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A brief history of clams casino
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Joined: 06 February 2010
Location: Cumberland, RI
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    Posted: 27 December 2011 at 04:39
Clams Casino, a fairly well-known dish by most of us is a uniquely Rhode Island contribution the the culinary history of New England. Usually a topping of bread crumbs and bacon is what designates the style as "casino", but many variations do occur as you can see below.


The classic clams casino was invented by Julius Keller in 1917. Julius was the Maitre d' at the casino restaurant and was asked to have something "special" prepared to impress the dinner guests of Mrs. Paran Stevens, a well-to-do socialite of the time. She was so impressed she dubbed the dish Clams Casino in honor of the casino restaurant where it was born.


There have been a myriad of variations on this dish since it's inception....the Portuguese may use chourico , the Italians may use pancetta, the French may use Canadian bacon, the original main ingredients are bacon, beadcrumbs, butter, worcestershire sauce,peppers, garlic, shallots, white wine, lemon juice, parsley and possibly some tabasco sauce.

The technique involved is obviously to open the clams (littlenecks or cherrystones) remove them from the shells to clean them and then put the clam back into the deeper half of the shell, and if possible to set it on a baking sheet cover with rock salt (so the clams won't rock and roll) then top them with your crumb mix, a piece of partially cooked bacon and cook in either a very hot 500°+ oven, or under a broiler for about ten m,inutes, then spritz with lemon juice and serve.

I will be preparing this dish for some dear friends over the weekend and will be doing the classic take on it. Now that my camera has been replaced with a new one, I'll be able to do a step by step tutorial for you all.

I will update as the dish comes to fruition.
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Joined: 25 January 2010
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Points: 9389 		Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote TasunkaWitko Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 27 December 2011 at 07:08
looks really good! i'll be waiting for the tutorial!
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Points: 3454 		Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Hoser Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 01 January 2012 at 03:46
Here we are then...clams casino "by the numbers"

First we take two dozen littlenecks and shuck them over a bowl, attempting to save as much clam juice as possible.
It really helps if you happen to have a gadget like this one:


Then saute some onion, garlic and peppadews in 4 tbsp butter, add some parsley, a splash of white wine , a splash of worcestershire sauce ,the reserved clam juice, seasoned bread crumbs,  and crushed Ritz crackers.


Allow the mixture to cool and partially cook 24 topping-sized pieces of bacon...just saute for a few minutes...we'll crisp them under the broiler.

Now we're ready to assemble...when you shuck the clams, remove the clam completely from the shell, rinse any grit or shell pieces out and replace in the deep half of the shell. Top with the bread crumb mixture..a heaping teaspoon or so, then a piece of the partially cooked bacon.


Then I like to set them in a baking dish in either rock salt or in this case I used pea beans (just to keep the shells from rocking and rolling around).


After that, crank your broiler up to 500° or so and put the clams under the broiler 6-8" away for 5-8 minutes, or until the bacon is nice and crispy.

garnish and serve immediately with lemon wedges.


I neglected to take pictures of the remaining portion of the dinner until it was too late. Suffice it to say that this is all that was left:

Thanks for looking, and Happy New Year everyone!
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Joined: 25 January 2010
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Points: 9389 		Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote TasunkaWitko Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 02 January 2012 at 10:24
saw this yesterday morning and then had to let the pup out - forgot to reply!
 
dave, this is one beautiful example of some great and unique new england traditional eating! i'm loving it, and it looks like a good time was had by alll!
 
as you know, the only real access i have to clams out here is frozen/pre-cooked - think it would work, if i dribbled a little clam juice in as well?
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Joined: 06 February 2010
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Points: 3454 		Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Hoser Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 02 January 2012 at 16:14
Originally posted by TasunkaWitko TasunkaWitko wrote:

saw this yesterday morning and then had to let the pup out - forgot to reply!
 
dave, this is one beautiful example of some great and unique new england traditional eating! i'm loving it, and it looks like a good time was had by alll!
 
as you know, the only real access i have to clams out here is frozen/pre-cooked - think it would work, if i dribbled a little clam juice in as well?

It obviously would not be quite the same Ron, but the frozen type might be ok as long as they are not overcooked....that's the secret to the technique in this recipe...the stuffing and bacon shield the clam from becoming too tough under the broiler.
Couldn't hurt to try! good luckThumbs Up
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