Nantucket Clambake
- 3 pounds new potatoes
- Twelve 1-pound lobsters
- 12 pounds littleneck clams, scrubbed and rinsed
- 2 pounds dried chorizo sausage
- 1 dozen ears of unhusked corn
- 6 sticks (1 1/2 pounds) unsalted butter, melted
- In a large, deep pot, cover the potatoes with cold, salted water and bring to a boil.
- Simmer for 5 minutes.
- Drain well.
- On a flat beach, dig a 6-by-4-foot pit 2 feet deep.
- Line the pit with 90 rocks.
- Dig a 2-foot-wide pit nearby, also 2 feet deep.
- Using 8 logs, build a bonfire in the large pit.
- Over the next hour and 45 minutes, add 6 logs to the fire every 15 minutes, building the fire outwards so that it covers the base of the pit.
- After the first 45 minutes, as the logs turn to coals, add 20 rocks to the fire.
- When the logs have completely turned to coals, after about 2 hours, shovel the 20 rocks to the sides.
- Leaving a 1-inch-thick layer of coals atop and between the rocks, shovel the rest of the coals into the smaller pit and extinguish with water.
- Meanwhile, using a screwdriver, perforate the baking pans, punching holes in the bottoms about every inch.
- Arrange the lobsters and potatoes together in 6 of the pans.
- Arrange the clams, chorizo and corn in the 6 remaining pans.
- Wearing mitts, line the pit with a 1/2-inch-thick layer of rockweed.
- Arrange the pans on the rockweed in a single layer.
- Top the pans with a 1-inch-thick layer of rockweed.
- Fold the tarps in half lengthwise to measure 5 by 8 feet.
- Stack them on top of the rockweed.
- Weight down the edges of the top-most tarp with the remaining 10 rocks to trap the steam.
- Bake for about 1 hour, checking after 45 minutes.
- The lobsters and potatoes should be done; the clams, corn and chorizo will need another 15 minutes.
- When cooked, the lobsters will be bright red, the clams open, and the corn and potatoes fork-tender.
- Serve with melted butter.
potatoes, littleneck clams, sausage, corn, unsalted butter
Taken from www.foodandwine.com/recipes/nantucket-clambake (may not work)