CLAM SALT RECIPE
My new favorite way to add depth and complexity to bright flavors is to salt them with seafood.
In this post, I detail my recipe for what I call “clam salt” — a highly reduced clam broth that you can microplane onto dishes like parmesan.
This recipe is inspired by a dish I ate at Kadeau in Copenhagen that used “mussel licorice”, a grate-able mussel seasoning they used to coat a raw scallop dish.
I don’t know how Kadeau makes mussel licorice, but I was inspired to try my own recipe when I found myself with excess clam stock. My first try was very successful — I find it gives dishes a rich complexity that adds bass notes to otherwise uplifting flavors without distracting from them or imparting a distracting clam flavor. In the picture above, I used it to season an acidic poached plum leather appetizer served with lime zest and preserves.
What you need
Lots of clams. To make this effort worthwhile, I recommend using least 4 pounds. I used littleneck clams.
Dehydrator. To reduce the clam stock at a low temperature for a looong time.
Microplane. For grating the finished product.
STEPS
Finished clam salt, ready for grating with a microplane onto dishes. I know — it’s not pretty! In future batches I’ll cut and fold at step 6 to make the end result more presentable.
Clean your clams. I put my clams in a big container in the sink, fill the container with water, then rub the clams against one another with force for about one minute. Dump out the water and repeat a few times until the water is clear-ish after a cycle.
Put the clams in a pot with just enough water to cover, then simmer for two hours.
Strain the clams and reserve the stock.
Reduce the stock at a simmer until it becomes a thick syrup (think clam demi-glace).
Add the syrup to a small container (e.g. 2 quart cambro) without the lid on, and place the container into a dehydrator at 155ºF.
Dehydrate for around 8 hours, until the syrup becomes a leather. Fold the leather on top of itself multiple times to increase the height of your final product, then press it down as hard as you can to adhere the layers.
Dehydrate for an additional 12 hours until solid, then store in an airtight container in the fridge.
That’s it! As long as you keep this refrigerated and away from moisture, it will pretty much last indefinitely. You can grate the finished product on anything right before you serve it, similar to grating nutmeg or parmesan.
