Ingredients
Scale
- 1 pound shucked clams; cherrystones, littlenecks, Western littlenecks or Manila clams
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 1 cup corn flour
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon cayenne
- Vegetable oil, for frying
- Tartar sauce, for serving
Instructions
- Inspect clams and remove any pieces of shell or grit.
- In a small bowl, submerge clams in the buttermilk.
- In a medium bowl, stir corn flour, flour, salt, black pepper and cayenne. Set aside.
- Using a deep fryer, bring the oil to 360 degrees F.
- Working in batches, coat a handful of clams in the breading, and transfer to the fry basket. Fry the clams until they are golden brown, about 2 minutes.
- Serve with tartar sauce.
Notes
To keep clams warm while frying them in batches, you can transfer fried clams to a preheated oven set at 200 degrees F with a baking sheet positioned at the bottom to catch any drippings.
Serve with fries and/or coleslaw.