Clams Casino Originated in 1917 at Little Casino in Narragansett, Rhode Island
Clams are excellent served raw, fried, broiled, or in chowders or other fish stews. One of my favorite clam dishes is clams casino, a classic baked preparation originated in Narragansett, Rhode Island.
Be sure to check out my All About Clams article to learn more about the various varieties of clams.
As with most dishes, there is more than one way to make clams casino, and ingredient lists vary widely from recipe to recipe. However, the common factors are clams on the half shell, bacon, garlic, cheese, and butter.
You can’t go wrong with these ingredients. You can make a very basic Clams Casino by topping a clam on the half shell with a couple of shavings of Parmesan cheese and a small piece of bacon and then broiling until the cheese is golden the bacon is crisp.
I like to add a few more ingredients to my Clams Casino. I use white wine in this version, but you can certainly substitute chicken, vegetable, or fish stock if you prefer not to cook with alcohol.
Clams Casino Recipe
Ingredients
- 24 littleneck or cherrystone clams, cleaned and shucked, bottom shells reserved
- 5 slices bacon
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1 shallot minced
- 1 clove garlic minced
- salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
- ½ cup white onion minced
- ¾ cup green and red peppers finely chopped
- ½ teaspoon dried oregano
- ½ cup dry white wine
- 1 tablespoon fresh herbs minced, oregano and basil are nice
- 1 cup panko Japanese bread crumbs
- ¼ cup Parmesan cheese grated
Instructions
- In a large sauté pan, cook bacon over medium heat until crisp. Remove from pan, drain on paper towels and crumble; set aside.
- Wipe out the sauté pan, but don't wash it. Instead, heat the pan over medium-high heat for a minute or two, then add the olive oil and butter.
- Sauté the shallot, garlic, onion, and peppers with the oregano, and a pinch of salt and pepper until softened.
- Turn the heat to medium-high and add the wine. Reduce the pan liquid until only about ¼ cup remains. Cool the vegetables completely.
- Stir in the panko, reserved bacon, fresh herbs, and half the Parmesan cheese. Taste and correct seasonings.
- Shuck the clams, reserving the bottom shells. Arrange them on a rimmed baking sheet.
- Divide the stuffing equally among the clams, mounding it up slightly. Sprinkle the rest of the Parmesan evenly over the stuffing
- Bake at 500°F until the clams are cooked, and the topping is deep golden brown, about 7-10 minutes.
- Serve immediately.
22 Responses
this is the recipe i have been looking for. thank you so much. my husband and i are going to love these clams casino. thank you!
You are welcome Marie, let me know how they turn out. – RG
Sounds delicious can’t wait to try this. Rock salt ? like in de-ice the steps rock salt ? What is its purpose other than presentation ? Thanks in advance.
Hi Ken, no not the de-ice rock salt, that contains a lot of impurities in it like lime stone or some other stones that you don’t want to ingest. You want to find refined, edible rock salt or large crystal sea salt or even kosher salt. Even the morton ice cream rock salt is also not edible. – RG
Is the rock salt for presentation only or does it add to the quality of the recipe? Any suggestions where to purchase this type of salt – if it is required?
Hi Karen, just for presentation and you should be able to find some at your local supermarket. If not, try one of the big box stores like Costco. – RG
Can I make this a day in advance, or will the quality of the filling be compromised?
Hi Susan, I don’t think you would have a problem with the stuffing but you wouldn’t want to shuck and assemble the clams a day ahead of time. – RG
Can I put little neck clams in my reef aquarium, for bio-filtering?
Dean, interesting question, but I have no idea. – RG
Going to try this recipe tomorrow. I have had the best clams casino in Central NY at the Landmark Hotel. I think this recipe will be similar. Can’t wait!!!!
My husband Noel is catering a party and the Mrs. loves clams casino so he will be making this recipe Saturday night!! He says he will use a little bit of mint for a garnish!!!!! To make it look beautiful!!!! We will let you know the outcome!!
Does anyone know how to make a clams casino Soup?
The rock salt is nothing more than a way to position the clams in the oven without falling over. Some of you people putting this info out there as gospel look like idiots to actual chefs. People look to these sites for actual instruction from those who know.
It takes one to know one
Thank you so much for posting this recipe!! I look forward to trying it out tonight. I was wondering if it might be possible to make these on a grill. Any ideas?
Since I had pancetta I used that — absolutely delish. I have added prociutto too – yummy.
Can I use canned clams?
Hi Janet, most canned clams I find are all chopped up so I don’t think they would work for this recipe. If you find whole canned clams, please let me know about them.
Going to try this recipe this weekend. Think you may have a typo as you list Kosher next to garlic clove.
Let me know how they turn out Robin and thanks for the typo call out.
Delicious! Love using panko as opposed to bread crumbs…only used 1/2 cup.
These are absolutely delicious. I made with pancetta instead of bacon. This filling also freezes well which is really convenient.
Julie, thanks for letting us know. Much appreciated.
These are absolutely delicious. Made with pancetta and froze what I didn’t use. The frozen filling works great and I like to keep this on hand at all times.
Thanks for letting me know J Crandall.
Absolutely delicious made them tonight so good thank yiuv