Who doesn’t look forward to summer? And it’s not just us. Some fish are happier in warmer waters. So are savory clams!
The Savory Clam, sometimes referred to as the Purple Clam or the Purple Varnish Clam due to its vivid purple-hued shell is typically a late-summer replacement for the Manila Clam, which spawns during this time. While their residency in our recipes is relatively short lived, it’s a fun (and beautiful) clam to learn about.
We source savory clams from our friends at Hama Hama in the Pacific Northwest. The savory clam is harvested from the waters of Hood Canal in Washington. As substrate dwellers, these clams bury themselves deep in the sand and are both filter feeders and deposit feeders, meaning they are able to filter water for food as well as feed on specks of organic matter that may have drifted down to them.
The savory clam harvesting method is no joke. The harvesters at Hama Hama hand dig each one, and then suspend them in metal cages where they can purge any sand and unwanted material they’re holding onto. However, sometimes there’s something holding on to them.
The Pea Crab is native to the savory clam and can sometimes be quite the surprise when present in a clam when it opens. The aptly named crab is roughly the size of a pea and may be found with the meat inside the shell.
Although they were found in British Colombia, Canada in the early 1990s, they’re not a native species to the area. It is believed they were brought from Asia as hitchhikers on cargo ships during the late 1980s. Once they settled, they thrived in the Pacific Northwest waters and spread all the way down to Washington where they’re grown now.
There’s more difference in these two bivalves than just their temperature preferences.
Savory clams have a sweet, hearty and full body flavor with a celery-like finish, with a texture that is softer than the manila clam – more like mussels.
Aside from the flavor, Savory Clams also have a thinner shell when compared to the Manila Clam, resulting in a higher meat yield per pound.
The Savory Clam also cooks differently. While the key to telling when a clam is cooked is usually that the shell opens, Savories tend to flash open their shell when exposed to heat – even though they may not be fully cooked yet. Typically, Savories take longer to cook but are also much harder to overcook.
The noted difference in flavor can also provide a key difference in dishes. As the director of food and beverage at Hama Hama puts it, they’re “heartier” and can hold their own in stronger sauces and preparations like curry and spicy tomato sauce.
For a short time at Water Grill near the end of summer, we like to use the Savory Clams for dishes like the Farmed Savory Clams with Chorizo. Steamed in a saffron broth and served with a crispy French baguette, this dish hits the spot for any clam lover. The Savory’s heartiness makes it an ideal companion to the chorizo.
You can also find savory clams in one of our Guest favorites, the Cioppino. With Dungeness Crab, Jumbo Shrimp and fresh fish in a shellfish broth, this fisherman’s soup originated on the docks of San Francisco but is now loved wherever you’ll find a Water Grill.
As the seasons change so do our menus, so get in to try these seasonal dishes out while you can! You’ll find locations – and reservations – here.
All photos courtesy of Hama Hama Farms
What if we told you “It Happened In Monterey” was actually about tasting sardines for the first time?
It’s not. But Monterey, California is deserving of its own anthem for bringing the pelagic schooling fish into pop culture. Two Steinbeck novels, lyrics in a Bob Dylan song and serving as the backdrop to a Nick Nolte film aren’t enough.
Sardines are celebrating a resurgence, and it’s one that we hope is here to stay.
Long before Californians were swooning over sardines, Lisbon put them on the map. Chalk it up to another Roman “discovery”. Romans first settled Lisbon in 19 BC and discovered the fish in abundance along the coast. It quickly became a staple of the local diet and has persevered centuries later for the Portuguese.
Sardines have enjoyed a rich history ever since, with the innovation of canning – in France, by Nicolas Appert – taking them global. In fact, in 1836, it’s estimated that the Breton coast in Northern France was producing about 30,000 tins of sardines. By 1880, that number skyrocketed to 50,000,000 tins – each packed by hand.
It’s during this boom that sardines came stateside. But the Franco-Prussian War in 1870 pumped the brakes on imports. As necessity is the mother of invention, American entrepreneurs capitalized on the opportunity. Commercial canning on the East Coast began in 1875. (It was actually Atlantic herring, but let’s not get hung up on specifics.) Maine embraced the sardine more than any other state on the East Coast, with over 400 sardine factories at its peak. None remain in the state today.
While the East Coast had Sardineland (their word, not ours) and Atlantic herring, the West Coast had Cannery Row (in Monterey, California) and Pacific sardines. The season was bigger out West too, running from October to March.
At its peak from 1936 to 1945, the factories in Monterey were producing an average of 332,000 tons (over 13,000,000 tins a year). However, by the late 1950s, workers had left, sardine fishing had nearly ceased and the fish had all but disappeared. In 1967, the fishery was closed.
From 1967 to 1986, a commercial harvest moratorium on Pacific sardines was enforced. Restrictive measures were adopted in Portugal as well, as sardine stocks fell below target biological levels in 2009.
Populations of Pacific sardines began to recover in the 1980s, thanks to strict fisheries management. Today, it’s regulated, and commercial fishing allowances fluctuate based on the population trends of the fish.
Tough measures in Portugal appear to be bringing the critical fish back from the brink as well.
Our dish at select Water Grill destinations is an homage to the “Sardine Capital of the World” in Monterey as well as the rich tradition and quality of tinned products in Portugal. We present the sardines on a wood board and accompany them with a traditional vegetable escabeche, preserved lemon-manzanilla olive relish, lemon slices, butter and toasted baguette.
Our sardines come to us from Conservas Pinhais, one of the oldest preserving factories in Portugal, which follows an artisanal canning method it developed over 100 years ago in 1920.