Fried Clam Strips Recipe (Friendly's Copycat) - Recipes.net (2024)

FAQs

What's the difference between fried clams and fried clam strips? ›

Fried clam strips come with less clam flavor, but no risk of sand. Photo Credit : Aimee Seavey From the strip-lovers, sand was often cited as the main reason for preferring a no-belly clam. [text_ad] “No sand in the belly to get in your teeth,” one commenter said.

Preheat oven to 425°F. Remove breaded clams strips from package and arrange in single layer on baking sheet. 2. Place sheet on middle rack of oven and back for 14-16 minutes until golden brown and internal temperature reaches 145°F.

Preparation. The clams are dipped in evaporated milk, then coated with some combination of regular, corn, and pastry flour. The coated clams are fried in canola oil, soybean oil, or lard.

If you're a fan of fried seafood (and who isn't?), you're gonna want to make a batch of these fried whole belly clams. To make them in the traditional New England style use Ipswich clams (a.k.a. Steamers or soft-shell clams) and use the whole clam bellies, strips and cleaned neck.

Probably overcooking. If you are breading and frying in oil, your oil probably wasn't hot enough. If you are pan frying them, you cooked them too long probably and too low temperature.

Breaded or fried shellfish may contain additional calories, refined carbs, added salt, and other unhealthy ingredients. Shellfish are low in calories and rich in protein and omega-3 fatty acids. They also contain high amounts of certain micronutrients, including iron, zinc, magnesium, and vitamin B12.

Fry the clams until they are golden brown, about 90 seconds to 2 minutes. Move them to the rack in the oven and repeat with the remaining clams -- make sure the oil gets back up to temperature between batches. Serve with homemade tartar sauce, malt vinegar, remoulade, ketchup or hot sauce.

Steam the clams.

Cover and let cook over medium heat until they open up (This will take anywhere from 7 to 10 minutes). Clams will let you know when they're ready; their shells will simply open. Watch for that and do not overcook them or they're turn too chewy and rubbery.

The lack of clams has contributed to higher prices to consumers, said Coffin. It has also sparked fears that future generations of clams will be even smaller in number, he said. “A few of the guys who are clamming are making good money now, but they're basically selling their future,” Coffin said.

Are canned clams real clams? ›

What's in a Can of Clams? The canned clams you'll find on supermarket shelves are either minced, chopped, or whole baby clams. Other clam products you may discover include smoked clams and bottled or canned clam juice.

On the other hand, clam strips are made from hard-shell clams, also known as surf clams, which are larger (more like 4–7 inches instead of the 2–3 inches of a soft-shell clam) and live a little deeper out in the ocean than soft-shell clams do.

The belly is the tender, soft center of the clam that makes up the primary “meat.” Furthermore, the strip is the hanging piece that lies under the belly. Lastly, the siphon, or neck, is the chewy, sometimes dark, portion of the clam that protrudes outside the shell.

Clams are filter feeders. The reason they have sand and grit in them is because they live buried in sand or mud. This proximity to grit naturally gets the stuff into the clams, which filter with their shells partially open — which is how the sand or mud gets in.

These are geoducks, a large and elusive burrowing clam species. The clams grow in few parts of the world, making them a highly coveted and expensive delicacy in seafood restaurants around the globe.

Adam Geringer-Dunn of Greenpoint Fish and Lobster in Brooklynn, New York, says, "Clam strips are made from large surf clams, shucked, pounded flat, and cut into strips." Dunn tells Tasting Table.com that clam strips are "much chewier and lack nearly all the delicious clam flavor you get from whole belly clams."

Hard-Shell, Quahog, and Round

Littlenecks, topnecks, cherrystones, chowders—they are all the same clam, just different sizes (listed from smallest to biggest). They live in the Atlantic Ocean along the east coasts of the U.S. and Canada in intertidal areas burrowed in the sand.

Virtually all fried clams in America are either Mya arenaria, the steamer clam, or Mercenaria mercenaria, the quahog, cherrystone or littleneck clam; the names are size grades, not different species.

Littleneck clams are the smallest and sweetest available, great raw on the half shell or steamed. Topneck clams can also be eaten raw, and these are my favorite size for baked clams. Cherrystone clams are usually not eaten raw, they're not tough really, just too much of a mouthful for most people.