fried whole belly clams

My husband is pretty much obsessed with these things. If he spots them on a menu, they’ll sure enough appear at our table. 

Ingredients:

• 2 dozen fresh steamers, steamed and shucked
• oil for frying (I used veggie oil)
• 1 cup flour
• 1/2 cup corn meal
• 1 can of beer (any light beer OK)
• sea salt and pepper
• tartar Sauce

Directions:

• In a mixing bowl, combine the flour, cornmeal, salt and pepper.
• Add beer and mix until it is the consistency of pancake batter.
• Heat oil in a heavy skillet or deep fryer until a drop of batter sizzles and bubbles when added to the oil.
• In batches, if necessary, dunk the clams into the batter and coat well, and fry the clams until golden brown, turning them over if necessary, about 3-4 minutes.  Serve immediately with tartar sauce.