Stuffed Clam

Stuffed clam is a seafood based dish, also known by the name “stuffies”. The dish is well-liked in New England, and is often prepared by stuffing clam shells with a mixture of clam meat and bread crumbs. The other ingredients used in the calm stuffing often consist of meat (bacon, crabmeat, pork etc), lemon juice, garlic, onions, and several herbs and spices. The clam shells used in the dish refer to hard shells of quahog, which is a marine bivalve. The stuffed clam shells can be frozen and baked the next day. The Italian variant which makes use of Italian parsley is one of the popular recipe variants. Though, most of the recipes call for the use of canned minced clam and clam shells for preparing the dish, however, one of the recipes suggests steaming the quahog until the shells crack; removing the meat from the shells, which is used as one of the stuffing ingredients; and spreading the stuffing mix on bottom portion of cracked shells, before baking them in oven.    

 

Commonly Used Ingredients and Preparation Overview of Stuffed Clams

A popular stuffed clam recipe suggests using clam shells, minced clams (along with its juice), crab meat, sweet onions, minced garlic, bread crumbs, Italian parsley, olive oil, butter, lemons, lemon pepper (seasoning made of crackled black peppercorns and granulated lemon zest), and paprika as the ingredients.

 

The preparation process suggests sautéing onions in a mix of olive oil and butter before stirring in minced clams, parsley, crabmeat, bread crumbs, and lemon pepper. The clam juice is added gradually to make the clam stuffing little thick, but not runny. The stuffing mix is then filled into clam shells, which are baked in oven until sizzling, after sprinkling paprika on top. The dish is served warm with lemon wedges.        

 

Stuffed Clam Recipe Variations

A couple of popular recipe variations of stuffed clam are discussed here:

 

  • Romano cheese and white wine based stuffed clams- this is a popular Italian variant which suggests preparing the clam stuffing by combining Romano cheese with bread crumbs, Italian parsley, dried oregano, clam meat, olive oil, safflower oil, and black pepper. Already opened clam shells (taking the bottom portion only) are spread with the stuffing mix, and white wine is poured over them and in the baking tray before placing the dish in oven.   

 

  • Mushroom stuffed clam- the recipe for this dish suggests stuffing clam shells with a mix of minced clams, garlic, mushrooms, and clam juice, and then baking stuffed shells in oven after sprinkling cheese on top.

 

Nutrition Information about Stuffed Clams

Stuffed clam contains the goodness of clam, which is known for its high iron content. Women, who often suffer from iron deficiency during menopause, benefit a lot due to consumption of clams. Further, anemia, a disease associated with iron deficiency, is treated very well with the help of intake of clams. Apart from being a good source of iron, it is also enriched with other minerals like phosphorus, zinc, potassium, copper, selenium, and manganese. Clams also contain omega 3 fatty acids, which are considered to be heart friendly.