You've Been Cooking Clams Wrong This Whole Time

What comes to mind when you think of eating clams? If you're not a fan of slurping them raw from the half shell, chances are you usually steam them, right? But steaming them can be such a hassle. First of all, you either have to acquire that ginormous, double-decker pot with the spigot, or else haul it up from the basement or the garage or wherever you've been storing yours since who's got room for that monstrosity in the kitchen?

Once you scrub all the dust off your steamer, you've then got to fill it up with about a zillion gallons of water, wait forever for it to boil, and stand over the steamy pot (trying not to drip any sweat directly into the water) and wait for the precise moment each little bugger finally gives in and opens its shell. As Boston Sidewalks notes, this process may range from 5 to 10 minutes (no longer than 15, or your clam's a dud), but you can't just wait 'til they're all done. Instead, you've got to grab each one out of the pot as soon as it's open. Otherwise, your clams will end up overcooked and rubbery. Well, guess what? All along, you could have been cooking your clams an easier, tastier way — on the grill!

Tablespoon swears that cooking clams on the grill is both quick and easy. They suggest cleaning the sand off the clams as the grill preheats, then placing them directly on the grates. Cover the grill and let the clams cook for about 7 minutes, then open the grill to check and see how many have opened. Use barbecue tongs to remove all of the opened clams to a serving platter. 

The one downside to grilling clams is that you won't have any of the clam juice that remains in the steamer after the clams have cooked, but if you really want that stuff, you can always buy it in the supermarket. Or, Tablespoon suggests making up a delicious dipping sauce out of garlic, butter, and white wine instead by combining these in any proportion you like, then bringing the mixture to a boil and letting it simmer for 5 to 10 minutes before drizzling it over your grilled clams. Add a summery salad, a light, fruity dessert, and perhaps a few tasty frozen cocktails, and you'll have the perfect beachy barbecue.