Steamed Clams

Serve steamed clams with brown bread and butter, toasted crackers or on pieces of buttered toast.

Scrub the shells of some clams well in water; then place them in a saucepan without any water, place them over the fire, and cook until the shells open. Remove the clams with a skimmer, pour the liquor into a jar and let it settle. There will be no use in straining the liquor through the finest strainer, but a piece of linen may be used, or if allowed to settle, and care be taken not to move the sediment, the water can be poured off. Remove the clams from their shells, pulling off the thin skin round the edge, and cutting off the whole of the black end with a pair of scissors. Plunge each clam into a small quantity of the liquor, and if at all tough cut that part through. When the water has settled pour it into a saucepan, add the clams and make it hot, though do not allow it to boil. Take out the clams and serve with brown bread and butter, toasted crackers, or on pieces of buttered toast.