I don't use a recipe, but this one is very close to what I use and how I make them. I will indicate where I differ in parens.....

Alexa

Clams Casino

24 littleneck or cherrystone clams, cleaned and shucked, bottom shells reserved
Rock salt
4-6 slices of bacon
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon butter
1 shallot, minced
1 garlic clove, minced
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
ý cup minced white onion
þ cup minced green and red peppers
ý teaspoon dried oregano (I dont care for oregano in this)
ý cup dry white wine
1 tablespoon minced fresh herbs oregano and basil are nice (I use parsley)
1 cup panko (Japanese bread crumbs)
ü cup grated Parmesan cheese (I dont use parm either)

Procedure

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 donâÂÂt wash it. 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 ü 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 bed of rock salt 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 500ðF until the clams are cooked and the topping is deep golden brown, about 7-10 minutes.

Serve immediately.

This is strictly a matter of personal preference. I'll give you mine.

My concept of clams casino is one where the clam itself is dominant. That means keeping additional ingredients to a minimum, just ones which play an important role in enhancing the clam. A clam on the half shell is only one mouthful, including the topping. It's easy to overwhelm such a small clam with toppings. Then, if only a small amount of topping is used, why does it need a dozen or more ingredients? How much of each one will end up on the clam if only a small amount of topping is used?

A few ingredients I would not use are:

Salt -- clams are naturally salty
Celery -- dilutes the flavor and texture of the clam
Peppers -- same reason
Wine -- dilutes the tasty clam juice
Cheese -- not terribly compatible with seafood
Olive oil -- redundant if bacon is included

Ingredients I would use are what you Mom uses for the clams you say are delicious. She has the perfect recipe. Why gild the lily?

Lately, I've been using an even more minimalist approach. Top each clam with a one inch square of bacon. Bake or broil until the bacon is done. Technically they are not Clams Casino and I don't call them that, but they are delicious. IMO, they are not improved by adding other ingredients.

Stuffed clams, the big ones, are a different story. We could discuss that if you'd like.

Jim

LOL Jim! I guess you have a point... if it were up to me, I would eat the clams raw on the half and just use the shells for all the other stuffing ingredients and be very happy.

Alexa

Ok - these aren't really Clams Casino - they always have bacon, right? But I have a recipe for Baked Clams that's good. (Obviously, fresh clams could be used in place of the canned...):

Baked Clams

1 medium onion, chopped
1 bell pepper, chopped
2 celery stalks, chopped
1/2 pound fresh mushrooms, chopped
salt & pepper
3 tablespoons butter, divided
1 egg, beaten
2 cans minced clams, drained
1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons bread crumbs, divided

Saute the onion, pepper, celery, and mushrooms in 2 tablespoons of the butter until tender. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Mix in the beaten egg, the minced clams, and 2 tablespoons of bread crumbs.

Separately, mix together 1/2 cup of bread crumbs with 1 tablespoon melted butter.

Spoon clam mixture into shells. Sprinkle the bread crumb mixture over the top. Bake at 350 F. for 15-20 minutes, or until the tops are dark golden brown.

Lori :D

Sue:
I'm sort of in Jim's catagory, keeping it simple !!!

Years ago we could buy Cherrystone Clams by the bushel, at a reasonable price.

Everyone went to my Uncles, to have Clams Casino.

I was the fresh Garlic and Parsley chopper, musher.
Now we have kitchen equipment to do this.

When enough was chopped I put it into a bowl, added EVOO,
a pinch of Salt and Pepper.

****************************

My uncle opened the Clams cut the clam free, of the shell

and set it in a Cupcake Tin , with another shell under,
so it wouldn't tip.

I put a spoon of the Garlic mix on each Clam and put them in the oven, at 350, til done ( about 10 min. )

Magnifico !!!

Jim :
I used the sea clams for Drum Fishing.

Lou

Like Sue said, there is great variety in Clams Casino recipes. I think most include some crumbs, bacon and garlic.

Lou, I didn't mean I use sea clams for stuffed clams. I use the big hard shell clams, the ones we call "chowders" here. They are just overgrown cherrystones. Briefly, the meat gets chopped up, mixed with a bread stuffing, put back in a shell and baked.

Jim

Thank you all! This weekend I will be testing a few of these. I'll let you know how it turns out. I might even post a picture...

Sue

Jim:
I knew thatm LOL !!! Just made a statement, about Sea Clams.

Sue:
Make some of each! What time is Dinner ???
Lou

First things first..everyone LOVED the clams -they were light and delicious. Oh, but I forgot to take pictures as we were too busy downing the clams right out of the oven.

For this weeks tryout, I picked Alexa's and Jim's Casino suggestions. For Alexa's, I cut back on the red pepper and omitted green pepper (it bother's some folks stomachs). For Jim's I used a mix of soft butter, parsley, and garlic, then topped some with a breadcrumb mixture (just a dusting).

I also tried a variation of Lou's suggestion, adding a light crumb topping to some, and others I just topped with part cooked bacon and a shaving of Grana Padana.

To prevent them from drying out in the oven, I added a little clam juice before topping them(I used the shucking liquid) and a drizzle of olive oil. A spash of lemon juice right before downing them made them even more perfect.

I bought two dozen clams which rendered 48 pieces and served them as a first course to 4 people who inhaled them.

DH loved the bacon and I must say that all the flavors were really balanced.

As a side note, we went out to dinner on Friday to a fabulous place in our town and I ordered the Clams Casino as a sort of bench mark. I must say that what I made on Saturday was far superior to the slightly greasy clams at the restaurant. Thank you all for your suggestions. I think these are winners.

Next week I am going to try Lori's recipe just to have something different.
Sue