The encyclopædia of practical cookery

(3) For this soup fifty large, or one hundred small Clams will be required. In removing them from the shell, carefully preserve the liquor, which should be strained into a saucepan, and add to it lqt. each of milk and water. If the Clams are large cut them into halves, put them into the saucepan, and boil over a moderate fire until they are tender, say for about one hour. Skim the soup clear, add to it ^lb. of crackers (broken small), or jib. of butter crackers (rolled fine) ; cover the pot for ten minutes ; then add jib. of butter, and serve hot. (4) Wash 1 pint of Clams and steam them in their own liquor, cut the soft part from the hard, and chop the latter very fine. Thicken 1 pint of hot cream with 1 table-spoonful of flour, cooked in 1 table-spoonful of butter ; then add both the soft and hard parts of the Clams, and season with salt and pepper. If the puree be too thick, add a little more cream or a little of the Clam liquor. Put it on to boil, and when quite hot strain it, and serve in a tureen. Fried Clams. — Wash a bunch, or 1 pint of soft Clams removed from their shells, in cold water, to free them from sand, and lay them separately on a towel to dry ; have ready a fryingkettle half full of fat, and set this over the fire. Whilst the fat is heating, prepare a dish of beaten raw eggs, and a platter of cracker-dust or breadcrumbs ; roll the Clams in the crumbs, then dip them in the beaten eggs ; again roll them in crumbs, and when the fat is smoking hot, put them into it, and fry to a golden brown. Take them out with a skimmer, lay them on brown paper to drain off the fat, and serve hot. Fried Clams should be sent to table with a garnish of lemon, cut into quarters, or a dish of sliced fresh or pickled cabbage. Little-necked Clams served Raw. — Wash some of these Clams in water, scrubbing them with a brush, wipe them dry on a cloth, open them, and cut them away from the shells. Put five in a plate on the half shells, with half a lemon placed in the centre of the plate, and serve with crackers and a small dish of finely-chopped cold cabbage. Scalloped Clams. — (1) Well wash six good-sized Clam shells, fill them with Clam forcemeat, flatten them with the hand sprinkle over sifted breadcrumbs, smooth the surface with the blade of a knife, and moisten with a little clarified butter. Arrange them on a baking-pan, and bake until they are well browned, which will take about six minutes. Place them on a hot dish, and serve at once, with sprigs of parsley for garnish. (2) Prepare as for Steamed Clams. Make a white fish sauce, put the fish into shells or in a hollow dish, pour the sauce over them, sprinkle over a few buttered crumbs, put them in the oven, and bake until of a light brown colour. Soft-Clam Soup. — Cleanse 1 pint of soft Clams in 2qts. of cold water until they are free from sand, and then strain the water through a towel fine enough to retain the sand. Cut the hard part of the Clams away from the soft portions, and put the latter in a cool place till the soup is nearly done ; then chop For details respecting Culinary Processes, Utensils, Sauces, <1 c., referred to, see under their special heads. Clams — continued.