Grillin' With Wolf: Clambake

Boston College is a private school that was established in 1863 in Chestnut Hill, MA. The campus is in a historical district just 6 miles west of downtown Boston. Outside of Doug Flutie and Matt Ryan what more can be said about the Eagles in football? Well, we could make fun of the fact that they pump in music to the stadium to make up for the lack luster fans, or maybe their current 1-5 record. Like most of you I despise Boston College for some strange reason (and most Boston sports for that matter). Though I must say that alumni such as Leonard Nemoy, Joe Mullen, Brian Leetch, and Jack Ryan (even if he is fictional) quells some of my hate.

What can I do to remove that vile taste BC put in my mouth on October 2007? Replace it with a mouth watering clambake.

A traditional clambake is cooked in a pit dug on a beach with hot stones, but we are not able to recreate that in the parking lot. We are also not able to walk along the beach and gather the necessary seaweed and seawater either, so we have to live without that as well. However, I will give you an easy way to make a modified clambake right on your own charcoal grill.

Ingredients

• 1 live lobster per person
• 1 lb of live fresh clams per person (quahogs or steamers work best, if all that is available are little neck then just use them)
• 1 lb of live fresh mussels per person
• Corn (remove husks and strings)
• Red potatoes (don't peel these)
• Beer
• Salt
• Lemons
• Butter
• Fresh thyme
• Fresh parsley
• Fresh rosemary

Optional Ingredients

• Crabs
• Shrimp
• Sausage (Linguiça or Andouille)
• Carrots
• Onions
• Seaweed
• Garlic
• Old Bay

First you should prepare your seafood. Wash everything and scrub down your clams and mussels (remove mussel's beards as well). Once all of your seafood is prepared there are multiple ways to cook our makeshift clambake.

You could throw everything in a turkey fryer and steam it. If you have the equipment and don't mind carrying everything to the parking lot, then this method is fine, but I feel like it is a lot of work.

An easier way is to individually wrap portions in aluminum foil and cheesecloth with a cup of water and some beer (the cheese cloth will trap in moisture). If you are cooking for a lot of people who will be showing up at different times this is a great method. Make sure you double wrap each portion tightly so that no steam escapes. About every 15 minutes or so flip over the packets. After about 30 to 45 minutes on the grill it should be ready, just keep an eye on the clams and make sure they open. If you added shrimp, then when they start to turn color they are done.

However, what I typically do is put everything I am are cooking in an aluminum drip pan (same as a turkey roasting pan). You can really add whatever you like to this bake, but obviously the cost of the dish will go up depending on what you add. Add two cans of beer or one can of beer and a cup of water. Tie up your herbs in a cheese cloth and throw them in (if you don't mind picking up the herbs then just throw them in). Add any seasonings you want, I usually use salt and pepper only. Cover the pan in aluminum foil (two layers) and place on an indirect heat grill. Keep one side over the heat and one side off of it. Spin the pan around about every 12 minutes and between 30-45 min the bake should be done. Serve with garlic butter and lemon; just make sure you have plenty of napkins.