Wood Fired Clams and Oysters Rockefeller with Crusty Sour Dough Bread

I love clams that have been steamed open in a broth of butter, garlic, and reduced white wine. For me, this dish is all about mopping up that aromatic tide pool with a thick slice of crusty sour dough bread. The first time I had steamed clams was at Scomas on the wharf in San Francisco. My home town. Scomas is one of the last seafood restaurants on fisherman’s wharf that does not cater to tourist and the quality is excellent. My first memories of eating sour dough bread was with my father. He was the manager of a local grocery store and would grab a loaf off the shelf that was still warm and butter it. Now day’s, when I eat butter on my French bread, I like it room temperature with ice-cold butter. Like they do on the wharf in San Francisco.

There are so many clams to choose from, where do you start? No matter what type of clam you choose, make sure to ask your fishmonger to show you the harvest date that’s required to be on the bag the clams were transported in. Forget that the clams are still closed, that’s not necessarily a guarantee of freshness. Don’t buy any clams that are more than 2 weeks past the harvest date. I like to use the smallest clams I can find. I prefer to use Little Neck clams with this recipe. They are perfect for steaming because they are so tender.

Oysters are found all over the world and chances are you can find ones that came from a coastal area near you. Even if you live in the middle of the country, you should be able to get fresh oysters that have been harvested within our 2-week window.

And what about the crusty sour dough bread you ask? I certainly have my local favorites that I buy. Thankfully there has been a wave of artisan bread bakers popping up in recent years, making similar types of bread available in most grocery stores nationwide. But no matter what your preference is, fresh is best. In general, I try not to use any bread that was baked more than a day in advance.

Prepping the shellfish and ingredients

The clams and oysters should be kept in an ice chest or refrigerator until you’re ready to cook them. Wash the clams with cold water and a brush to remove any surface sand that might be on them. Shucking oysters is an art but it’s easy with a screwdriver and a hammer. If you happen to have an actual oyster knife, go for it. This is just one-way to shuck without one.) I lay the oyster on the bottom shell and hold it with a gloved hand. I then tap the screwdriver in with a hammer on the hinge between the top and bottom shell. After you open and separate the meat from the shells wash them by running them under water. The cup side or bottom shell is what we will use to hold the meat and Rockefeller mixture.

Clams

3 pounds of little neck clams

1 cup of good chardonnay white wine. (Remaining portion of wine can be “sampled” while you’re cooking, to ensure quality of course.)

1 cup of roasted stock

1 tablespoon of finely chopped garlic

3 tablespoons of finely chopped flat leaf parsley

3 tablespoons of butter

½ of lemon

1 pinch of fresh ground pepper

Oysters Rockefeller

12 freshly shucked oysters

1 cup mayonnaise

1 cup graded cheese. Use your favorite melting cheese. Parrano cheese works wonderfully in this recipe. 

½ cup graded pecorino Romano cheese. (You can use any good grading cheese.)

1 cup chopped spinach

1 pinch of fresh ground pepper, taste and salt to taste.

3 tablespoons of small diced red peppers, for the top

3 tablespoons of chopped flat leaf parsley, for the top

Combine the melting cheese, mayo, spinach, pepper and salt together in a bowl. Dollop it onto the oysters. Top with pecorino Romano, red peppers and parsley and place on 12” X 12” foil squares. Oysters Rockefeller is traditionally cooked from the top with a broiler/salamander type oven. However, when done over the fire we will be cooking them from the bottom using high heat and a foil wrap. When wrapping the shells, be sure not to close the foil all the way, We want the steam to be able to escape while they’re cooking.

Prepping the fire

Since we are cooking in pans and foil you can use a fire that has a 50/50 coal to unspent fuel ratio. This type of fire takes a little while to get going before it’s ready to cook with, I’d say about one glass of wine or so. I like to start the fire directly under the cooking surface, so that there’s no loss of heat in the transfer.

Showtime!

The frying pan should be placed directly over the flames. The oysters go on first and need to be monitored by moving them in and out of the hot part of the cooking surface. Once the Rockefeller mixture starts bubbling, they’re done. You can keep them warm (by moving them to the edge the grill,) away from the fire.

To start the clams, add the cooking liquid and ingredients for the clam broth to the cook pan, along with the clams. Put a lid or some foil on the pan and steam until the clams open. About 10 minites should do the job. Discarded any un-opened clams before eating. If a clam does not open it means that it was dead before the cooking process and needs to be discarded.