Best 6 Stuffed Clams Cape Cod Appetizer Recipes

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Are you searching for the perfect appetizer to tantalize your taste buds and impress your guests? Look no further! Discover the art of creating Stuffed Clams, a New England classic that embodies the flavors of the sea. This delectable dish combines tender clams, a savory stuffing mixture, and a crispy breadcrumb topping, resulting in an explosion of flavors. Whether you're hosting a casual gathering or a special occasion, Stuffed Clams are guaranteed to be the star of the show. Let's embark on a culinary journey to explore the secrets of making this iconic Cape Cod appetizer.

Check out the recipes below so you can choose the best recipe for yourself!

BAKED STUFFED CLAMS



Baked Stuffed Clams image

My clams are requested all the time. They are the perfect appetizer for any occasion and so easy to make. Definitely guaranteed to rival anything you get in a restaurant! Great to freeze and have as a quick snack anytime. (Note: if you don't have clam shells, form tin foil into clam shaped cups, and proceed as directed.)

Provided by Danielle Merk

Categories     Appetizers and Snacks     Seafood

Time 1h

Yield 12

Number Of Ingredients 12

24 Clean Clam Shells
2 (6.5 ounce) cans minced clams, drained with juice reserved
1 (6 ounce) can crab meat, drained
4 cups fresh bread crumbs
¼ cup minced sweet onion
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons chopped Italian flat leaf parsley
4 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons olive oil
lemon pepper to taste
paprika to taste
2 lemons, quartered

Steps:

  • Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (205 degrees C).
  • In a large frying pan, melt butter with olive oil over medium heat. Stir in onion, and cook until translucent. Stir in clams, crab meat, parsley, lemon pepper, and bread crumbs. Reduce heat to low, and slowly pour in clam juice until mixture is slightly sticky, but not wet. The bread crumbs will continue to absorb moisture, so be careful not to add too much clam juice.
  • Fill each clean clam shell with mixture, pressing tightly into shell. Arrange on a baking sheet, and sprinkle lightly with paprika. (Stuffed shells may be covered and frozen at this point for later use.)
  • Bake in the preheated oven for 20 minutes, or until golden brown and sizzling. If frozen, bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 30 minutes, or until warmed through. Serve warm on a platter with lemon wedges.

Nutrition Facts : Calories 258 calories, Carbohydrate 30 g, Cholesterol 38.5 mg, Fat 8.8 g, Fiber 2.6 g, Protein 15.3 g, SaturatedFat 3.2 g, Sodium 385.5 mg, Sugar 2.5 g

STUFFED CLAMS



Stuffed Clams image

Provided by Food Network

Categories     appetizer

Time 35m

Yield 4 servings

Number Of Ingredients 8

1 small onion, chopped
1 green pepper, diced
1 cup sliced mushrooms, sliced
2 cups clams, chopped
Ritz Crackers
1/2 cup butter
Salt, pepper and crushed garlic, to taste
Lemon wedges, for garnish

Steps:

  • Saute chopped onions, diced pepper and sliced mushrooms in 1/4 cup butter. Add to chopped clams, and season with salt, pepper and garlic.
  • Add the clam mixture to crushed Ritz crackers and 1/4 cup of melted butter until the mixture holds together but is not too greasy.
  • Stuff the clam shells with the mixture and bake for about 15 minutes at 350 degrees.
  • Garnish with a lemon wedge.

BAKED STUFFED CLAMS



Baked Stuffed Clams image

Provided by Martha Stewart

Categories     Food & Cooking     Appetizers

Yield Makes 16

Number Of Ingredients 7

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 small red onion, coarsely chopped
5 garlic cloves, crushed
1 cup dry white wine
16 littleneck or cherrystone clams (each about 3 inches wide), scrubbed
Herbed Breadcrumb Stuffing
Seaweed, for serving (optional)

Steps:

  • Heat olive oil in a pot over medium-high heat. Cook onion until softened but not browned, stirring occasionally, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and saute, stirring, just until fragrant, about 1 minute.
  • Add wine, and bring to a simmer. Add clams, and stir to combine. Cover and steam until clams have opened, 5 to 7 minutes. Remove from heat. Use a slotted spoon to transfer clams to a rimmed baking sheet to cool, discarding any that do not open. Strain clam broth through a fine sieve, and reserve broth for making stuffing.
  • When clams are cool enough to handle, remove all meat, and reserve. Remove half of each clam shell, and discard. Arrange the remaining halves on a rimmed baking sheet. Cut each clam into ½-inch pieces; return pieces to shell. (Clams can be prepared to this point up to 1 day ahead. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate.)
  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Dividing evenly, press Herbed Breadcrumb Stuffing into clam shells, smoothing with the back of a spoon. Bake until tops are golden, 25 to 30 minutes. Nestle clams on seaweed, if desired, and serve immediately.

