Grilled Clams with Chipotle Butter
Chewy-sweet clams, grilled to smoky perfection, then drizzled with smoky, chipotle-infused butter. When that butter hits the clam’s briny juices, it creates an effortless, delicious sauce.
This recipe dishes up two amazing flavor components. First there’s the grill flavor; it partners perfectly with sweet, chewy clams. Then, there’s the chipotle butter – when spooned over just-off-the-grill clams, the butter melds with the clam’s juices and creates an amazing, smoky-sweet sauce. You might want to serve some good crusty bread on the side – you won’t want to miss a drop of the sauce.
As much as a rave about grilled clams, you can still make this recipe on your cooktop. I mean, what if it starts raining? Start by heating about 1 inch of “liquid” (white wine, beer, water, or chicken or vegetable broth) in a large skillet or saucepan over medium-high heat. Once the liquid is simmering, add the clams and cover the pan with a lid. Cook for 4 to 6 minutes, until the shells open. Discard any clams that do not open. Serve as directed below, with the chipotle butter drizzled over top.
Got extra chipotle butter? GREAT! You can soak it up with a wedge of bread, or pop it in the refrigerator and use the chilled butter (basically a compound butter) on a variety of dishes, such as grilled and roasted vegetables, baked potatoes, steak, burgers, chicken, seafood, and scrambled eggs and omelets.
Grilled Clams with Chipotle Butter
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup 1 stick unsalted butter, softened
- 2 tablespoons minced chipotle chilies in adobo sauce
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 32 littleneck clams, scrubbed
- Lemon wedges for serving
Instructions
- Preheat an outdoor grill or stovetop grill pan to high.
- To make the chipotle butter, melt the butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Stir in the chipotle chilies and remove the pan from the heat. Season to taste with salt and black pepper. Set aside.
- Place the clams directly on the grill and cover the grill with a lid (if you don’t have a lid or are using a stovetop grill pan, cover the clams with foil).
- Grill until clams just open, about 4 to 6 minutes. Discard any clams that do not open. Use tongs to transfer the clams to a platter, being careful to keep as much juice in the shells as possible. Serve the clams with the chipotle butter drizzled over top and the lemon wedges on the side.