Fried Razor Clams and Garlic Fries

To celebrate the tentative opening of one more razor clam dig this spring, I busted out some frozen razor feet the other night and whipped together an old favorite: Fried Razor Clams and Garlic Fries. Catch that? Fried and Fries. Those of us foraging in the outdoors and dining regularly on superfoods don't worry about our occasional deepfry intake.

I've evangelized the golden razor clam before, back in the first days of this blog. Clamming for razors is a hoot, and eating them is...well...even hootier. But I neglected to supply a recipe (not that it's culinary rocket science), so here's an encore edition.

The foot of the razor clam, known as the digger, is the tenderest part. If I'm cooking frozen clams I'll use a mallet to tenderize the clams, but the diggers don't usually require such handling. For the batter I tried crackermeal instead of the standard breadcrumbs this time around, and while some folks swear by the cracker, I didn't notice an appreciable difference. My main departure is to add cajun spices. On the East Coast many clammers prefer giving their clams a good soaking in milk, evaporated milk in particular, but I find that my defrosted razors are already swimming in an ambrosial bath of milky white clam juice. Whatever works for you.

Fried Razor Clams (for two):

1/2 cup milk optional
1 egg, beaten
1/4 cup flour
1/4 cup crackermeal or breadcrumbs
seasoning to taste

Mix the flour, crackermeal, and spices in a bowl. Dip the clams into the egg, then the batter, and move immediately to a pan of hot oil or butter. Fry until deep golden, a couple minutes a side. Remove to paper towels. Pretty simple. A squeeze of lemon and more cajun spices and you're ready to eat. Cold beer is a must.