Chef Bill Taibe's recipes have been delighting diners in Westport since 2012, and here's one that you can try at home! Alternatively, take the easy path and try this one at the source, at The Whelk.
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon Old Bay
- 1 tablespoon cayenne
- 1 tablespoon crushed red pepper
- ½ tablespoon smoked paprika
- ½ tablespoon Aleppo pepper
- ½ tablespoon black peppercorns
- ½ tablespoon mustard seed (whole)
- ½ tablespoon fennel seed (whole)
- ¼ tablespoon coriander seed (whole)
- ¼ tablespoon cumin seed (whole)
- 1 small white onion, finely diced
- 6 pieces of thick cut bacon, finely diced
- 1½ ounce Jim Beam (or preferred bourbon)
- ½ cup Dijon mustard
- ½ cup tomato paste
- 1 quart ketchup
- ½ cup rice wine vinegar
- 3 ounces preferred hot sauce
- 1 dozen littleneck clams
- 1 lemon, quartered
- 1 bunch chives, diced
- 1 stick of butter, softened and at room temperature
Preparation
Toast peppercorns and whole seeds in a dry sauté pan until fragrant. Then process in a VitaMix or other blender/food processor until finely ground. Mix these ground spices with remaining spice ingredients until well combined. (This will yield more spice blend than is needed for this recipe).
Cook bacon in a frying pan over medium-low heat under rendered. Add onion and cook with bacon until onion is soft and bacon has crisped. Add bourbon to pan and reduce. Add mustard, tomato paste, ketchup, rice wine vinegar, and hot sauce to pan. Simmer over low heat for ~45 minutes. (This will yield more than you will need for this recipe, and the remainder can be referigerated for up to 2 weeks.)
Shuck clams and remove top half of shell. Separate clam meat from the bottom half of the shell and return to shell. Arrange clams (in shell) on a baking sheet. Mix softened butter with 3 tablespoons of The Whelk's Blackening Spice Blend. Place a dollop of butter on each clam, enough to entirely cover the clam. Set oven to broil.
Cooking
Broil clams in oven for 2-3 minutes, or until butter begins to melt. Remove from oven and add a teaspoon of The Whelk's BBQ Sauce to each clam. Return to oven and broil for 2-3 minutes or until clams are hot. Remove from oven and place on a serving platter. Garnish with diced chives and lemon wedges.
