Can clams be frozen? - It is safe?

Clams are a delight from the sea. They are one of those foods that you can buy all over the world, but if you ever get a chance to eat them fresh on the coast, you should try them. Clams may be an acquired taste for some, but that’s probably because they seem strange.

It’s not every day you can eat them straight out of the shell. There are many ways to prepare clams. Each preparation method gives them their own unique flavor. You can’t go wrong with clam creations.

Of course, you have to take into account the risk of bacteria and certain processes. Preparing clams requires a bit of work and some attention to detail. You don’t want to eat most of the clams raw or undercooked.

The question is: can you freeze your clams? Freezing is not recommended for cooked clams, but you can easily freeze your raw clams and save them for later.  It’s not that hard to get, but there are some specific details you need to know.

We have created a guide to walk you through all the specific steps to freezing your clams. There are many details you need to know to ensure the safety of your clams. We will share with you everything you need to know and understand to safely freeze raw clams.

Read on for all the important information for freezing clams and working with them in general.

The Guide to Freezing Clams

Unfortunately, freezing cooked clams is not recommended. You can try it because you can safely freeze them. However, most of the time the texture of the clam meat suffers if you freeze it when it’s already cooked.

If you try to freeze cooked clam meat, you could end up with mushy or rubbery meat.  You certainly don’t want to give up the flavor and texture of your clams by freezing them after they’re cooked.

If you know you have more clams than you will use, you should separate them before cooking so you don’t cook more than you will use. Also, if you have any leftovers, you can store them in the fridge for 2-3 days and hopefully eat them within that time. 

raw clams

Raw clams are a staple food served in both high-end restaurants and seedy bars . Don’t get us wrong, they certainly can be tasty. They are usually eaten like this. There are some very popular ways to slurp up those raw clams, like adding hot sauce to them or washing them down with a shot.

There are just a few things to keep in mind when working with raw clams.

Raw clams are susceptible to the bacteria known as vibrio vulnificus. This bacterium can be found in raw clams and oysters.

Also, you can’t tell if your clams have this bacteria, but it can make a person very sick if they ingest it. Again, this is a risk that comes with eating raw shellfish. It is not necessarily common.

We bring it to light just so you are aware of it. Often, cooking the clams would kill any trace of this bacteria, making it a much safer way to eat them.

cooking with clams

There are many options for cooking clams.

To start, you can boil, steam or bake the clams.  You can season them and add them to a wide variety of dishes. You can even grill the clams or come up with your own variety of ways to prepare them. So even though they may seem boring, they are actually very exciting.

Here are some ideas of things you can do with clams:

• Clam soup
• Spaghetti or other forms of pasta with clams
• Add to pizza toppings
• Heat in butter and season with garlic
• Add to soup or broth
• Prepare a good cajun seafood boil with prawns or prawns
• fried clams

These are just a few suggestions for enjoying clams, but there are plenty of options. You can search for any number of recipes and ideas. Many of these options involve removing the meat from the shell.

There are also some dishes where the clam is cooked in the shell and then the shell is removed while the dish is eaten. You don’t eat the shell itself when you feast on clams.

Typically, if you eat the clam straight off the shell, you slurp from it or use your fingers.

To use your fingers, you scoop the clam meat out of the shell, dip it in if you like, and pop the whole piece into your mouth.

Once you have the whole clam in your mouth, it should be chewed and eaten like any other type of food you might consume.

freeze clams

Freezing is usually a straightforward process, but when it comes to freezing clams there are a few minor things to know.

For example, we have already said that it is not advisable to freeze cooked clams.  Therefore, we will focus mainly on the freezing of raw and uncooked clams and the process that accompanies it.

You can freeze your clams using two different methods, and either method works well. You can shell the clams or freeze them in shell . The main difference you may experience is that if you shell the meat, it may soften when you use it.

However, it’s perfectly safe either way, and in the end, you should have great results either way when you cook those clams, too.

Freeze shelled clams

1. Check to see if your clams have open shells and discard any that are open. This is a sign that the clam has died.
2. Place the clams in a freezer bag or an airtight freezer container.
3. If you are using a freezer bag, remove any excess air.
4. Seal the container, label and date the clams.
5. Frozen in-shell clams keep in the freezer for up to 4 months.

If you freeze clams in-shell, you should routinely check them before fully freezing them to ensure that none of the shells open before freezing. If this happens, you should remove the dead clam as soon as you find it.

Freezing clams out of their shells

1. Remove the meat of the clams from the shells (shell the clams).
2. Clean the meat well by running it under cold water. You should wash each piece of meat separately to make sure everything is clean.
3. Place the clam meat in a freezer bag or an airtight container.
4. Seal the storage device, date and label your clam meat.
5. Clam meat should be kept in the freezer for up to 4 months.

Use of clams after freezing

Your clams really don’t need excessive thawing time. They thaw pretty quickly. If you shelled the clams before freezing them, you can start preparing your dish with them straight from the freezer.

However, these are your options if you need to defrost your frozen clams. 

1. Take your frozen clams to the fridge and let them thaw for 6-8 hours or overnight.
2. If you need a quick thawing method, you can run the bag of clams under cold water or place them in the sink and run cold water over them. This can take quite a long time.

From here, you can proceed to cook your clams however you like. Your clams won’t taste like they were frozen and your food will be just as delicious.

You can also be sure that if you follow these tips and processes, your clams will be perfectly safe to eat.

Related questions

We hope you have found this guide to freezing clams a valuable resource for your purposes. There is a lot of information here and clams are a food that you sometimes have to be careful with to make sure it is safe to eat when you finish it.

Below are some common questions and answers we receive and review. We invite you to review them to see if there is any additional information that you may find valuable.

Can clams be eaten once they are dead?

Clams die when you cook them.  Just because a clam dies doesn’t necessarily mean it’s bad to eat.

However, a clam that is dead could transmit bacteria to other clams. This is why it is recommended to remove dead clams from your selection of frozen clams.

Are clams a healthy food?

Clams are high in nutrients, as is common with many shellfish. Clams, in particular, have high levels of zinc, iron, magnesium, and B vitamins. Additionally, clams are high in protein and low in fat.