Make Ahead

Corn, Bacon, and Clam Stew

August 25, 2010
5
5 Ratings
Photo by Rocky Luten
  • Serves 4
Test Kitchen Notes

We tend to think of one-pot meals as limited to cold wintry nights. But some of the best one pot meals, like paella and clam bakes, are made for summer time. Matt Greco, the chef at Char No. 4 in Brooklyn, came up with a marvelous corn dish that’s layered into a braising pot on the stove (though you could also do it out on your grill if you’d like.). Matt browns bacon (he makes his own, of course, but you should use whatever kind you like from the grocery store), then adds smoked paprika, corn, and bourbon. To finish the dish, he nestles littleneck clams into the corn, letting them steam open right in the pot, and showers the dish with chopped basil. Summer squared. - A
—The Editors

What You'll Need
Ingredients
  • 2 tablespoons Olive oil
  • 1/2 pound thick-cut bacon, cut into lardons
  • 1 tablespoon sweet smoked paprika
  • 6 ears corn, shucked and cut from the cobs
  • Salt, to taste
  • 1/2 pound sungold yellow cherry tomatoes, halved
  • half of one lemon
  • 3 tablespoons bourbon
  • 16 littleneck clams, scrubbed well
  • 8 thick slices country bread, for serving
  • small handful basil leaves, torn
Directions
  1. Place a large, deep heavy soup pot over medium heat. Add the oil and bacon, and cook until the fat is rendered and the lardons are browned. Stir in the paprika and cook for 30 seconds.
  2. Add the corn, season with salt, and stir, cooking for about 2 minutes. Stir in the tomatoes and cover. Cook until the tomatoes soften, about 5 minutes.
  3. Squeeze in the juice from the lemon and pour in the bourbon, stir, and turn off the heat. Add the clams with the mouth facing up. Turn on the heat to medium, cover the pot, and cook the until the clams open, 5 to 10 minutes. Meanwhile, grill or toast the bread. Remove the pot from the heat, sprinkle with basil, and bring the bread and the pot -- and a trivet -- to the table for serving.
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59 Reviews

Sofia Z. August 2, 2023
I was craving seafood yesterday but wanted something easy to make. Boy, this was the recipe to make! I did not have bourbon so I just substituted it with water. The dish was still a flavor bomb so I am curious to try with bourbon next time. Will be making it again for sure...
 
mgtmcki November 10, 2021
This was fantastic. I cut the recipe in half for 2 servings, however, I up'd the number of clams to 20 and kept the 3 tbs of bourbon. It was great. No leftovers.
 
Sheltie_Mom_4ever May 22, 2021
Oh my! This looks amazing! Seems so simple, yet fancy and delicious. Can’t wait to try!
 
meryl September 16, 2020
can I make ahead?
 
Tom B. July 2, 2017
First time trying fresh clams at home—plus a few mussels since Pike Place Market is just down the hill. Restaurant-style perfection at home! Thanks for a simple and easy recipe.
 
Chef D. November 28, 2015
Great photography in this recipe, well done!
and who doesnt like something with bacon :)
 
Mallory August 7, 2015
I know there's no real substitute for bacon...but any ideas? Or would it be decent without the bacon?
 
James Y. August 1, 2015
Just so happens that I planted sun golds this year and the sweet corn is just now coming in in SW Pennsylvania. This recipe is awesome. I now have 4 'must haves' that define summer. BlackBerry pie, Mexican street fair corn, a tomato sandwich and this.
 
Jaclyn R. September 1, 2014
Is there a suggested substitute for the bourbon? Something non-alcoholic...
 
Beautiful dish combining smoky, sweet and salty. Brilliant. Used 1/2 Tbs smoked paprika (not sweet) as other reviews mentioned and cognac instead of bourban. I served over rice but I see works probably better with crusty bread. My 2 year old enjoyed it as well. Did it without cherry tomatoes since they are not yet in season but looking forward to trying it again soon when the sungolds come out. Thank you for this great recipe!
 
