Clam Digging on the Kenai Peninsula of Alaska

Cleaning Razor Clams

If time permits, soaking your clams in a bucket of clean sea water for a few hours will allow the clam to purge most or all of the sand present within its neck and gills. The bucket should be left undisturbed during this period as agitation will keep the clam withdrawn into its shell.

The clam body may be removed from the shell by running a knife blade along the inner shell surface and cutting the muscle connecting body to shell. The subsequent cleaning is done to remove the gills and digestive tract, which are the dark parts of the clam. The tip of the neck should also be removed and both canals of the neck should be opened to facilitate the removal of sand. Scissors with pointed blades work well in cleaning razor clams.

AOJ has put together a seven minute video that shows how to use boiling water to quickly remove the clam from its shell and how to proceed with cleaning the clam. Its a great method that also cleans the sand from parts of the clam that were cut or damaged during the digging process which are very hard to clean in cold water. You can watch the video by clicking this link.

Cleaning Alaska's Razor Clams

Cooking Razor Clams

Most diggers prefer to fry razor clams, although razors make excellent chowder stock. The butterflied necks can be cut in strips, dipped in beaten egg, then in a cornmeal/flour mix and deep-fried for excellent clam strips or you can use a beer batter or tempura batter to coat the strip with. To fry the clam they should be dipped in egg and breaded with flour or cracker meal and cooked in an extremely hot skillet or deep fryer. For tender, succulent clams, cooking time should be limited to one to two minutes. Additional cooking time will cause a loss of flavor and the clams tend to become tough and leathery.

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