Razor Clam Season

I am on my knees on the edge of the ocean with my arm deep in the sand, barely hanging on to the tip of a clam shell. Frothy waves splash over my back and I yelp but hang on and slowly wiggle the mollusk out.

Washignton beach in winter. My jeans are soaked and my wool sweater sleeves are covered with a coat of sand. Jeff M. is barefoot with rolled up jeans and Jerm is in soaked tennis shoes and a hoodie. We are laughing, digging in the sand and pulling out the huge bivalves, surprised at each successfull operation.

There is an old woman, calmly poised by the water's edge, thrusting her custom made steel clam gun into the sand and pulling out mollusk after mollusk without hesitation. A curly haired boy watches her and eagerly holds a netted bag, collecting the catch.

The three of us are flailing near by. We are new to this hunt. We have a hard time seeing the tiny holes made by the siphons attached to the clam bodies. We stalk any little irregularities in the sand and pull out rocks. But we keep trying and our eventual success is a reward for persistence.


The WDFW opens Washington beaches to Razor clamming about 15-30 days a year. Last weekend, the beach was open on Sunday. Clamming started about two hours before the 6:16pm low tide.

The Tools:
Clam gun digger - I was going to make a clam gun because they look so easy to make, but when I found out that you can buy one at Olympia Supply for $16, I just bought one. If you want to make one, this site explains how to do it out of PVC. Pretty simple.

Shovel - it appears that in the clam digging culture, this is the macho way to dig for clams. Most people use clam guns with amazing dexterity but the burly dudes in clamming gear tend to have the shovel.

I got both for comparison and I pretty much agree with the burly dudes that the shovel method is superior. There is something satisfying about getting on your knees and digging into the sand with bare hands for your catch.

Cleaning:
Cleaning is truly the worst part of clamming. Even though I can suck down live oysters, gutting live clams is tough. You have to take off the shell, cut open the clam, take out the guts and then separate the digger from the siphon. Here is one video that shows how to do it. My goal is always to do the deed as fast as possible. Their muscles continue to spasm even after they've been gutted. I try to detach my mind as much as I can. "No brains, no pain" I say to myself.

Eating
Well, the cleaning is worth it when you are finally eating.

Razor Clam Ceviche
this is best when clams are super fresh

1. Finely chop siphons of 4 razor clams.
2. Juice 3 limes and pour over chopped clams. Let sit for at least 20 minutes.
3. Finely chop up all things that would taste good in ceviche, such as tomato, pepper, some onion, avocado, cilantro or parsley, radish, etc.
4. drain the clams leaving a little lime juice and add to the chopped veggies.
4. mix it all up and add salt, pepper and hot sauce if you like.
5. eat with tortilla chips and a cold beer or chilled Proseco.

Razor Clam Bok Choy
this is a simple recipe that really lets you taste the sweetness of the clams.

1. wash and chop a couple of bok choy heads.
2. fry bok choy in a pan with a little bit of water and then add some oil, lime juice, soy sauce and crushed garlic.
4. slice 4 razor clam diggers into strips and add them to the pan when the bok choy is close to done. cook another 2 minutes. do not overcook the clams.
5. make sure to have some bread to soak up the salty juices from the pan.

Fried Razor Clams
take out three bowls

1. mix 1C flour and some salt and pepper in one bowl.
2. beat an egg in another.
3. put a cup of Panko bread crumbs in the third.
4. heat some vegetable oil in a skillet.
5. dry 4 calm diggers on paper towels.
6. dip in flour then egg then bread crumbs.
7. put in the pan and fry 1.5 minute on each side, no more or they will be tough.
8. put on a paper towel on a plate.
9. eat with some cold beer.

Feasting on ceviche, fried clams and nettles.