Cooking Clams On The Grill

White Wine Steamed Clams on the Grill

Steam open your littleneck clams on the grill with butter, lots of garlic, wine, and cream, then sop up the leftover sauce with bread! I like to grill lemons too to squirt some zing to the clams as I'm eating them. This is a quick recipe that you can do while enjoying being outside with your grill, but you could also do it on the stove if you use a cover for your pan. Share this as an appetizer or serve yourself a big main dish!

Serves: 2

Time Involved: 30 mins

Ingredients

¼ cup unsalted butter
½ cup chopped scallions
3 tbsp minced garlic (I just buy the jarred kind because it's easier)
3 lbs little neck clams
Juice of ½ lemon + 1 extra lemon for grilling
1 cup dry white wine
2 tbsp chopped parsley + some for garnish
½ cup heavy cream
Parsley for garnish
Bread for dipping!

Prep the clams:
First clean your clams so you don't get any bits of sand or shell in your broth. If the clams are freshly raked, I'll sometimes soak them in cool water for 20 mins so they can spit out sand. They'll also need a good scrub with a rough sponge or brush under the running water of the sink. If you purchase the clams, you can ask the market if they think the clams need any additional scrubbing (most places will do all the scrubbing before selling them).

Prep your other ingredients:
I recommend preparing all the ingredients before heading to the grill so you don't have to go back inside! Put the butter and the chopped scallions in the skillet you're going to use. The minced garlic can be in its own bowl. The wine, lemon juice, and parsley can all go in the same glass/bowl. The cream should be in its own bowl. Be sure to bring out the bread, lemon halves, an oven mit, and spatula for stirring as well.

Cook it:
With your grill on medium high heat, add the skillet and saute the scallions until they are soft and fragrant, maybe 5-8 minutes. Stir them periodically so they don't burn. Add the garlic and stir for another 3 minutes, or until lightly browned. Then add the wine, parsley, and lemon juice mix. Add clams on top of this and close the grill so that the clams are able to steam. The length of time needed for the clams to open depends on your grill and temperature, but it will generally take about 15 minutes. It's okay to check on them here and there. Place the lemons facedown on the main grill, and bread slices (if you'd like to toast them) on the high rack about 5 minutes before you pull off the skillet. Mix in the cream and serve.

Clams, Grilling, Lemon, Garlic, Scallions, Parsley, favorites, New England Classics, Shellfish, Littleneck Clams, Lemons, White Wine, Cream, Appetizers, Bread

May 21, 2019