| Fried clams | |
| Country: |  United States |
| Region: | New England Massachusetts New Brunswick Nova Scotia |
| Creator: | Lawrence "Chubby" Woodman |
| Main Ingredient: | Ipswich clam |
| No Recipes: | 1 |
Fried clams are clams dipped in milk, floured, and deep-fried.
Fried clams are an iconic food, "to New England, what barbecue is to the South". They tend to be served at seaside clam shacks (roadside restaurants).[1] Clam rolls are fried clams served in a New England–style hot dog bun.[2] [3] They are usually served with Tartar sauce.[2] [4]
The clams are dipped in evaporated milk, then coated with some combination of regular, corn, and pastry flour.[1] The coated clams are fried in canola oil, soybean oil, or lard.[1] [5]
The usual variant in New England is made from whole soft-shell clams, known as "whole-bellies"; these include the clam's gastrointestinal tract and have a fuller flavor.[1] [6] Some restaurants remove the clam's chewy siphon called the neck.[5]
Outside New England, clam strips, made of sliced Atlantic surf clams, are more common.[7]
Fried clams are mentioned as early as 1840,[8] and are listed on an 1865 menu from the Parker House hotel. How exactly they were prepared is unclear; the 1865 menu offers both "oysters—fried" and "oysters—fried in batter", but only "fried clams".[9]
Nineteenth-century American cookbooks describe several different dishes of fried clams:
The modern deep-fried, breaded version is generally credited to Lawrence "Chubby" Woodman from Essex, Massachusetts. He is said to have created the first batch on July 3, 1916,[12] in his small roadside restaurant, now Woodman's of Essex. One of his specialties was potato chips, so he had large vats for deep-frying. He used clams he had collected himself from the mud flats of the Essex River, located close to his home.[13]
Later, Thomas Soffron, of Soffron Brothers Clam Co., based in Ipswich, Massachusetts, created clam strips, which are made from the "foot" of hard-shelled sea clams. He sold these to Howard Johnson's in an exclusive deal, and as the chain expanded, they became popular throughout the country.[14] [15]
Clams in themselves are low in cholesterol and fat, but fried clams absorb cooking fat.[16]
