New England Clambake For New Years
New England clambake is a traditional dish and the recipe has been transferred between generations for centuries. If you love the usual way of cooking sea food such as lobster, mussels, crab and clams, you are sure to enjoy clambake at the beach. This method of cooking usually occurs on holidays, such as New Year's Eve, all along the New England coast. To prepare New England clambake, a pit is first prepared in the sand and then smooth stones are placed in the middle of the pit.
To begin, a hole that is 2 feet by 4 feet must be dug in the sand at the beach. The depth of this hole should be about 1.5 feet. Line the hole with stones that you can find; which creates a pit, and next start a fire. Collect extra stones from the beach, which will be wrapped up, deposited in the fire, and heated for about 2 to 3 hours. After removing the ashes and coals, distribute the stones evenly along the bottom. Over these hot stones lay wet seaweed.
You must work quickly, layering the food on the top of the seafood in even layers as follows: clams, mussels, fish, sausages, hotdogs covered in cheesecloth, onions, potatoes, and sweet corn. The last layer will be the lobsters. Top off the food with a clean, wet cloth and then place the leftover seaweed on top of the cloth.
Overlay the entire food with a wet tarpaulin, confining the steam produced by the hot stones and seaweed in. Permit a very small amount of steam to escape to let off pressure. Let it bake for 1 or more hours. The cooking is finished when the potatoes become soft. Serve the bake with melted butter t and lobster crackers.
A lobster clambake can be prepared in a number of different places, from a metal can in your backyard, to a kitchen steamer, or even an authentic Cape Cod clambake with your friends and family on the beach. Another possibility would be to hire a caterer that will cook the clambake for you in specialized vessels. Yet another option would be to purchase a pre-cooked clambake from the store as a gift for the New Year.
Natives to Cape Cod have enjoyed New England clambake since the 1600s. The Native American tribe prepares the clam bake as part of their heritage and sacred festivities. Today, clambakes are store bought and are a great convenience to those who do not wish to wait. Families thoroughly enjoy this treat. The meal consists of lobster, steamed clams, corn, potato, and coleslaw.
New England clambake is a great tradition that has been handed down for thousand and thousands of years. Everyone who savors the conventional method of preparing seafood such as lobsters, mussels, crabs and clams, will definitely love clambake on the beach. The cooking of the Clam Bake starts out by making a pit in the beach sand and then laying smooth stones in the center of the pit. A Lobster Clambake can be cooked in your yard in a metal can, or in a steamer in your kitchen and enjoy your very own Cape Cod clambake with friends and family.
Published December 25th, 2007