The usual variant in New England is made from whole soft-shell clams, known as "whole-bellies"; these include the clam's gastrointestinal tract and have a fuller flavor.[1][6] Some restaurants remove the clam's chewy siphon called the neck.[5]
Outside New England, clam strips, made of sliced Atlantic surf clams, are more common.[7]
History
1865 menu with fried clams and oysters
Fried clams are mentioned as early as 1840,[8] and are listed on an 1865 menu from the Parker House hotel. How exactly they were prepared is unclear; the 1865 menu offers both "oysters—fried" and "oysters—fried in batter", but only "fried clams".[9]
Nineteenth-century American cookbooks describe several different dishes of fried clams:
Clams breaded (with egg binding) and sautéed in butter or fat. (1850)[10] (1904)[11]
Clams in a beaten egg batter, fried in butter, called "clam fritters". (1850)[10] (1904)[11]
The modern deep-fried, breaded version is generally credited to Lawrence "Chubby" Woodman from Essex, Massachusetts. He is said to have created the first batch on July 3, 1916,[12] in his small roadside restaurant, now Woodman's of Essex. One of his specialties was potato chips, so he had large vats for deep-frying. He used clams he had collected himself from the mud flats of the Essex River, located close to his home.[13]
Later, Thomas Soffron, of Soffron Brothers Clam Co., based in Ipswich, Massachusetts, created clam strips, which are made from the "foot" of hard-shelled sea clams. He sold these to Howard Johnson's in an exclusive deal, and as the chain expanded, they became popular throughout the country.[14][15]
^ ab"Sandwich Pride". U.S. Department of State. Archived from the original on 2007-12-21. Retrieved 2007-12-19. For the fried clam roll, sweet, full-bellied clams are dipped in batter and thrown into the deep fryer. A few minutes later they're laid into a top-loaded hot dog bun with some tartar sauce and a slice of lemon on the side.
