Clam Fritters
Three dozen clams, chopped fine, one quart sifted flour, two eggs, one pint of the clam liquor, soda, the size of a large pea, dissolved in a little hot water; mix the clams well through the batter and drop from the spoon in a pot of boiling lard.
A plain nineteenth-century fritter batter carried entirely by the clams and their liquor. The proportions given are loose, and the batter is the thing that needs judgment.
- Batter consistency is the hingeA quart of flour to a pint of clam liquor and two eggs is a stiff mix, though the finely chopped clams themselves carry a good deal of moisture into it. Judge it after the clams go in, and add liquor or water only if needed until the batter falls thickly from a spoon but still holds its shape.
- Three dozen clamsProbably hard-shell clams (quahogs or cherrystones), though the recipe does not say. Three dozen shucked quahogs yields roughly 2 to 3 cups of chopped meat. Canned chopped clams with their juice will stand in, though the liquor will be saltier.
- Clam liquorThis is the strained juice released when the clams are shucked or steamed open, not bottled clam broth necessarily. Strain it through a cloth to catch sand, which is the usual ruin of clam fritters.
- Soda the size of a large peaRoughly 1/4 teaspoon of baking soda. With no acid in the batter beyond whatever the clam liquor supplies, the lift is minimal; baking powder in its place gives a lighter fritter, scaled to the quart of flour rather than to the pea of soda.
- SaltNone is called for because the clams and their liquor supply it. Taste the liquor before deciding whether to add any.
- A pot of boiling lardFat for frying, hot enough to brown a dropped fritter briskly; the recipe gives no temperature. Lard was standard and fries clean; any neutral oil works. Drop tablespoon-sized portions and fry, turning, until deep brown and cooked through -- the clams go in raw, so the batter and the clams both need to cook.
- Frying in batchesToo many fritters at once drops the fat temperature and gives greasy centers. Six to eight at a time in a deep pot, drained on paper or a rack.
- Yield and servingThe full quantity makes a large batch, several dozen tablespoon-sized fritters, enough for a crowd; halve it for a small table. Serve hot with lemon, vinegar, or a tartar sauce; cold fritters turn leaden.
Clam fritters belong to the coastal American supper table, where clams were gathered rather than bought and appeared at every meal in season — chowdered, roasted, minced into pies, and fried in batter like this. The dish is essentially a way of stretching shellfish with flour, and the use of the clam liquor rather than milk keeps the flavor concentrated, a habit worth borrowing. The pea-sized measure of soda is characteristic of the period, when cooks judged leavening by eye and chemical baking powders were still displacing plain saleratus in home kitchens.