Īccording to Merrill Shindler, 'in the first decades of this century, if a restaurant wanted to be noted, it came up with a dish that involved the baking of shellfish'. The Central Park Casino was offering 'soft clams a la Casino' as early as 1900. Clams casino remains a very popular dish in Rhode Island, 'appearing on almost every menu'. She named the dish after the hotel, and word and popularity of the dish has since spread across the United States, including New Orleans, where oysters are substituted for clams.

Paran Stevens and maître d'hôtel Julius Keller. Good Housekeeping Great American Classics attributes the dish to Mrs.

There are many variations on the dish, but the constant factor is the bacon: 'Bacon remains the major key to its success', with some chefs recommending smoked bacon for its salty flavor and others advocating an unsmoked variety.Īccording to legend, the recipe for clams casino was originally developed in 1917 in the Little Casino in Narragansett, Rhode Island, by a maître d'hôtel for a woman of means wanting something special for her guests. The clams, bacon, and other ingredients are cooked in various ways depending on the recipe, and then added with breading to half the clam shell and baked or broiled (grilled from above) to a golden brown. Tabasco sauce is sometimes added, and parsley is sometimes used as a garnish. Worcestershire sauce, salt and pepper, white wine, lemon juice, and shallots or onion are also used. Other basic ingredients include butter, peppers, bacon and garlic. The dish uses littlenecks or cherrystone clams. It is often served as an appetizer in New England and is served in variations nationally. It originated in Rhode Island in the United States. Green peppers are also a common ingredient. Clams casino over rock salt with lemon and parsley garnishĬlams casino is a clam 'on the halfshell' dish with breadcrumbs and bacon.

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