Clam Cakes, my Rhode Island style
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Author Notes: I grew up on the coast of Rhode Island where our fairs always featured clam cakes. When I was in fifth grade I made my first batch of corn fritters while I was home alone, both shocking and delighting my family. Later I got the idea of combining the corn with clams to make these hybrid cakes. If you are making clam chowder, then this is a great recipe to make along side of that. For a vegetarian version simply use 3/4 cup each of buttemilk and beer with just 1 cup of corn. - Sagegreen
Food52 Review: Sagegreen's Rhode Island style clam cakes certainly bring you back to a day at the fair. Crispy on the outside and soft and pillowy inside -- speckled with fresh corn and clams. Serve with recommended bread and butter pickles, tartar or hot sauce, these little cakes will bring a bit of yummy fun to your next gathering. - jvcooks - jvcooks
Makes 30-36
- 1-1 1/4 cup minced clams, Quahogs preferred, or other hard shell clams
- 3 eggs
- 1/2-3/4 cup corn cut off the cob, raw or cooked, silver queen or shoepeg preferred
- 1/2 cup buttermilk (or regular milk otherwise)
- 1/2 cup clam broth
- 1/2 cup beer, Narragansett suggested, or more clam broth
- 2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
- 2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon light brown sugar or maple syrup
- canola oil for deep frying
- If you are only making this recipe, then you will want around 4 quarts of unshucked clams. The easy direction is to scrub the shells well and steam just until they open. If you are not familiar with clams, and you want more help, then you may want to soak them in a gallon of cool water with about 1/3 cup of kosher salt dissolved (do not use iodized salt!) and 1 cup of cornmeal for 2-3 hours to tease out any sand. Then scrub the shells and rinse clean under cold running water. Discard any that aren’t tightly closed. I usually just scrub and steam. Put the clams in a stockpot and cover with cool water. Bring to a simmer over medium-high heat. Cover the pot and cook just until the quahogs open, about 5 minutes. Don’t overcook. Immediately remove the quahogs from the pot. Save the broth to use in a chowder base. When clams are cool, mince into 1/8 to 1/4 inch chunks. Make sure there is no sand in the bellies. Clean and rinse if needed. Sometimes I use more clams and less corn in this recipe. The total combined amount should not exceed 2 cups, but be at least 1 cup.
- Mix the eggs, milk, broth, and beer together. Stir in the minced clams and corn. If I have leftover corn on the cob, then I use cooked. If I have fresh corn, then I use it raw off the cob, as long as it is a tender kind of corn.
- Mix the dry ingredients together. Stir in the wet ingredients.
- When your oil is sizzling (@ 350), drop a tablespoon at a time of the batter into the fat. I just cooked three batches, 10-12 as a batch, in a small Dutch oven in oil about 3 inches deep . These puff up quickly, within 5 minutes. When each has turned golden brown and floats to the top, drain on paper towels. Serve in parchment cones while hot, about 6 per person. I do not like to keep these warm and serve later. So be ready to gobble them right after you cook them. Serve these up plain or with some bread and butter pickles for our odd New England tradition.
- This recipe is a Community Pick!
- This recipe was entered in the contest for Your Best Fair Food
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5 months ago kristy49
Clam cakes and chowda! So tasty, so New England, so good.
I found that I love RI style chowda made with...wait for it...chicken broth with the clam broth! Had it at Misquamicut beach at the Andrea Hotel. Dam good.
5 months ago aargersi
Abbie is a trusted source on General Cooking.
:-) http://food52.com/recipes...
5 months ago Sagegreen
Thanks. Yeah, there is something special about RI, isn't there?
almost 2 years ago Ms. T
Yay for Quahog cakes! This is making me homesick--good thing I'll be back in RI in a few weeks to get my New England fix. Congrats on the EP :)
almost 2 years ago Sagegreen
Thanks, Ms.T. Lucky you to have a RI visit coming up!
almost 2 years ago boulangere
Cynthia is a trusted source on Bread/Baking.
