Cooking clams

Has anyone ever cooked fresh clams? My mom bought some so I'm cooking them tonight and I started with one recipe that said if they dont open toss them out. Then I switched to a different recipe that said if they don't close when you tap them toss them. I read that after they were already steaming. I'm a little nervous about eating them and getting food poisoning or something because I didnt tap them first. They all did open though. Any tips?

A fresh clam is alive. If you squeeze the shell closed and it opens back up its spoiled. If it is open and you touch the flesh and it stays open, it's dead and should be thrown out. If after you cook the closed clam and the shell doesn't open then it's bad and should not be eaten.

If they were all closed when you cooked them, and they all opened, they are safe to eat! Enjoy!

they were sort of closed when I cooked them, none were completely open. I did happen to poke at one before I put it in the pot and it squeezed shut so hopefully they're fine. If I vanish from TCS you'll know it was death by clam

Originally Posted by MonaxLisa

they were sort of closed when I cooked them, none were completely open. I did happen to poke at one before I put it in the pot and it squeezed shut so hopefully they're fine. If I vanish from TCS you'll know it was death by clam

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They sound like they are fine.

I've cooked many clams and haven't died yet! hehe

You won't be dead, but you'll spend a lot of time in the bathroom! We got shell food poisoning when on a biz trip to Manhattan once and were fighting for the bathroom at the hotel!

Laurie