Baked Clams

The very first seafood dish I ever ate was baked clams. And I was hooked immediately. It was at a restaurant that had one of those complete dinner options: appetizer, salad, soup, entrée, dessert. And even as a 10-year-old pip squeak, my appetizer was always baked clams. I’ve tweaked this recipe repeatedly until I found one that is as good as I remember and is easy to make.

Since I am not one to shuck clams, you will find canned clams in this recipe. I apologize to those who enjoy that kind of thing, but I just can’t do it.  I think this recipe makes up for it, however. It’s pretty darn good. 🙂

Ingredients:

1 stick of butter
¼ cup chopped onion
3 cloves garlic, minced
4 tbsp. fresh parsley (or 1 1/2 tbsp. dried parsley)
1 ½ tsp. oregano
2 cans chopped clams
¼ tsp. salt
¼ tsp. pepper
2 tsp. sugar
½ cup panko bread crumbs
½ cup plus 1 tbsp. seasoned bread crumbs

Step 1: Sauté the onion and garlic in the butter over medium heat for 2-3 minutes or until onion turns soft. Stir in parsley, oregano, bread crumbs, salt, pepper, and sugar. Reduce heat to low and add the can of clams (including the liquid). Heat for 1-2 minutes, or until liquid has absorbed into the bread crumbs. Transfer mixture to a bowl and refrigerate at least two hours (can also be refrigerated overnight).

Step 2: Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Spoon filling into aluminum clam shells (I order these on Amazon). Bake for approximately 20-25 minutes or until lightly browned