Dad’s Famous Stuffies

Ingredients

• 20 fresh large quahog clams (about 10 pounds)
• 1 pound hot chourico or linguica (smoked Portuguese sausage) or fully cooked Spanish chorizo
• 1 large onion, chopped (about 2 cups)
• 3 teaspoons seafood seasoning
• 1 package (12 ounces) herb stuffing cubes
• 1 cup water
• Optional: Lemon wedges and hot pepper sauce

Directions

1. 1. Add 2 in. water to a stockpot. Add clams and chourico; bring to a boil. Cover and steam until clams open, 15-20 minutes.

1. Remove clams and sausage from pot, reserving 2 cups cooking liquid; cool slightly. Discard any unopened clams.
2. Preheat oven to 350°. Remove clam meat from shells. Separate shells; reserve 30 half-shells for stuffing. Place clam meat in a food processor; process until finely chopped. Transfer to a large bowl.
3. Remove casings from sausage; cut sausage into 1-1/2-in. pieces. Place in a food processor; process until finely chopped. Add sausage, onion and seafood seasoning to chopped clams. Stir in stuffing cubes. Add reserved cooking liquid and enough water to reach desired moistness, about 1 cup.
4. Spoon clam mixture into reserved shells. Place in 15x10x1-in. baking pans. Bake until heated through, 15-20 minutes. Preheat broiler.
5. Broil clams 4-6 in. from heat until golden brown, 4-5 minutes. If desired, serve with lemon wedges and hot pepper sauce.