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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