David J. August 28, 2013
This was a wonderful dish. However, I might go a little lighter on the smoked paprika. It pushed the dish a little far in the direction of dark. Otherwise, great dish!
 
kath1 August 15, 2013
This was delicious, thanks Matt. I used mussels instead, too landlocked for clams. I think it would be amazing with chorizo (the raw cured sausage not the minced meat or sliced sausage) instead of bacon and will try that next time.
 
Monica M. July 9, 2013
This looks amazing!
 
Canuck July 8, 2013
Can you add other stuff like prawns and mussels?
 
drbabs July 9, 2013
Yes!
 
ElisaLouk May 16, 2013
I made this for a girls dinner party and it came out just as beautifully as the picture!! Super yummy. The yellow cherry tomatoes were new to me and SO good. Plus, anything that has a half pound of bacon can't be that bad!
 
QueenSashy May 14, 2013
Cannot wait for summer to make this dish!
 
Jenelle B. January 20, 2013
could I substitute mussels in the dish?
 
htan January 17, 2013
I've made this a few times and its ALWAYS delicious!! my favorite thing to do with clams in the summer
 
Digitalmikey December 29, 2012
Made it a couple of times now and always liked. It's also great due to the simplicity and the quick cooking time!
 
rochelle123 August 26, 2012
This was excellent!! I reduced the smoked paprika to 1/2 T as suggested by another reviewer. These were the flavors of August!
 
joycew July 28, 2012
made this with a couple of changes based on what was on hand. subbed in red cherry tomatoes and scotch for bourbon and a few shrimp. it didn't need any additional salt with the bacon. pretty and delicious. leftovers reheated nicely for lunch the next day. will definitely be making this again, perhaps with a combo of mussels and shrimp.
 
Tess D. July 23, 2012
This was wonderful. I added some small red potatoes and since we were out of bourbon used what was on hand - tequila. It was met was rave reviews. The next day, I added the leftovers to a salad with quinoa and feta. Totally fabulous and simple to prepare.
 
student E. July 22, 2012
absolutely delicious! i actually completely forgot to add the bourbon and it was still very good.
 
Texas E. July 19, 2012
Delicious dish made according to the recipe. Wonderful layers of flavor, and I was pleasantly surprised the smoked paprika, bacon and bourbon shared the stage so well. Thanks!
 
peppertree January 28, 2011
Just made this, and let me tell you... You will find heaven in this dish!
 
SuzChef September 15, 2010
We had this for dinner last night.. so quick & easy, and the broth was to die for! Hoping the sungolds will last another week so I can make it next weekend for a dinner party. Awesome!
 
CuriousH September 12, 2010
very, very delicious and easy to make. my parents, who I made it for, loved the flavor and we couldn't pinpoint what the unique flavor was, but I'm guessing it was a combo of the bourbon, smoked paprika and the clam juice. i used red cherry tomatoes instead, and it added nice color to the dish. do the yellow sungolds really make a difference in the flavor?

also, my parents loved it so much they are making it for friends next weekend, but adding lobster, as well :)
 
strozyk September 7, 2010
I made this with the following change - added some shallot (couldn't help myself) and swapped the bacon and paprika for hot Spanish chorizo. Delish. I would have never thought to add the lemon and bourbon. I used the Knob Creek we had in the house. The bourbon drinkers then started pouring. Fun dish!
 
HilaFree September 6, 2010
Summer in a pot! This was gorgeous so simple so perfect. Added a few finely diced shallots with the corn and served over some parsley roasted potatoes. Yum!
 
melissav September 2, 2010
I didn't make it the seafood market in time to get some clams so I made this with chicken thighs (adding some chicken stock with the bourbon to make up for the missing clam liquor) and it was an awesome. Can't wait to make it with clams.
 
laurielufkin September 2, 2010
This looks wonderful!!
 
Jocelyn G. September 2, 2010
We really enjoyed this last night. Now if I could only figure out what to do with the 99% of the bottle of bourbon that's left over!
 
MissGinsu September 1, 2010
Bourbon! Wouldn't have thought of that, but I'll try it in my next corn chowder.
 
