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Steamed Clams or Oysters

A simple steam of clams or oysters in water, cooked until tender.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 2 ingredients
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Steamed Clams or Oysters

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare

  1. In a two-pint pan, add ¾ cup of water, or in a three-pint pan, add 1 cup of water.

  2. Cover the pan with a perforated dish.

  3. Clean the clam or oyster shells.

Steam

  1. Once the water boils, place the shells in the perforated dish and cover tightly.

  2. Steam clams for 4 minutes and oysters for 6 minutes, unless they are very large.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures.

Explore the science

What each ingredient does

Clams or oysters
The main ingredient; steam cooks the flesh and opens the shells.

The step that matters

Timing the steam. Shellfish proteins toughen and turn rubbery when overcooked, so timing from when the water boils matters. Cover tightly so the steam stays in and cooks the shellfish evenly.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

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