Steamed Clams With Spring Herbs Recipe (2024)

If you have access to seawater (or bay water that connects to the ocean), then get a bucket of it, place all your clams in it, and pour in some corn meal. The clammies love the cornmeal, and suck it in like crazy, eliminating any sand that may be in their gut, while also stuffing them with cornmeal. Delicious, no matter what you do with the clammies!

I have made this several times before with mussels. Today there were no mussels to be had, even for ready money, so I used clams. Where I live clams cost three times as much per pound than mussels. Not worth it. The fabulous flavor of this dish is in the sauce. And note that clams put much more salt into the sauce than mussels do. Be sure to add a quarter cup of white wine to the steaming and to have lots of crusty for sopping.

I switched out the tarragon for oregano, and chives for green onions, and added some white wine to increase the steam factor. These were amazing, and the best recipe for steamed clams I've had.

For those backing away from tarragon, please re-consider.

You need to add a liquid to the pot before cooking the clams or they will not open. Add some water or wine or both.

Cooked easily (~5-6 minutes needed, I can't imagine how overcooked they'd be if you went the full 10 min range), but since I didn't have any decent fresh bread on hand, I didn't eat with any -- that was an error. The lime and taragon and chives mixed very well, but were definitely on the strong side. Next time, fresh french bread and 50% as much tarragon.

like others I found the idea of tarragon overpowering so chose to omit. I used local Manila clams & although it's a change to the traditional wine & shallots approach to cooking clams, it's a delicious one. The lime adds a less acidic note to the flavour than lemon. Will be my new go to recipe for cooking clams

Made it today, 5/2/015 , as directed. At 5 minutes Thought the clams would never open, and suddenly they did. The end result, with the butter, chives, lime juice and zest were sensational.

Was very excited about this dish but it ended up with a really bitter taste - any ideas why?

Really easy and delicious. I think tarragon is too strong so I left it out and it was still great.

I am in agreement regarding the saltiness of this recipe made with littleneck clams. My fishmonger is able to procure "New England steamers" or soft shell clams which have a flavor unsurpassed (imo) for summertime steamed clams. Yeah, yeah - peeling the "sock" is a hassle but the sweetness is well worth a little work!

Loved the recipe as is. Made this last night and it was amazing. No need to add water to it to steam clams. The clams themselves make there own juice. A few mins in I was worried about that too. But a few mins later the pot had its own broth at the bottom. Will be making this again.

I love steamed clams, and often vary the steaming liquid. Sometimes I find tarragon overpowering so I use other fresh herbs. Regardless, a pot of steamed Seattle butter clams (I find them smaller, sweeter, less chewy than Littlenecks) always brings a smile to my guests -- everyone is "happy as a clam."

Thanks. Not a tarragon fan. Was wondering what would be good for a switch out.

Superb! We added a finely chopped plum tomato for color/acid and a spot of white wine. Great recipe.

Fantastic recipe! This was my first time making clams and I’m feeling pretty good about myself. They were delicious. I followed the recipe exactly. I thought the clams even tasted amazing without the butter sauce. Both ways were delicious. I didn’t need any extra liquid. The clams released plenty to make the sauce. And mine took about 12 min. To fully open. I served some plain pasta on the side and we all enjoyed spooning the sauce over the noodles. Enjoy!

First-time clam-steamers here! We dialed back the tarragon based on other chefs’ suggestions and were glad we did. We need to tinker with salt- and fresh-water soaks, as our clams were pretty salty in the end. And the lime was really overpowering, in our opinion, so won’t be repeating this recipe. But we’re inspired to add fresh clams to our regular rotation!!

I see a few comments saying you need to add liquid to get the clams to open. You do not. Hot pot, olive oil, liquid inside the clams already. You get a bit of a smoky flavor following this recipe. Use a pot, not a pan, to hold the heat in. I made this dish 3 times this past summer and it was so perfect & easy as is. Add wine & other herbs if you want different flavors but not necessary to the recipe.

I did mine with parsley instead of tarragon because some of the other comments scared me, but otherwise followed the recipe. The lime was an interesting variation from the lemon that I'm used to, and the chives were maybe not as aromatic as the traditional shallots, but overall I really did like it. I may advise unsalted butter, turns out clams taste like the ocean and the ocean is salty. The bread is absolutely essential, the broth is the best part.

Delicious! I know clams release a lot of liquid, but we were looking for some extra juice for dunking crusty bread. After sautéing the garlic and tarragon, I added 1/2 cup of wine wine and let it simmer for about a minute before adding the clams. Otherwise cooked as directed and it was an absolute hit. Will be on repeat.

Terrific! Followed the recipe exactly but used homemade pasta—thanks to my Phillips pasta extruder—instead of a baguette.

After saute of the garlic, tarragon, add a nice IPA about half a bottle. Then steam the clams. After they open Remove all the clams to a nice big pasta bowl. still in the lime and red pepper for 20 seconds. Then wish in the butter and the lime juice...than pour all the goodness all over your waiting clams...make sure to have lots of toasted garlic bread for dipping

I’ve made this several times with littlenecks from Costco. It is delicious. I’ve tried it with and without a fresh jalapeño (sautéed with the garlic); with wine, without wine… it’s a flexible recipe. BUT agree with other reviewers ZERO salt is needed. The clams are plenty salty. Some crusty bread to dip. Mmm so good. Thanks, Melissa!

Agreed this recipe needs liquid—a splash of white wine added after the garlic and tarragon did the trick. Subbed a scallion for the chives. No salt needed, as the clams are briny. Perfect! Have bread on hand to sop up the broth.

Agree that clams are very salty , so be careful about how long and far your reduce the broth .

Didn't have tarragon, so I used a teaspoon of fennel seed along with the garlics. Worked out nicely.

Well, another hit from Melissa Clark. We are in the PNW, so we used clams from the Hood Canal area. Had fresh tarragon and chives. Funny, because before I saw this I told my husband that a splash of Pernod would be great, but tarragon added a similar light licorice flavor. Lime zest was a nice shot of zing. Did add a bit of white wine to the clams. With some fresh garlic toast, this a nice twist on steamed clams that was heaven in a bowl.

I cook clam dishes all the time, and I do not like tarragon, but tried it, because, well why not? Served it with the crusty bread, although pasta would have worked too. Really tasty, but oh so salty. I love salt. I eat things just for the salt, but this was distracting. What could I have done to lessen the overwhelming salt taste?

Although I was a little skeptical about the combination of tarragon and lime juice with clams, I tried this recipe as written. It was beyond delightful! Tarragon can be overpowering in some dishes, but it's perfect in this one. I added a splash of dry white wine, too, just in case the clams didn't have enough liquid (they vary), and it was still quite salty, so was glad I had diluted it a bit with that. The flavor of this dish was so zesty and vibrant; very springlike! Thanks again, Melissa!

This dish is fantastic - did exactly as written. Easy - and incredible delicious!