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📍 Baja California Sur

Almejas tatemadas (fire-roasted clams)

· Lunch

Grilled chocolate clams: a home adaptation of the dish associated with Loreto.

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Almejas tatemadas (fire-roasted clams): Grilled chocolate clams: a home adaptation of the dish associated with Loreto.
Photo: T.Tseng · CC BY 2.0 · via Wikimedia CommonsPhoto resized, converted to WebP and cropped for display.
⏱ 30 min🍽 4 servings📊 Intermediate🏷 Modern variant🌱 Gluten-free🌱 Dairy-free
Preparation
15 min
Cooking
15 min
Waiting and resting
0 min

History

Tatemada clams are associated with Loreto, Baja California Sur. This home version uses a food-safe grill rather than the method involving gravel and branches. Check doneness by shell opening and cooked flesh.

Ingredients

Adjust quantities

Only numeric quantities at the start of an ingredient are adjusted. Descriptive quantities, seasoning to taste and timings remain unchanged; check them when changing servings.

Preparation

  1. 1

    Wash and inspect clams; discard broken shells and those that remain open after a light tap.

  2. 2

    Preheat a food-safe grill. Do not use soil, gravel or unidentified branches in this home adaptation.

  3. 3

    Cook clams until their shells open. Discard any that remain closed after cooking.

  4. 4

    Remove with tongs and check that the flesh is cooked; do not force closed shells open.

  5. 5

    Serve with lime, salt, and hot sauce.

Cooking tips

  • Use live clams from a food supplier and discard broken ones or those that stay closed after cooking.

Technique and preparation

What to check during preparation

Buy clams from a food supplier and keep them refrigerated. Wash and inspect shells; discard broken shells and those that remain open after a light tap. In a home kitchen, use a grill and food-safe equipment rather than burying clams in soil. Cook until shells open and discard those that stay closed. Do not force a shell open to serve a clam that failed to open while cooking.

References to consult

References provide information about the dish, its context or a technique. Quantities in this version may differ from those in the source.

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