If I can not have the casino, then I will take the clam.

Recipe: Clams Casino
By: Ryan M. Greer

This is a great party appetizer, simple to make and fairly inexpensive. I have changed a few things with this recipe along the years to accommodate my tastes. I like to cook the clams on a bed of rock-salt, on an oblong fajita skillet. The skillet and rock salt seem to hold the temperature a bit longer than a normal pan.

Ingredients:
24 littleneck or cherrystone clams
1 cup Butter “softened”
2 Tbsp Fine diced white onions
1/8th cup Fine diced green bell pepper
1/8th cup Fine diced red bell pepper
1/8th cup Fine diced gold bell pepper
¼ cup Fine diced celery
1 Tbsp Fresh squeezed lemon juice
4-5 slices Bacon or Pancetta (par cooked or raw)
Other Ingredients:
Rock-Salt
Fresh Parsley
Panko or Italian bread crumbs (crushed fine)
Grated Parmesan cheese (use something good & fresh)
Sea salt

Butter Mix Preparation:
Start in a mixing bowl with your “softened” butter. Add, green, red, and gold bell peppers, then celery and onions. Fold in lemon juice at the end. Set aside and not back in the refrigerator, keep the butter soft, but not melted.

Clam Preparation:
Open or shuck clams** Remove the clam (meat) from the bottom part of the shell, wash the shell in cold water, replace clam (meat) back in the bottom half of the shell, and place on rock-salt covered fajita pan (about ¼ inch thick of rock salt). Lightly sprinkle a “little bit” of sea salt over the clams. If you like your bacon or pancetta more cooked par-cook them first, but you will loose a bit of the flavor. Place two cross strips (1inch to 1½inch in length) of bacon or pancetta slices over the meat of the clam. Some people like to dice there bacon or pancetta up and then place it on. Add about a tablespoon of “butter mix” to each clam on top of the bacon or pancetta. Cook for 10-12 minutes at 425 degrees.

Take it to the next level:
I like to Dust my clams with crushed panko or Italian bread crumbs, fresh parsley and grated Parmesan cheese right out of the oven.

Notes:
**It is easier and safer, to shuck a clam or oyster from the back hinge corner. Also "fine diced" does not mean throw your bell peppers into a food processor. Take some time, remove all seeds, trim, and make some nice even cuts.

Enjoy,

Ryan M. Greer