Chef notes

Clambake is a classic all-American dish that is enjoyed all across the country during the summer, especially around holidays like the Fourth of July and Labor Day. Maybe you’ve been wanting to host a clambake, but are unsure if you can pull it off without a giant pot and other special equipment. Cue: our weeknight-friendly sheet-pan clambake recipe. Skip the pots and pans and reach for your rimmed sheet pans. Those baking sheets, along with a roll of aluminum foil and a few big bowls to hold the empty shells, are all you need to make this recipe.

Start by par-boiling the potatoes. Even though we’re using baby potatoes, they will take a bit longer to cook than all of the other ingredients. By cooking them part of the way before they join the other ingredients, they will be perfectly tender by the time the seafood is done cooking. Many of the other usual suspects are included in this recipe as well — andouille sausage, smoked chorizo, easy-peel shrimp, mussels and two types of clams join the party, though you could use whatever seafood you like (even lobster or crab). You’ll also find thick wedges of red onions and corn medallions that cook alongside the seafood until just tender.

Everything steams on the sheet pans with a buttery, smoky white wine sauce. Make sure to have plenty of crusty bread out for sopping up all of that sauce.

Get Ingredients: If you don’t have everything you need on hand, you can easily purchase all of the ingredients (just click the orange button below that says ‘Get Ingredients’). You can pick and choose exactly what ingredients you need based on what’s in your pantry and they’ll be on your doorstep before you know it.

Ingredients

For the Clambake

1 pound baby red or white potatoes
1 cup (2 sticks) salted butter
kosher salt, to taste
2 large red onions, peeled and quartered
10 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
1 pound smoked Spanish chorizo, cut into 2-inch pieces
1 pound andouille sausage, cut into 2-inch pieces

1 pound large raw, shell-on shrimp (about 10-15 per pound size)
1½ pounds mussels, scrubbed and beards removed
3 ears corn, shucked and cut into thirds
24 littleneck clams, scrubbed and rinsed
12 cherrystone clams, scrubbed and rinsed
1 small bunch fresh thyme sprigs
1 small bunch parsley, washed and trimmed

For the Cooking Liquid

2 cups dry white wine
1 cup (2 sticks) salted butter, melted

1 tablespoon smoked Spanish paprika
3 tablespoons seafood seasoning, such as Old Bay

To Serve

4 large lemons, quartered

2 crusty sourdough boules or baguettes, cut into pieces for dipping

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Preparation

Par-cook the potatoes. Place the potatoes in a large pot and cover with cold water by about 1 inch. Add 1 tablespoon of kosher salt. Place over high heat on your stove and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and let simmer for 7 minutes. Remove from heat, drain and set aside.

While the potatoes cook, draw the butter: Place butter in a saucepan over medium heat and allow to cook just until butter is melted, 1 to 2 minutes. Remove the butter from heat and set aside for 10 minutes. The solids will separate and rise to the top. Use a spoon to gently remove the solids so that only the clear butter remains. Pour the drawn butter into ramekins for serving.

Preheat the oven to 400 F.

Meanwhile, prepare the clambake. On two baking sheets, evenly divide the par-cooked potatoes, onions, garlic, chorizo, sausage, shrimp, mussels, clams, corn, thyme and parsley.

In a bowl, whisk together wine, melted butter, paprika and seafood seasoning. Pour evenly over the two pans.

Cover the sheet pans tightly with heavy-duty aluminum foil. Tip: If one sheet of foil doesn’t cover the pan, layer two pieces so that the entire pan is tightly sealed.

Place the pans in the preheated oven and cook for 25 to 35 minutes, or until the clams and mussels have opened.

Serve directly from the sheet pans with lemon wedges, ramekins with drawn butter and plenty of bread for dipping.