TheWimpyVegetarian September 1, 2010
Congrats Matt - this dish was absolutely delicious!
 
mrslarkin September 1, 2010
Congrats Matt!
 
bprinz September 1, 2010
Made this last night and it was so, so delicious. I think next time I might use a bit less of the smoked paprika -- 1T was a lot and came close to overpowering the dish. But still, it was delicious and there was nothing left in the pot at the end!
 
MarthaLynn August 29, 2010
We made this last night to unanimous raves. Bourbon, bacon and sungolds made for a lovely, complex taste, but so simple to whip up. I made the mistake of serving it as a starter course. It's very filling and would have been fine as a main course with good bread and a salad. Thanks for sharing, Matt!
 
bolagirl August 29, 2010
I love this recipe but I kept wishing the very nice chef was using a wooden spoon instead of scraping the creuset with metal.....
 
bistro_gal August 28, 2010
Made this for lunch today and hubby swooned. I had some littlenecks from Vital Choice in the freezer and did not know what to do with them; this recipe was perfect! Easy to make and amazing flavor. Absolutely delicious!
 
TheWimpyVegetarian August 27, 2010
Made this tonight. Really delish!!! Didn't have any bourbon hanging around, so I used rum and it tasted wonderful! Thanks for this great recipe.
 
maryvelasquez August 27, 2010
Wow. This dish has some unexpected depth. The paprika-bacon-bourbon combo gives a complex smokiness to some pretty straightforward, bright flavors. And the lemon juice is pure genius. I was skeptical about the absence of garlic and/or onion, but I didn't miss it in this stew--I did rub my grilled bread with a garlic clove though. We drank a Spanish rose with this (not intentionally, it was what we had chilled) and it was a great match.
 
Andrew A. August 27, 2010
You must try this...delicious!
 
pierino August 27, 2010
Chipotle is itself a smoked pepper (jalapeno) so that would not be a substitute for the paprika for someone who can't/doesn't want to taste it.
 
Rhonda35 August 27, 2010
I know that - Antonia didn't state it was an allergy - if it is, then, obviously, she should just omit the paprika and move on with the rest of the recipe.
 
mtlabor August 27, 2010
This looks absolutely amazing!
 
pierino August 27, 2010
Maybe it's an east coast v. west coast thing (Spy versus Spy), but I would use the smallest clams I could find, say Manila clams just for a sweeter flavor to match the corn.
 
Sagegreen August 26, 2010
Nestled littlenecks: That does it for me!
 
mrslarkin August 26, 2010
This, and a nice hunka bread - yum!
 
lapadia August 26, 2010
I'm with you on the "hunka bread" mrslarkin - recipe and picture is mouthwatering Delcious!
 
TheWimpyVegetarian August 26, 2010
This looks absolutely amazing. This is getting made for dinner in the next couple nights for sure!! I can't wait to try it.
 
drbabs August 26, 2010
My husband is allergic to all bivalves, but I can totally see making this with shrimp. In fact, I know just what i'm going to make for dinner tomorrow night...
 
Lizthechef August 26, 2010
I'll bet this would be wonderful with shrimp, maybe adding them after heat is off with pot covered? Or, you could invite me over and we could eat it with clams ;)
 
fraîchement August 26, 2010
my kind of dish also. i love the simplicity of the ingredient list. i am going to have to try this soon!
 
lastnightsdinner August 26, 2010
This looks incredible - my kind of dish.
 
AntoniaJames August 26, 2010
If you were serving to someone who could not eat paprika, what would you use instead? Thank you! ;o)
 
Rhonda35 August 27, 2010
I would just skip the paprika or I would, perhaps, substitute the 1T of smoked paprika with 1 tsp chipotle chile powder.
 
thirschfeld August 27, 2010
AJ it sounds to me like someone has an allergy to capsicums (peppers). Why don't you try cooking it on the grill and add a few water soaked hickory chips to the fire.
 
Rhonda35 August 27, 2010
That's a great idea, thirschfeld!