Dads really can do it all. They aren’t intimated by a challenge and they welcome anything new that comes along… and we have the dish to prove it! Well, we encourage you to not feel challenged by Dad’s Stuffies because this is just about as easy as it gets. The clams are easily cooked and prepared to tender perfection and then added to the most flavorful of seasonings and stuffing for the exact exceptional blend of clam deliciousness that you and your guests will fall in love with. He sure has you covered with Dad’s Stuffies. His tender-hearted dish will be a new all-time favorite at all of your gatherings. Dad knows best and he encourages you to try it out. He just always knows all the good stuff!
Ingredients
- water, for boiling the clams and the chouriço
- 20 fresh large quahog clams
- 1 pound hot chouriço or linguiça (smoked Portuguese sausage) or Spanish chorizo, fully cooked
- 2 cups onion, chopped
- 3 teaspoons seafood seasoning
- 1 (12-ounce) package herb-seasoned cubed stuffing
- lemon wedges, optional, to taste, for serving
- hot pepper sauce, optional, to taste, for serving
Directions
Step 1 –In a large stockpot, add about 2 inches of the water with the clams and the chouriço, then bring to a boil, cover, and steam until the clams open, about 15-20 minutes.
Step 2 –Transfer the steamed clams and the sausage from the heat and let them cool slightly.
Step 3 –Reserve 2 cups of the cooking liquid and discard any of the unopened clams.
Step 4 –Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Step 5 –Remove the clam meat from the shells and finely chop it in a food processor. Transfer the chopped clams to a large bowl.
Step 6 –Separate the clam shells and reserve 30 of the half-shells for stuffing. Discard any of the remaining clam shells.
Step 7 –Discard the casings from the cooked chouriço and cut it into 1 1/2-inch pieces.
Step 8 –Finely chop the chouriço pieces in the food processor.
Step 9 –Add the chopped chouriço, the onion, and the seafood seasoning to bowl with the chopped clams and stir to combine.
Step 10 –Add the stuffing cubes and about 1 cup of the reserved cooking liquid to the clam mixture, adding more or less of the reserved cooking liquid until you reach the desired level of moistness in the clam mixture. Stir well to combine.
Step 11 –Spoon the clam mixture into the reserved shells.
Step 12 –Transfer the stuffed clam shells to a 10x15x1-inch baking sheet and bake until heated through, about 15-20 minutes.
Step 13 –Transfer the baked clam shells to a wire rack.
Step 14 –Preheat the broiler to high heat.
Step 15 –Broil the clam shells 4-6 inches from the heat until golden brown, about 4-5 minutes.
Step 16 –Serve the clam shells with the lemon wedges and the hot sauce
