When they are available, Sam uses his favorite sea clams for this pie. These clams grow to be five to six inches wide and up to a pound or more — hard work to harvest, but Sam thinks, well worth it.
Yield:
Makes enough dough for 1 double-crust 9-inch pie.Ingredients
Pastry for a double-crust pie (see Sam’s Pie Crust below)
2 cups ground clams (sea clams preferred)
1/4 cup clam liquor
1 tablespoon butter, melted
1 egg, well beaten
1/2 cup (heaping) Ritz cracker crumbs
1 cup milk
Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
Place bottom crust in a 9-inch pie plate. Combine remaining ingredients and season to taste; pour into the pie crust. Following directions for Sam’s Pie Crust, cover with top crust, seal well, and vent with fork tines. Bake in a 350 degree F. oven for about 1 hour.
Variation: For Scalloped Clams, omit pie crusts. Place filling in a 1-1/2-quart greased baking dish and dot with butter. Bake at 350 degrees F. for 20 to 25 minutes.
Sam
Ingredients
2 cups flour; plus extra for dredging crust
3/4 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup lard
5 to 6 tablespoons milk, plus extra to sprinkle pie crust
2 teaspoons Crisco
1 teaspoon butter
Instructions
Combine flour, salt, and lard until crumbly. Add milk and form into a ball. Chill mixture; then divide in half and roll out to make 2 crusts. When the pie is filled and sealed, spread mixture of Crisco and butter on the top crust. Dredge with flour and then sprinkle with milk or water. The topping makes the crust flaky and helps it brown.
