Whether you are feeding a crowd or planning an intimate dinner for two, these Grilled Clams with Sausage make for a delicious, easy-to-prepare meal.
This dish comes together easily and is full of flavor. Be sure to have some warm crusty bread on hand to soak up some of the delicious sauce. Add a nice salad and some wine, beer or your favorite cocktail and you will have yourself a memorable meal. Grilled Clams and Sausage is simple yet sophisticated.
I have found that when I grill clams, I typically get a 98-100% open rate. I have tried every possible method over the years when it comes to cooking clams. But once I tried cooking them on the grill, I have yet to go back to any other way…No matter what I am making.
SABER Grills infrared cooking technology allows for even, precise, high heat cooking, which when it comes to cooking any protein is important to me for an even cook. SABER® grills not only look good, they cook amazingly well. To-date, SABER helps me put out the best BBQ foods, every time!
The first time I had ever cooked clams on the grill, I placed the clams directly on the grill grates. I realized I was losing the juice, so I now cook them in pans, that way I get the benefit of cooking them on the grill (smoky and even cooking) and I get the juice for whatever it is I am making. Sometimes I use it, sometimes, I do not.
You can make the sauce and the sausage a little bit ahead of time if you need to, and then just before you are ready to eat, grill the clams, reheat the sauce. Toss it all together and you are good to go. If your grill has a side burner, all of your cooking can be done right on the grill.
If you enjoy grilled seafood in the summer as much as I do, check out these delicious recipes:
Ingredients
- 1 pound of hot or sweet Italian sausage, loose sausage or casings removed
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- Salt and pepper
- 1 bottle dark beer
- ¾ cup chicken stock
- 2 bay leaves
- ¼ cup chopped fresh parsley
- 60-70 Littleneck Clams (scrubbed and cleaned – see notes)
Directions
- Cook sausage in a nonstick frying pan until done (remove casings and chop into small pieces if necessary). Set aside.
- In a small pot, melt butter, garlic and salt and pepper and sauté for 2 minutes over medium heat, being careful not to burn.
- Add in beer, stock and bay leaves and bring to a boil.
- Boil for 3 minutes, remove from heat.
- When ready to cook clams, heat grill to high, place cleaned/scrubbed clams into aluminum or grill pans and cook with lid closed until clams all clams open. Once clams start popping open, remove open clams, and place in a large serving bowl. Close lid, allow more to open and repeat until all or almost all have opened. Throw away any clams that do not open.
- After you have placed all clams in your serving bowl, add the clam juice to your saucepot. Bring back to a boil for 1 minute. If you like things spicy, add in a pinch or two of crushed red pepper.
- Scatter sausage overtop the clams.
- Pour sauce over top, garnish with chopped parsley and serve with crusty bread.
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Notes:
When buying fresh clams, make sure they smell fresh like the ocean. Store in your fridge for up to 2 days (always ask your fishmonger, they will know how fresh they actually are and the best storage time). Always be sure clams can breathe, if in a plastic bag with ice, don’t seal it in your fridge. Always ask for ice from whomever you buy them from to be sure they all live until you get them home.
When it’s time to clean the clams, fill a bowl with cold, salted water (you want it to taste like the ocean). Scrub each clam with a brush or cloth to remove any sand, then place in the bowl of cold salt water for an hour (keep it in your fridge). You will see that some sand collects on the bottom. That is what you want. Give them a quick rinse and then they are ready to grill.
