The pictures below show how to clean a clam. They are all just about identical in the cleaning process, so the clam cleaning pictures below apply to most species of clams. First, you'll need to soak you clams in fresh, cold water for an hour or two. That will draw the necks of the clams out, and they will expel some of the sand they are holding making them easier to clean. My rule of thumb with cleaning clams is quite simple. Everything is edible but the stomach, and everything requires a very, very good rinsing. All you need is a good sharp knife, some patience and you'll be cleaning clams in no time. Step 1: Soak the clam - Step 2: wash the clam with cold water; step 3: cut the clam open with a sharp knife being careful not to go too deep; you just want to open the shell; step 4: rinse again and now place your knife up the neck of the clam and cut it (see the pictures for help); step 5: rinse again and make another cut on the neck severing about 1/2 inch from the top; step 6: cut away the meat from the shell; step 7: locate the stomach (bulging and brown) and DISCARD all the contents ("I say if it's close to the stomach and it's not white, don't eat it"). Step 8: rinse again, peel the skin away from the neck (hot water helps) and you have meat that looks like the picture above. That's just four small clams and is more than enough meat to make a family sized clam chowder.
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