硬壳蛤

• Wild or Farmed: Wild
• Availability: Year Round
• Package Size: 25 pieces
• Form: Live, in shell
• Harvest Area: East Coast: NC or MA
• Scientific Name: Mercenaria mercenaria

务必注意硬壳蛤和软壳蛤的区别。硬壳蛤的壳厚实坚固，可以完全闭合，有助于保留汁液，延长保鲜时间。软壳蛤，又称“蒸蛤”，壳更脆，并且有一个明显的虹吸管（颈部），阻止其完全闭合。

硬壳蛤蜊可以生吃也可以熟吃，而软壳蛤蜊通常是蒸熟后与融化的黄油一起食用，因此得名。

Hardshell clam sizes range from tender, bite-sized littlenecks to large, tough quahogs, with each size class suited to specific culinary methods based on meat yield and tenderness.

1. Countnecks/Littlenecks (1.5–2 inches)

• Best Uses: Pasta dishes (Linguine alle Vongole), bouillabaisse, seafood stews, and wine/garlic steams.
• Why: These are the smallest legally harvestable hardshell clams. Their meat is tender, sweet, and delicate, making them ideal for quick-cooking applications where they open right in the pan.

2. Topnecks / Middlenecks (2–3 inches)

• Best Uses: Raw bar on the half-shell, light grilling, or steaming.
• Why: Plumper than littlenecks while remaining tender enough to eat raw. Serve on crushed ice with lemon wedges, cocktail sauce, or a mignonette dressing.

3. Cherrystones (3–4 inches)

• Best Uses: Clams Casino, stuffed clams (stuffies), grilled clams with herb butter, or thick chowders.
• Why: The meat is firm and substantial. While slightly tougher than smaller clams, baking with breadcrumbs, garlic, bacon, and herbs keeps them juicy and flavorful.

4. Chowder Clams / Quahogs (4+ inches)

• Best Uses: New England clam chowder, clam fritters, clam cakes, and clam pies.
• Why: Very tough and chewy if cooked whole, but packed with intense oceanic flavor. They are traditionally minced or chopped fine and simmered slowly in soups or bound into doughs and batters.

Our live shellfish ship via Priority Overnight with gel packs to ensure maximum freshness and vitality upon delivery. We recommend cooking and enjoying your live shellfish within 1 to 2 days of arrival for the best quality and flavor.

Store immediately in the coldest part of your refrigerator. Do not put live shellfish in your freezer.  Keep shellfish in an open-top container or bowl, never store them in sealed plastic bags or airtight containers, as live shellfish require oxygen.  Never store live shellfish in standing tap water or ice water.

Shells should be closed, unless they are Live Scallops, Steamers, Razors, or Live Surf Clams as the shells naturally stay open and never fully close due to its anatomy. If any are open, give them a gentle tap and check for movement, if they don't pull shut, discard them.