Sooo ... if you like Clams on the half-shell and/or Clams Casino ... and you like to grill.
"The Place" - Roasted Clams on the Half-Shell
Get some nice fresh clams. Size ... you want the size that you would enjoy eating raw clams on the half-shell.
Pop them open as you would for clams on the half-shell ... as many as you want to eat ... I know this is labor intensive, but well worth the end result.
OR
You could put the clams on the grill to get them to open, but if you do that, you want to get them off as soon as they open. Obviously, let them cool off before handling them any further. If I open them this way, I have a pair of the rubberized oven mitts that can withstand ridiculous amounts of heat ... so I would use them to pop them open and tear one half of the shell away while they are still hot ... very clumsy tho.
Ready ? ...
Squeeze a little lemon onto each clam half.
Put a pat of butter on each clam half (not too much).
Plop a good helping of cocktail sauce on each clam half.
Place the clams on the grill and close the cover to get them started and then keep checking so as to not burn them.
What will happen is the liquid in the cocktail sauce will evaporate and it will turn into a nice thick pasty topping.
My wife prefers that I leave the clams on until the sauce, towards the edges of the clam, actually starts to caramelize .. but you have to stay on top of them to get them to that point because it doesn't take much after that for them to go "over the edge".
Once you take them off the grill ... give 'em a little time to cool ... those clams shell can get REAL HOT !!!
My Cocktail sauce
Put enough ketchup in a bowl to make the quantity needed.
Put a hefty tablespoon (or 2) of good Horseradish in with the ketchup.
Squeeze some lemon in there.
Add some green Tabasco Sauce (not the red) ... about 6-8 good shakes should do it. The green sauce is somewhat mild, but has a very distinct flavor that I love.
A couple of shakes of Worcestershire Sauce.
Mix well ... taste ... adjust to your taste, if needed. Personally, I like a cocktail sauce that opens up the nasal passages.
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I was introduced to these at an eating establishment on the Connecticut shore (Guilford) called ... "The Place".
It is an all outdoor eatery ... specializing in seafood, yet they have steaks and the like.
There are no reservations.
There are no appetizers.
There is no alcohol.
BUT ... you bring your own apps and beer/wine ... even better.
When you arrive, you better have cooler in tow.
When you get to the entrance, you will see people lined up in the parking lot to get in ... with their coolers, enjoying glasses of wine and cheese or whatever, as they await their table.
Once your in, they bring you to your table ... which was, in a previous life, a wire spool ... a big wire spool. Your chairs ... they are thick logs, just the right height for the table and thick enough to be stable. Don't like the one you have ... find another one at another table and roll it over.
Now ... while waiting to decide what we were going to eat (no rush) ... the couple that took us there asked if we liked clams. Well, I responded with a resounding .. YES.
He call the waiter over and ask for 2 dozen clams ... fine by me ... what are you going to have ? ... hehe.
15 minutes later, the waiter approaches the tables with these industrial oven mitts on his hands, carrying two metal "grill-like" surfaces. On each "grill" was 1 dozen clams ... that were cooked as I described above ... and he places these red hot grills on the table ... awesome !!! No wonder they use used wire spools ... they can take the beating.
I taste the first clam with some trepidation ... it was like horseradish candy !!! ... hard to describe ... I was in Clam heaven.
In the course of the night, I think I personally ate 3 dozen clams myself ... I swear it's all in the cooking of the clams with the cocktail sauce, at the same time, that makes the magic.
I did get up and go to where they grilled them so I could ... OBSERVE AND STEAL !!!
Here is a write up on "The Place" ...
The Place is as plain as its name: an open-air clambake by the side of Route One. Tree stumps are chairs and cable spools are tables. They are all arranged in a sunny clearing around a smoky wood fire where seafood is cooked to order by the shirt-sleeved staff. Tents are erected for when it rains.
The menu includes bluefish, which we are told by experts is delicious. But for us, The Place is a place to eat clams, lobsters, and corn. The one need-to-eat dish is littleneck clams roasted over wood, split open, daubed with hot sauce and put back on the fire just long enough for the sauce and clam juice come together in perfect, picnic harmony. There are steamer clams, too; and don't forget corn-on-the-cob. It is cooked in its husk and swabbed with melted butter. All other accoutrements -- including bread and salad, wine and beer (and glasses for wine and beer, if you want them), you must bring yourself.
The Place is open only in the summer, starting the last weekend in April; and on a nice weekend day it can be maddeningly crowded. But come late at night on a weekday, and it is a happy retreat from the bustle of shoreline shops and traffic.
