Quahog Is a Should-Attempt on Any Journey to Rhode Island

It might be the smallest state within the U.S., however with 400 miles of shoreline, Rhode Island has a well-deserved repute for wonderful seafood, from squid to oysters. Nothing says “Ocean State” fairly like quahogs, although. The scrumptious hard-shelled clams are inseparable from iconic native dishes like clear Rhode Island clam chowder and the stuffed clams referred to as stuffies.

What are quahogs?

Say the phrase “quahog” and many individuals instantly consider Household Man, however the fictional setting of the animated TV sequence was named for Mercenaria mercenaria, generally referred to as a quahog in Rhode Island, the place creator Seth McFarlane attended school. Quahogs are native to a protracted stretch of the Jap seaboard, from Canada to Central America, and so they’re notably concentrated round New England and particularly essential to the financial system and id of Rhode Island, the place they’re the official state shellfish.

Quahogs have been prized for his or her candy meat, bracing brine, and enticing shells since lengthy earlier than Europeans colonized these shores; quahog is a shortening of poquauhock, which is what the Narragansett tribe referred to as the precious mollusks. The present frequent identify for the species may be complicated, although, as “quahog” can also be one of many methods to consult with the biggest measurement of a quahog, often known as a chowder clam. Clocking in at three or extra inches huge and as much as six ounces, the chowder quahog sometimes will get chopped for cooking functions — together with as a part of clam chowder, which originated with Native People — because it’s a bit robust and intense for consuming entire, whereas smaller sizes like tiny littlenecks and mid-size cherrystones are tender sufficient to serve uncooked on the half shell.

When is quahog season?

Clammers harvest quahogs year-round, so there’s no dangerous time to get them organized, however Quahog Week in Might is a very enjoyable time to dig in, when dozens of native venues supply clam specials. If you wish to take house a few of the identical clams that lots of the greatest eating places within the space use, attempt Andrade’s Catch, a family-owned wholesale market and retail store in Bristol the place the quahogs are sometimes offered the identical day they’re caught; stuffies are additionally accessible. Many individuals get pleasure from wading by the shallows digging their very own quahogs, and Rhode Island residents may even achieve this on a whim. “You’re allowed to reap a specific amount free every day and not using a license” — as much as half a bushel, or 16 quarts by quantity, in some areas — says Bo Vestal, co-owner of New Rivers, who, like many native cooks, speaks fondly of the quahogging custom.

(This is how nonresidents can apply for a license and the place to attempt shellfishing and clamming.)

The place to eat quahogs in Rhode Island

Virtually each Rhode Island restaurant and market sells quahogs in some kind. New Rivers, a venerable farm-to-table restaurant in Windfall, sometimes serves littlenecks freshly shucked and typically braised in a garlicky, tomato-rich white-wine broth with grilled garlic bread. An analogous dish of roasted clams with white wine and daring arrabbiata sauce is a fan favourite at Al Forno, famously Windfall’s inventor of grilled pizza. Present Horse, the gorgeous uncooked bar sibling to Windfall gem Oberlin, additionally shucks Narragansett Bay littlenecks to order, pairing them with kimchi mignonette or fermented inexperienced chili scorching sauce. Fried clams, clam truffles, and stuffies are all the fashion at summery shacks like Evelyn’s Drive-In in Tiverton and Aunt Carrie’s, which claims to have offered Rhode Island’s first clam truffles when it opened over 100 years in the past in Narragansett.

Locations that don’t have clams immediately may tomorrow. Frank & Laurie’s, a buzzy new cafe in Windfall, is engaged on a stuffie recipe, which is smart given the enterprise’ cute clam emblem and the quahog tattoo on co-owner Eric Brown’s arm, which he reveals off whereas calling for “Justice for clear chowder.” Creamy white New England clam chowder and purple, tomato-filled Manhattan clam chowder overshadow Rhode Island clam chowder, however the mixture of quahogs and potatoes in a light-weight clam broth is gorgeous in its simplicity. The most effective locations to attempt it’s at Sly Fox Den Too in Charlestown, the place Mashpee Wampanoag chef Sherry Pocknett grew to become the primary Indigenous girl to win a James Beard Award in 2023.

At its charming seafood shacks in downtown Windfall and Riverside in East Windfall, Dune Brothers Seafood additionally makes a must-try clear chowder, stuffed with massive quahogs simply chopped in half in order that they don’t slip out of the limelight. Whereas it’s true a protracted decline in numbers of quahogs and the quahoggers who harvest them has legislators and scientists searching for options, the clams are nonetheless comparatively considerable and, like oysters farmed or wild, present advantages to the atmosphere reminiscent of improved water high quality. Quahogs are a part of Dune Brothers’ conscientious method to seafood, as they’re “one of many cheaper choices, sustainable but additionally accessible so anyone can get [them],” says basic supervisor Leah McCann.

Alongside clear chowder, stuffies are considered one of Rhode Island’s most beloved quahog specialties. These stuffed clams function mid-size cherrystones or massive quahogs chopped up with breadcrumbs and seasoning, baked within the shell till ideally crisp outdoors and tender inside. Wakefield’s Matunuck Oyster Bar specializes within the fashion. It is a prime spot for littlenecks uncooked or with linguini. In Windfall, Pizza Marvin is a shocking house to quahogs some ways, together with of their shells atop a white Chowdah pie, in clam dip with potato chips from customized branded luggage, and baked as stuffies with chouriço. Stuffies usually incorporate kicky components like linguiça or chouriço, paprika, and peppers because of the affect of Rhode Island’s Portuguese American neighborhood, the biggest within the nation. For one thing nearer to conventional Portuguese than Portuguese American, attempt carne de porco alentejana, or marinated pork with fried potatoes and native littlenecks, at O Dinis in East Windfall. The dish is a stunning accompaniment to the beloved restaurant’s reside fado music on Mondays.