Oh, I just knew it! Congratulations.
almost 2 years ago Sagegreen
Thanks, b!
almost 2 years ago TheWimpyVegetarian
This is Week 1 (Day 4) of my new(est) diet. I'm trying these the minute I'm off, though. They look delicious!!! Congrats on the EP!
almost 2 years ago Sagegreen
Thanks, ChezSuzanne. We will be trading places soon!
almost 2 years ago maryderby
Its a rainy day on the RI coast and tomorrow will be also! Perfect day for chowder and fritters! I'm going to make these tomorrow! I had never thought of cooking fritters at home! Thanks!
almost 2 years ago Sagegreen
That's great, maryderby! I am so excited you are making this in RI! You have to let me know what you think. Keep your fan on and windows open. Make sure the oil is hot enough before you start. They cook up quickly. I rarely do any deep frying, but this is my exception!
almost 2 years ago Lizthechef
No way I can find these guys in San Diego. Homesick for New England and what a recipe - "quahogs", my husband had never heard of them - sigh... Thumbs up.
almost 2 years ago Sagegreen
Thanks so much, Liz. Quahogs are the best, but other hard shelled clams can work. This recipe is also great with just 1 cup of all fresh corn and 1.5 cups of plain milk, but you would then want to use 4 tsp. of baking powder with the decreased acidity. You and your husband should travel to Newport or Narragansett RI some summer!!!
almost 2 years ago lorigoldsby
I will add these to my end of summer clambake! But tell me why when soaking clams not to use iodized salt? I always use kosher or sea salts when baking because I'm very sensitive to iodine, but I'm curious...
almost 2 years ago Sagegreen
Thanks, lori. You want to use kosher or sea salt so you won't kill the clams.
almost 2 years ago mrslarkin
Mrs. Larkin is a trusted source on Baking.
VERY YUM!!!!
almost 2 years ago Sagegreen
Thanks, mrsl!
almost 2 years ago fiveandspice
Emily is a trusted source on Scandinavian Cuisine.
YUM!!!
almost 2 years ago Sagegreen
Thanks, 5&s! Your bacon corn pie looks amazing!
almost 2 years ago sexyLAMBCHOPx
very nice!
almost 2 years ago Sagegreen
Thanks, sLx!
almost 2 years ago boulangere
Cynthia is a trusted source on Bread/Baking.
Oh, wow, do these look good! How sacreligious would it be to serve them with a tartar or cocktail sauce?
almost 2 years ago Sagegreen
Thanks, boulangere. You know these are so rich, you may not want any sauce...but you should enjoy them however you like! Let me know if you make them, what you decide! These are very rich with clams...I have never thought to use cocktail sauce.
almost 2 years ago Sagegreen
It is that little hint of sweetness, almost like a plain doughnut that makes these so good on their own with the generous clam bits, but oddly paired well with pickles....you would have to try them plain first!
almost 2 years ago boulangere
Cynthia is a trusted source on Bread/Baking.
Promise!
almost 2 years ago SKK
When I was diving for the University of Connecticut Marine Lab in Noank many years ago clam cakes were my favorite! Thank you for sharing this recipe!
almost 2 years ago Sagegreen
Thanks, SKK. Clam cakes are best when you have that sea breeze, or at least the memory!
almost 2 years ago inpatskitchen
Love clams...Love clam cakes!!
almost 2 years ago Sagegreen
Thanks, ipk. They smack of summer!
almost 2 years ago sdebrango
Suzanne is a trusted source on General Cooking.
What a terrific idea! I love this. Clam chowder is one of my all time fav's.
almost 2 years ago Sagegreen
Thanks, sdebrango. Since we also had Portuguese neighbors, we grew up with both New England and Manhattan style clam chowder. Clam cakes were a special treat I had to figure out on my own since my family did not fry anything.
almost 2 years ago aargersi
Abbie is a trusted source on General Cooking.
Quahogs! I can't believe I didn't think of clam cakes! I heart this a lot and want one right now. ps we drank Narragansett beer in high school.
almost 2 years ago Sagegreen
Isn't it good? Wish you could pop over for some. I had forgotten how good clamcakes can be since I have been living inland for 30 years!