How to Remove Sand From Clams Before Cooking
Shellfish are one of the most precious sea foods and they offer endless possibilities to cook them. Still, some of them need a pre-clean before cooking any recipe, as in the case of bivalves, that is to say, those with two shells: clams, cockles, razor shells, oysters, scallops... that usually come full of sea sand. And if we don't get rid of this grit, we will find it when we are eating them and it won't be very pleasant. Therefore, at OneHowTo we show you some tricks on how to remove sand from clams before cooking.
You'll need:
- Water
- Coarse salt
- Vinegar
- Sparkling or fizzy water
- Containers
Steps to follow:
One of the most common ways to remove sand from clams is to sprinkle them with coarse salt and put them in cold water or dip them in salt water for a few hours, or at least 30 minutes if you don't have much time. Then you have to wash them with cold water; you will see the sand will build up at the bottom of the container where you left them.
Another good solution to wash clams and release all their sand is to put them in water mixed with vinegar. You need to leave them submerged for some time, 30 minutes will be fine to remove the grit and then wash them well under running water.
Also, there's another way you can clean seafood and get the sand off: use sparkling or fizzy water. Before cooking, you should leave the clams to stand in a container full of fizzy water and you'll notice how the dirt on them comes off. Rinse them before cooking.
At OneHowTo we want to show you how to clean food properly so, if you liked this article, you can also learn the following:
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