TIM O'TOOLE'S FAMOUS STUFFED QUAHOGS



Tim O'Toole's Famous Stuffed Quahogs image

Classic stuffed quahog recipes used stale bread and lots of seasoning. But my grandmother would have appreciated the pre-seasoned stuffing adaptation in this modernized version.

Provided by Scotty

Categories     Meat and Poultry Recipes     Pork     Sausage

Time 1h

Yield 12

Number Of Ingredients 7

4 cups water
1 (16 ounce) package Portuguese chourico sausage links
12 quahogs
1 large onion, coarsely chopped
1 (12 ounce) package chicken-flavored bread stuffing mix (such as Kraft® Stove Top®)
½ cup margarine
¼ cup butter

Steps:

  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
  • Bring water to a boil over high heat. Add sausage links; reduce heat to medium and simmer for 10 minutes. Remove links from broth; reserve the broth. Remove casings from the sausage.
  • Bring the broth back to a simmer and add the quahogs; cook until they open, 5 to 10 minutes. Remove the quahogs; reserve the broth. Remove the cooked quahogs from the shells. Separate the shell halves. If necessary wash the shells.
  • Place the sausage and quahog meat into the bowl of a food processor; process until chopped, about 12 seconds, depending on your processor. Scrape mixture into a bowl. Add chopped onion to the processor; chop about 5 seconds. Stir in to the meat mixture.
  • Make the full container of stuffing according to package directions, using the margarine, and substituting the sausage/clam broth for water. There may be more broth than you need.
  • Mix together the stuffing and sausage/clam/onion mixture. Spoon filling into empty clam shell halves and top each with a small pat of butter (about a third of a teaspoon).
  • Place the shells on a baking pan; bake in the preheated oven until toasty brown on top, 15 to 20 minutes.

Nutrition Facts : Calories 350.3 calories, Carbohydrate 23.7 g, Cholesterol 43.4 mg, Fat 23.2 g, Fiber 1.1 g, Protein 11.2 g, SaturatedFat 7.8 g, Sodium 901.2 mg, Sugar 2.9 g

BAKED CLAM "STUFFIES"



Baked Clam

These stuffed clams are a Rhode Island specialty! Large clams can be tough because of their size-but when steamed and chopped, they add bite and briny flavor to a soft, chorizo-vegetable stuffing. Finished in the oven for a golden Parmesan crust, this is a fun, satisfying appetizer to eat, straight from the shell.

Provided by Michael Ruhlman

Categories     main-dish

Time 1h15m

Yield 6 servings

Number Of Ingredients 14

1 1/2 cups Water, approximately, depending on size of Dutch oven
12 large clams, such as Cherrystone or Quahog
1 medium yellow onion, about 1 cup diced
1/2 red bell pepper, about 1 cup diced
2 ribs celery, about 1 cup diced
2 large cloves garlic, or 3 small
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, ½ stick
6 ounces Portuguese or Spanish chorizo (cooked, spicy, smoked sausage), cut into a small dice
1/2 teaspoon dried red pepper flakes
15 Ritz crackers, about ½ cup crushed
3/4 cup seasoned breadcrumbs
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
1 lemon
hot sauce

Steps:

