A juicy and crunchy Razor Clam Cakes recipe that's perfect to make after a successful razor clamming outing.
These clam cakes are made with Pacific Coast razor clams and a hint of all the right spices to bring this mouth-watering recipe together while featuring the mild seafood flavor of the Pacific razor clam. You will definitely be full after this meal!
Clam cakes are one of our many go-to dinners during razor clam season. They make the best meal on their own, or transformed into burgers with coleslaw and tartar sauce - which is how we love eating them! Clam cakes are versatile and can be enjoyed different ways and with various delicious sides.
Table of Contents
INGREDIENTS YOU'LL NEED
- 4 whole pacific razor clams
- 2 eggs
- ½ cup bread crumbs
- ¼ cup fresh parsley packed
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1 tsp fresh squeezed lemon juice
- ¼ medium yellow onion no need to chop
- ½ tsp cumin
- ½ tsp smoked paprika
- 1 tsp Johnny's seasoning salt
- pinch of cayenne pepper or to taste
- ¼ tsp black pepper
- 2 tbsp butter for frying
- ¼ cup panko optional, make it crispy by breading with panko
EQUIPMENT YOU'LL NEED
- Food Processor
- A non-stick or cast-iron pan
- Measuring cups and spoons.
HOW TO MAKE RAZOR CLAM CAKES
- In a food processor, blend onion, parsley, and garlic until finely chopped.
- Add razor clams, eggs, bread crumbs, lemon juice, spices, salt and pepper, and blend until Razor clams are chopped. Don't over blend.
- Form into patties.
- To make crispy - pour panko in a shallow bowl. Dip the patties in the panko, coating the entire patty.
- In a saucepan set to medium-low, melt the butter and cook the patties for about 2 minutes on each side. I like to set a timer.
- Serve on a bun with the Perfect Tide dipping Sauce and our Very Purple Coleslaw, which is our favorite red cabbage recipe!
TO MAKE INTO A BURGER, YOU'LL NEED:
- Hawaiian buns.
- Your favorite Tartar sauce.
- Our Very Purple Coleslaw (Such a bright coleslaw featuring red cabbage and so easy to make!)
HOW TO THAW FROZEN RAZOR CLAMS
In this razor clam recipe, you can use fresh or frozen razor clams. To thaw frozen razor clams, I place the frozen razor clams in the fridge overnight or the morning of to thaw. I have noticed that they thaw fairly quickly, taking just a few hours since they're pretty thin.
CAN YOU MAKE THIS RAZOR CLAM RECIPE IN ADVANCE
Yes! Here is how: You can easily mix all the ingredients per the recipe below and place the mixture is a covered container in the fridge until you are ready to cook.
SERVING SUGGESTIONS
- Sides: A great pairing for clam cakes is extra coleslaw and French fries.
- Drinks: White wine is a great pairing with seafood dishes. I do find that a sweet red wine also pairs well. Good wine options to pair with razor clams, fish, crab, oysters and other seafood are typically Chardonnay, Champagne, Pinot Noir, and cold red wine slushie.
- Dessert: A light fruity dessert would be a great dessert option to pair with.
OTHER WAYS TO MAKE THIS RECIPE
SLIDERS
CRUNCHY PATTY OVER COLESLAW
FAQ
When you live a catch-and-cook lifestyle, your kids end up seeing you harvesting your dinner more often than in a grocery store. Isn't that such a beautiful thing?
Anytime we are using fresh caught seafood in our dinners, like this seafood chowder recipe, it feels like an extra special night at my house. We have so much more to talk over for dinner.
Our Pacific coast outdoor adventures really turn into such great learning lessons for our kids. As we're enjoying our dinner together we often remanence over our catch of the day, the weather conditions, a funny moment, things that went well, things that we can improve on, etc. We are so blessed to have these activities in the PNW to share with our kids!
Here is a diagram that I put together to show the anatomy of Pacific Razor Clam. This is a quick way to understand what to use in a recipe.
