Garlic Butter Steamer Clams Recipe (Soft Shell Clams)

4.70 from 10 votes

Garlic Butter Steamer Clams Recipe (Soft Shell Clams)

Garlic Butter Steamer Clams — a quick and flavorful recipe featuring New England soft-shell clams (steamers), cooked in garlic herb butter and white wine, ready in just 15 minutes. Perfect for seafood lovers seeking an easy yet delicious meal.

Prep Time10

Cook Time5

Total Time15

Course: Clams

Cuisine: American Recipes

Keyword: Garlic Butter Steamers, Steamer Clams

Servings: people

Author: Bee Yinn Low

Ingredients

2 tablespoons butter melted
2 cloves garlic minced
1 1/2 lbs steamer clams soft shell clams, cleaned and scrubbed
1/4 cup white wine
1 tablespoon flat-leaf Italian parsley chopped
salt to taste

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Heat a small pot and add the melted butter. Sauté the garlic until fragrant, but not browned. Add the soft shell clams to the pot, stirring to combine. Pour in the white wine and cover the pot with its lid.
Steam and cook for about 5 minutes, or until all the clams have opened. Add parsley and salt to taste. Serve immediately with crusty bread.

Notes

Choose fresh, live clams with closed shells. Do not use frozen clams.
To clean steamer clams, first discard any rotten or open clams. Next, soak the clams in salted water for 20-30 minutes to remove sand. Scrub the shells with a soft brush and rinse under cold water.
Sauté fresh garlic in butter until fragrant, being careful not to burn it, before adding the clams.
Discard any clams that remain unopened as they may be bad.
The black coloration on the top of siphon is natural pigmentation, due to by environmental factors in their habitat. It's normal and you do not need to cut off the black end on the siphon of a steamer clam. You may pull of and remove the membrane covering the siphon and eat the rest of it.

Nutrition