How to gather Razor Clams
The razor clam is one of the tastiest shellfish you can find around British waters and is also the one that seems to be gathered the least. They can’t be caught using normal gathering methods and digging them out by hand is more trouble than they are worth, leading to more being available for those who know what they’re doing.
What are razor clams?
A razor clam is a type of bivalve mollusk, which means it’s a type of shellfish that eats by sucking seawater through a set of gills and filtering out any small pieces of plant matter. The scientific name for them is Siliqua patula, which is a member of the Pharidae family, though none of that matters when you’re just looking for a few to eat.
(The two main razor clam types, with the Pacific clam on the left and Atlantic clam on the right)
The best place to find these unusual creatures is on flat sandy beaches at very low tides. They normally live far enough away from shore so they are only ever exposed for a very short time as the tides change, but don’t go too far out though as they normally like water no more than 30 meters deep.
How to gather razor clams
There are two ways to catch razor clams which are with a special clam digging tool or using a bottle of salt. The tool is unnecessary and slower than using salt, especially when you find a patch of them all tightly together. The first thing to do is locate them, which can be done by finding the small holes they make in the sand. They are usually no more than a couple of centimeters wide and can be either a circular hole or one that is raised slightly in the middle of a small mound of sand.
(The different types of razor clam holes)
When you have located a few clam holes, sprinkle a small amount of salt down each hole and wash it down with a little seawater if needed. The clam will pop out of the hole to try and escape the high concentration of salt which is when you grab them tightly by the shell, not the flesh, and slowly but firmly pull them upwards. When they sense that a possible threat is nearby they will grip the side of their hole and try to pull themselves down again, so it’s a good idea to tread lightly when standing near the holes. If nothing comes out within the first 2 minutes then there’s either no one home or you didn’t use enough salt.
What to do with your clams?
One of the best things about razor clams is they offer a good amount of meat, and the cleaning process only sees a tiny portion discarded. The long strip of white meat is the only bit you should eat, and anything that isn’t a part of this should be removed. They can be easily gutted with nothing more than a pair of scissors but it’s especially important to make sure there are no remaining brown bits or dark patches on the flesh, which will be parts of the gut.
When you get your clams home give them a rinse in some cold water to wash off any clumps of mud or dirt, and then put them in a colander. Pour boiling water over them and leave for a few seconds, just until all the shells open up. If any of them don’t open up after the hot water it’s because they probably died shortly after being pulled up, which means it’s your risk if you choose to eat them still.
The next stage is removing the stomach, sand vein, and gills, which is done by cutting open the clam lengthways along where its shell opens. Inside should be a small darker-coloured stomach sack, and in the Pacific clam types, the sand vein can also be quite large. Snip both of them out and also cut out the gills, which will normally be a dark brown color.
After removing the bad parts you should be left with nothing but lovely white meat, which you can then cook into any dish you like. If you’re cooking these clams in a bushcraft situation, as long as you cook them properly they can be eaten whole right out of the shell, though if you’re doing this with some of the larger Pacific clams it’s still a good idea to remove the stomach just to be safe.