At low tide, you will find locals and visitors walking the beaches in Newport with their shovels and buckets looking to dig fresh clams for dinner. Todd Corayer, a local fisherman and quahogger from Gardner's Wharf Seafood in Wickford, Rhode Island shares with us his tips and tricks for finding and preparing clams for your favorite seafood meal.

Materials:

Cornmeal
Small kitchen brush
Towels
bowl

How to clam:

1. Digging clams doesn't require much in the way of equipment or expense. But there are a few good tips. Wherever you happen to be, make sure you have a shellfishing permit for that town.

2. If your beach has shells, then that is a clue there will be clams. But your best and most reliable source of information for the best spot to dig clams is the local shellfish warden's office where you bought your permit. You want to avoid clamming when the shellfish beds are "mating', this can cause them to taste poorly. Otherwise, there is not bad time to dig clams.

3. Plan to get dirty and muddy digging for clams because, you're literally ankle deep in the mud and sand. So go prepared, have good foot protection (old sneakers are fine) to protect your feet from sharp shell pieces, wear an old shirt, pants or shorts. You may also want a hat, sunscreen, and bugspray, shellfish beds are typically located in areas without any type of shade and can be a bit buggy.

4. As for tools, you will need a bucket or pail for your harvest. Before you put anything in your bucket you need to measure your shellfish. Your measuring tool can be as simple as two marks on your thumb or forefinger, made with a magic marker, or you can use a clamming caliper (available at a bait shop). The fines for taking undersized catch can be severe so don't forget this important tool.

5. The kinds clams you might find are:
• Hard-shell (also call Quahog) are usually sold by size. From small to large, there are the tender and sweet littlenecks, which have shells measuring less than two inches (5cm) across, and are often eaten raw or steamed. A little larger, cherry stones are also quite tender.
• Soft-shell clams (also called steamers, fryers, and long necks) have hard, thin shells, with neck-like siphons sticking out of them.
• Surf clams have large white shells and are usually cut into strips for restaurant use.
• Razor clams are large, tough clams with shells shaped like straight razors.
• Pacific clams include Pacific littlenecks, Manila clams, geoducks, butter clams, and jackknife clams.

6. When you dig for clams, you want to go at low tide when the shellfish flats and beds are exposed, grab a local tidal chart at the warden's office. One method for discovering where clam have burrowed is to walk and pound the beach with a shovel handle or your foot. Because all shellfish are bivalial feeders, pressure above and around them causes them to contract. They will squirt sand and water out of the hole where they are located. Step with your foot, see a squirt or several, and you've found shellfish bed. But not all clams are so cooperative in revealing their location. Depending on how low the tide is, or if the beach is sun-dried, the clams may or may not squeeze out that telltale squirt. If this is the case, focus your eyes on the surface of the mud with a little more care and attention. Look for a "clam show". What is a clam show? That's where a clam has withdrawn it's neck or started to dig leaving a hole or dimple in the sand. There are three major kind of "shows" to look for; a dimple, a depression in the sand, a doughnut, which has raised sides, or a figure eight, which is usually in drier sand areas and is shaped like an "hour-glass" or is a hole with very distinct sides.

7. Once you have located a clam "show". Commercial shellfish diggers use rakes and tines to dig their clams, but as a recreational digger, you can use your bare hands. Dig your fingertips into the mud on either side of the spurts, scoop out a couple of handfuls digging deeper until you see the edges of the of the clam's shell, pointing upwards. Dig slowly and with care, you don't want to break the shell of the clam with your own fingers and you don't want to cut your fingertips on the shell's sharp edges. Measure the clam and place it in your bucket.

8. Once you have a full bucket, you will need to clean your clams for the trip home. Fill your bucket with seawater, and add a handful of cornmeal to the water and let the clams soak until you get home. The cornmeal will clean the stomach, purging the shellfish of sand. Do not use fresh water, or it will kill the clams.

9. When you get home, you want to use a small kitchen brush to scrub each clam clean under cold water. Again place the clams in a dry bowl under a wet towel in the refrigerator. The old saying, "both fish and family get old after two days" definitely applies to shellfish, make sure you refrigerate and use them within 48 hours.

Now that you have a bucket filled with delicious, clean shellfish, you can get to the best part -eating!

Special Thanks:
Todd Corayer
Gardner's Wharf Seafood
170 Main Street
Wickford, RI 401-295-4600
(401) 295-4600
www.gardnerswharfseafood.com