Last weekend's dual objectives were to test out our new camping gear (successful) and scout for the best geoduck beaches (a future post). Luckily, geoducks live next to some beautiful country:
Clams: Once the tide exposed enough of the beach, we quit messing around in the woods and headed into the mud for some protein gathering. The targets were steamer clams and oysters. Steamers in Hood Canal are a mix of littlenecks and manilas and they are pretty close to the surface. If you dig a little deeper you can hit butter clams which are significantly larger but cosmetically challenged. We spent about 15 minutes of futility before some fellow rakers took pity on us and pointed us to the right spots. With the right training we quickly ended up with our 80 clam limit (75 steamers, 5 butter clams).
Oysters: The other exciting edible option on the beach were oysters. The shocking thing was how little work is involved in finding them. They are just laying everywhere you look and the only tricky bit is getting them open without stabbing yourself too deeply. To be fair, the other difficult task is trying to swallow one without gagging... I did try my first (and probably last) raw oyster in situ and I'll stick to frying them in butter! Many thanks to the same clam gurus who also loaned us an oyster knife after I left ours a half mile of mud away in the car.
Posting food pictures is pulling me dangerously close to the Pioneer Woman model. If I lose my mind and start a folksy TV show, feel free to hit me with bear spray the next time you see me.
Also, I discovered someone who is on a similar quest for protein adventures but he posts excellent videos. If you like the blog topics but just wished there was a better narrator, head here: https://www.youtube.com/user/WashingtonFishQuest/videos
Clams: Once the tide exposed enough of the beach, we quit messing around in the woods and headed into the mud for some protein gathering. The targets were steamer clams and oysters. Steamers in Hood Canal are a mix of littlenecks and manilas and they are pretty close to the surface. If you dig a little deeper you can hit butter clams which are significantly larger but cosmetically challenged. We spent about 15 minutes of futility before some fellow rakers took pity on us and pointed us to the right spots. With the right training we quickly ended up with our 80 clam limit (75 steamers, 5 butter clams).
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From Mud |
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| To Table |
Posting food pictures is pulling me dangerously close to the Pioneer Woman model. If I lose my mind and start a folksy TV show, feel free to hit me with bear spray the next time you see me.
Also, I discovered someone who is on a similar quest for protein adventures but he posts excellent videos. If you like the blog topics but just wished there was a better narrator, head here: https://www.youtube.com/user/WashingtonFishQuest/videos