Northshore magazine showcases the best that the North Shore of Boston, MA has to offer.
Issue link: http://read.uberflip.com/i/1373686
sweet corn, and local clams—these are the essential ingredients for a clambake, one of New England's most cherished summer feasts. According to Kathy Neustadt, author of Clambake: A History & Celebration of an American Tradition (University of Massachusetts Press), the early settlers learned to roast clams from the Native Americans and over time turned the clambake into their own unique event. Clambakes traditionally took place on the shore, and foraging for clams was often part of the fun. e bivalves, along with other ingredients: cooked between layers of seaweed in a sandpit lined with smooth stones that became white-hot after a fire had burned down to embers. e seaweed lent moisture and effectively steamed the food until tender. Some clambakes were small family affairs serving just chowder, clams, corn and watermelon, while others were community-wide extravaganzas replete with clams, fish, lobster, sausages, potatoes, corn, salads, sandwiches, pies, and cakes. While today's clambakes tend to be cooked away from the beach in pots over propane, the traditional menu components have endured. "Our standard clambake is lobster, steamers, corn on the cob, a garden salad, and strawberry shortcake for dessert," says Rick Delisle, co-owner of Vinwood Caterers in Ipswich. "We can do a clambake anywhere—on an island or beach—but the most common setup is at someone's home. Everything is cooked on-site out in the open so people can see the steamers cooking and watch us put the lobsters in pots." Delisle sources his lobsters from Captain Joe & Sons, Inc., in Gloucester, his steamers from Ipswich or Essex, and his corn from Marini Farm in Ipswich. "e presentation [of this spread] is what separates us from others," says Delisle. "Ours look very 'clambakey.' We crack the lobsters and serve them on plates with steamers from a six-foot dory on the buffet," further 95