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NJC_Manhattan
05-12-09, 10:04 pm
Seafood Seaweed Bake

Summer is hear and its time to eat every crustacean under the sun. I spent my summers on the cape, and the food was a plenty and massively delicious. This recipe is for those that want a challenge.

# Dig a pit on the beach/backyard/any fire pit, about two feet deep, two feet wide and three feet long.
# Line the bottom with large stones.
# Build a wood fire over the stones and keep it burning for about two hours, feeding it when necessary, to heat the rocks. Let the fire burn down to embers, about another two hours.
# While the fire is winding down, wrap potatoes, littleneck clams, corn on the cob (in husk), onion quarters, mussels, spicy sausages, chicken, lobster, muscles, whatever (you can even do steaks) by group, in cheesecloth or foil.
# Cover the coals with a thick layer of seaweed, preferably rockweed which has little pockets of sea water, but other seaweeds will work. This provides both protection from direct heat and the required steam.
# Layer the packets of potatoes, clams, corn, onion, mussels and sausage, and then live lobsters, if desired.
# Top with another couple inches of seaweed, and if you're not using rockweed, a couple of quarts of seawater for steaming.
# Cover the entire pit with a seawater-soaked canvas weighted down with either rocks or sand.
# Continue your party for another hour or two until all the foods are cooked through.

Now this above is the traditional clambake. It's some of the freshest, most flavorful food you can make...

Now the indoor version...



* 2 pounds medium new potatoes, red or white
* 4 ears corn, husked
* 2 pounds soft-shelled steamer clams, scrubbed
* 1 1/2 pounds mussels, scrubbed and beards removed
* 1 pound Spanish-style chorizo or linguiça, cut crosswise into 4 pieces (andouille or smoked kielbasa sausage can be substituted)
* 4 (1 to 1 1/4 pound) live lobsters
* 5 large eggs


For Cooking

* 4 large mesh bags (such as onions or citrus fruit come in) or 4 pouches made from several wide layers cheesecloth
* Kitchen twine
* Large pot (5 or more gallons) with tightly-fitting lid
* Rockweed (see Chef's Notes, below) or steamer rack


For Serving

* 12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted
* Old Bay seasoning
* 4 lemon wedges

Preparation

Place potatoes in large saucepan; cover with cold water and bring to boil. Reduce heat to medium and cook just until tender, 15 to 20 minutes. Drain well. Cool completely, then cover and refrigerate until well chilled, at least 2 hours and up to 2 days.

Into each bag or cheesecloth pouch, put: 2 potatoes, l ear corn, 1/4 of steamers, 1/4 of mussels, 1 piece sausage, 1 lobster, and 1 egg. Gather bags or pouches together and tie closed with kitchen twine.

Fill 5-gallon pot with 1 inch of water and add 1 tablespoon salt. Add steamer rack or enough rockweed to keep clambakes elevated. Cover and bring to rolling boil.

Gently layer bags in pot. Nestle extra egg in a central position where it's easily retrievable. Cover tightly and steam 15 minutes, maintaining water at full rolling boil. Uncover pot, set aside extra egg, and gently rearrange bags from top to bottom to promote even cooking. Replace egg and re-cover pot.

Steam additional 5 minutes, then retrieve extra egg and crack open. If it's hard-cooked, clambakes are done. If egg is not yet cooked, steam bags an additional 5 to 10 minutes. (If you're unsure, untie one bag and test with another egg). When done, lobsters will be completely red. Transfer each bag to large plate and serve immediately.

To serve, divide melted butter among 4 small cups and season to taste with salt. Ladle some broth from pot into 4 small bowls. Cut open bags. Discard any steamers or mussels that have not opened and loosely arrange food on plates. Sprinkle with Old Bay seasoning. Place one cup of butter, one dish of broth, and one lemon wedge on each plate. Have bowls for shells and plenty of napkins at the ready.

Enjoy!

arsilva
05-13-09, 2:28 am
such a terrible thread to read while 4.5 weeks out haha.

puttin this in my back pocket for the summer though for sure!

mritter3
05-13-09, 8:07 am
that does sound good, thanks for the recipe

NJC_Manhattan
05-14-09, 8:52 pm
No worries. The food cooked this way is incredible

LegendKillerJosh
06-16-09, 12:31 pm
such a terrible thread to read while 4.5 weeks out haha.

puttin this in my back pocket for the summer though for sure!

Why is seafood not on the cutting menu? It's lean and has healthy fats.