RecipesNovember 15, 2026
Chocolate Clams en su Concha
Prep:20 minutes (plus 1 hour to purge)
Cook:0 minutes
Servings:12 half shells
Instructions
- 1Scrub the clams clean and place them in a bucket of cold salt water for 1 hour. The clams will filter out any sand that's inside them.
- 2Open them from the front using a shucking knife. Use a mallet if needed to get them open - they're tough mofos. Keep 1/2 shell from each clam.
- 3Reserve the clam juice, then remove the meat and discard the stomach.
- 4Slice the meat into bite-size pieces, then place it back in the clam juice and add the juice of 1-2 limes.
- 5Prepare the other ingredients while the clams cure.
- 6After 5-10 minutes, divide the clam meat among the half shells. Spoon the clam and lime juice into the shells, then top with onion, serrano, and cilantro.
Chocolate clams (almeja chocolata) are big, meaty clams from Mexico's Pacific coast, named for their glossy brown shells. Served en su concha - in their shell - they're barely touched: a quick cure in their own juice and fresh lime, a little crunch from red onion, and heat from serrano.
Tips
- Buy them alive. The shells should be tightly closed, or close when tapped. Toss any that stay open or smell off.
- Don't skip the purge. An hour in cold salt water lets the clams spit out their sand. Nobody wants grit in a raw clam.
- Save every drop of juice. The liquor you catch while shucking is the base of the whole dish. Lime alone would overpower it.
- Keep the cure short. 5-10 minutes in the lime is enough to firm up the meat while it still tastes fresh and briny.
- Serve cold, right away. Set the shells on crushed ice if they'll sit out at all.