  • Steam clams: Preheat oven to 350 F. Rinse clams in water to remove any sand or grit. (Alternatively, clams can be soaked in water up to 1 hour.) In a large Dutch oven over high heat, bring 1 inch of water to a boil. Add clams to the boiling water; cover and reduce heat to medium. Cook until clams are open, 7-10 minutes, checking after 5 minutes. Meanwhile, prepare the vegetables.
  • Vegetables: Small-dice the onion. Remove and discard the seeds and white ribs from bell pepper, then small-dice. Trim away the top and bottom of the celery, then small-dice. Roughly mince the garlic. Set all the vegetables aside.
  • After 5 minutes, check the clams; transfer the ones that have opened to a bowl. Continue steaming the remaining clams until they are all open, discarding the ones that are cracked or don't open; reserve the clam broth in the Dutch oven. Allow the clams and clam broth to cool.
  • Stuffing: In a large sauté pan over medium heat, melt the butter. When foamy, add vegetables and sweat until soft, stirring occasionally, 6-8 minutes. Meanwhile, remove clams from their shells; set the shells aside. Optional: Cut the clams in half, then remove and discard any dark detritus in the bellies. Roughly chop the clams, then set aside.Separate the clam shells at their hinges; rinse and dry, then pick 12 of the nicest-looking half-shells and scrape off any muscle that remains attached. Set aside.
  • When the vegetables are soft, add the chopped clams, chorizo, and red pepper flakes. Stir and cook until the chorizo fat begins to render, 1-2 minutes. Meanwhile, place Ritz crackers in a plastic zip-top bag. Crush into a coarse meal using a rolling pin, and set aside. (Note: If using unseasoned breadcrumbs, add a pinch of dried parsley, dried thyme, and dried oregano, and mix to combine.)
  • Set a coffee filter into a small bowl. Strain about 1 cup of the reserved clam broth through the filter to remove sand and impurities. Set aside the strained broth.To the clam mixture, add ½ cup breadcrumbs, the crushed crackers, and ½ cup strained broth. Stir to combine, adding more breadcrumbs as necessary for a moist, stuffing-like consistency. Turn off heat and let cool, 10 minutes.
  • Bake: Place the 12 clean, dried shells on a rimmed baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Heap each shell with plenty of clam stuffing, lightly packing it so nothing spills out. Top with freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano. Bake until Stuffies are heated through and begin to brown on top, 15-20 minutes.When Stuffies are lightly brown, turn on the broiler. Place the tray on the top rack, 6 inches from the heat source, and broil until brown and crusty on top, about 2 minutes. (Keep a close eye on the Stuffies so they don't burn!)
  • Remove from oven and arrange shells on a serving platter. Serve immediately, with lemon wedges and hot sauce on the side.

STUFFED CLAMS ~ CAPE COD APPETIZER



Stuffed Clams ~ Cape Cod appetizer image

This recipe comes from a cookbook "Flavors of Cape Cod" Wonderful fresh seafood ~ enjoy.

Provided by Carol Junkins @CarolAJ

Categories     Seafood Appetizers

Number Of Ingredients 11

1 1/2 cup(s) ground clams
1 1/4 cup(s) plain breadcrumbs
1 1/4 cup(s) seasoned breadcrumbs
1/2 large onion, chopped
1/2 large pepper, chopped
2 tablespoon(s) butter
2 tablespoon(s) chopped parsley
1/2 cup(s) clam broth
18 - clam shells
1 - lemon
- paprika

Steps:

  • Saute' onions and pepper in butter or margarine until soft. Mix all ingredients together. Stuff into clam shells. Put pat of butter on each clam and sprinkle with paprika. Squeeze a few drops of juice over each clam. Bake in pre-heated oven for 15 minutes at 350 degrees.

Tips:

  • Fresh clams are key: Use the freshest clams you can find. Look for clams that are tightly closed and have a briny smell. Avoid clams that are open or have a foul odor.
  • Properly clean the clams: Clams can be gritty, so it's important to clean them properly before cooking. Scrub the clams under cold water with a stiff brush to remove any dirt or debris. Then, soak the clams in cold water for 30 minutes to allow them to purge any sand or grit.
  • Use a variety of fillings: The possibilities for fillings are endless. Get creative and use your favorite ingredients. Some popular fillings include bread crumbs, herbs, bacon, cheese, and seafood. Consider the flavors of the broth you're using when choosing your fillings.
  • Don't overcook the clams: Clams are delicate and can easily be overcooked. Cook them just until they are opaque and tender. Overcooked clams will be tough and chewy.
  • Serve immediately: Stuffed clams are best served immediately after they are cooked. This will ensure that they are hot and juicy.

Conclusion:

Stuffed clams are a delicious and versatile appetizer that is perfect for any occasion. With a variety of fillings to choose from, there is sure to be a recipe that everyone will enjoy. Whether you are looking for a classic recipe or something more creative, you are sure to find the perfect stuffed clam recipe in this article. So next time you're looking for a delicious and easy appetizer, give stuffed clams a try. You won't be disappointed!

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