully when you have the broiler on because they will burn quickly.
Serving Italian Stuffed Baked Clams
When serving the stuffed clams, I like to accompany them with some lemon and garnish them with parsley. Put them alongside your shrimp cocktail and serve them with some Sauvignon Blanc. There is nothing like seafood and white wine. Some people choose to use a spoon, but I eat baked clams right off the shell.
Baked clams are a great recipe to start kids on seafood. I know I was a picky eater growing up, but the stuffing is really flavorful, and although I wouldn't lie to my kid and say, "you won't taste any fish," it is objectively less fishy than other styles of seafood.
FAQs
Yes. Purging clam is far and away the most important step. Skip the purge and you will be eating sandy clams.
Yes, wherever you buy clams should shuck them for you. You'll want them to do this the day of so they are still fresh.
When you try our baked clams, tag us on Instagram @vindelgiudice! Leave a comment or a review and let us know what you think! I'd love to hear feedback from you!
More Christmas Eve Dishes
📖 Recipe
Italian Stuffed Baked Clams
Equipment
- 1 baking sheet
- 1 shucking knife
Ingredients
- 12 cherrystone clams
- ½ cup breadcrumbs
- 3 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 1 teaspoon oregano
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 2 tablespoon fresh chopped parsley
- 1 tablespoon garlic, minced
- 2 tablespoon lemon
Instructions
- Scrub the clams in running water of any sand or debris. Purge your clams by giving them a 30-minute ice bath with salt, rinsing and repeating for another 30 minutes. Remove from the water and rinse and scrub with your hands to remove any remaining sand.
- If you didn't buy your clams already shucked, you'll have to shuck them now. Keep them on ice, slip your shucking knife in between the shell, and pop them open. If this is something you've never done before, I recommend buying them pre-shucked. Preheat the oven to 350°
- Chop the clams. Combine with the rest of the ingredients and mix until homogenous. Stuff the clams with about 1-2 tablespoon of stuffing. Drizzle ½ teaspoon of olive oil on each clam. Bake in oven for 15-18 minutes.
- Finish by broiling the clams for 2 minutes to brown the breadcrumbs. Serve with lemon wedges.
Notes
- Purging clams is extremely important. If not done, it will taste like you're eating sand. Make sure to rinse between steps to remove as much sand as possible.
- Shucking clams is also time consuming. You can skip both of these steps by asking for the clams to be shucked for you, which can be really helpful during the holidays, especially when you're cooking a bunch of different recipes.
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