Clams on the Grill

Clams are one of the easiest things to grill since it is easy to determine when they are good and ready—the moment they open up. In this recipe, clams are cleaned a scrubbed and cooked o a hot grill and served with butter sauce flavored with clam juice for dipping. This makes a very satisfying appetizer paired with a cold bottle of crisp white wine or ice cold beer. Clams on the grill make a fun summer appetizer or light meal. You can eat it from the shell or toss it in pasta or salad.

When cooked on the grill, the natural sweetness of clams comes out and you have a perfect balance of brine and sweetness. Cooking them on a charcoal grill adds a delicious smoky flavor to the dish. If you choose super fresh clams, you don’t have to season them much with herbs and spices since they will already be quite flavorful. In this way, you can enjoy the plump and juicy clams in its own juice.

Before cooking the clams, make sure that they are scrubbed clean and soaked in fresh water or seawater so that any sand lodged in the clams will be purged. Fresh clams contain a briny and flavorful liquid enclosed in its shell. Once placed on a hot grill, the liquid will start to simmer and cook the flesh inside. Once the clamshells open up, remove the clams from the grill careful to save their precious juice. The bowl of melted butter should be prepared while the clams are cooking so that you can immediately drip the clam juice on the bowl of butter. If you wish, you can add some lemon juice and chopped chives to the bowl of melted butter to give it some zest and bite although this is not necessary. Parsley also goes very well with clams.