For this recipe, I use every part of the razor clam because it all gets blended. The neck being tougher adds a little chew, and the digger is as soft as it gets. So, if you prefer to eat the digger, and don't have a taste for the neck, then this recipe is the perfect way to enjoy every part of the razor clam. Simply substitute the diggers for a neck in this recipe.
The neck of a razor clam is the toughest part and the digger is the softest part. Besides being softer of a bite, many find the digger of the Pacific razor clam to be most desirable because it's much more forgiving to cook than its counterpart. If you favor the digger, then this is the perfect recipe to use up your razor clam necks!
Aside from the digger, my other favorite part of a razor clam is the muscle. The muscle, which is sometimes overlooked or tossed, is exceptionally soft and buttery. The muscles remind me so much of a scallop.
There are two muscles per clam and they are often thrown out due to improper cleaning.
Read our guide on the Easiest Way to Clean Razor Clams to learn how to clean your clams correctly, you will be able to save these delicious pieces.
HOW LONG CAN YOU STORE THIS RAZOR CLAM RECIPE
Once cooked, Pacific razor clams can last up to 2 days. However, we typically eat them the day of and the day after at most.
Browse our many other amazing razor clam recipes to elevate your razor clam cooking this harvesting season!
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For more information on how to dig razor clams, head to our Razor Clamming page, and go through our articles on everything you need to know.
THE PERFECT RAZOR CLAM CAKES
Ingredients
- 4 razor clams neck and diggers
- 2 eggs
- ½ cup bread crumbs
- ¼ cup fresh parsley packed
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1 teaspoon fresh squeezed lemon juice
- ¼ medium yellow onion no need to chop
- ½ teaspoon cumin
- ½ teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon Johnny's seasoning salt
- pinch of cayenne pepper or to taste
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- 2 tablespoon butter for frying
- ¼ cup panko optional, make it crispy by breading with panko
Instructions
- In a food processor, blend onion, parsley and garlic until finely chopped.
- Add razor clams, eggs, bread crumbs, lemon juice, spices, salt and pepper, and blend until Razor clams are chopped. Don't over blend.
- Form into 5 patties.
- To make crispy - pour panko in a shallow bowl. Dip the patties in the panko, coating the entire patty.
- In a saucepan set to medium-low, melt the butter. Once the saucepan is hot, cook the patties for about 2 minutes on each side and once the bottom is golden brown. I like to set a timer since seafood cooks fast.
- Enjoy warm. Serve on a bun with our tartar sauce and coleslaw.
Notes
- Our Very Purple Coleslaw Recipe
- Hawaiian buns
- Our Tartar Sauce
Tanya
Your recipes are AMAZING! I can't wait to start trying them, especially the dip & burger! You should open up a restaurant!
Suzy Sakamoto
Tanya, thank you so much for your sweet words! I can't wait to hear how you liked them. I love the dip!
Gina
These are sooo good!!! I even ate one cold the next day - YUM!
Charlene
our razor clams are in the freezer in 2 cup amounts. So can you estimate in either cup or weight measurement for the amount of clam meat for this recipe?
Suzy Sakamoto
Hi Charlene, how interesting! I certainly can add that moving forward. If I were to completely guess, it's almost 1 cup if not chopped.
mark
Very tasty! I had 2 nice goeyduck clams freshly doug here on Whidbey Island and trid this recipe. Only change was to add fresh cilantro from the garden and Cajun seasoning rather than johnnys.
Suzy Sakamoto
Hi Mark! I'm so glad to hear you enjoyed it with Geoducks! We need to get out there and get some. We've tried the hood canal once, but now Whidbey is on the list :).
Harry Yanagimachi
With the abundance of clams, my freezer is filling. I'm not allowed to dig until there is room for clams so the search for recipes is on-going. We are pleased to find this one and tried it recently. My search for the best recipe for clam cakes is over. Give this one a go, you won't be disappointed. My raw clams had a lot of moisture in them so I added more bread crumbs (panko actually as I have lots) to the point where the mix held a loose ball shape. I then rolled the balls in panko, put them into the hot butter and smashed them into patties. I hope you enjoy these as much as we do.
Suzy Sakamoto
Now you can fill your freezer with pre-made clam cakes :). I'm so happy you enjoyed them!