Ray Rossi’s Favorite BBQ Recipe – Clam Sauce on the Grill

This Saturday, New Jersey 101.5 will be celebrating the Big Jersey BBQ and Brew Fest at Mercer County Park.
While there will be plenty of BBQ specialties on hand, this is one we usually cook up at Casa Rossi for special occasions.

No doubt with the summer coming, this will be featured a time or two before it all comes to an end.

Lynn’s Clam Sauce on the Grill With Nice Linguine

INGREDIENTS:

Clams – Cherrystones, or medium-sized clams
Handful of Fresh Basil
1 jar of the white Progresso Clam Sauce
Box of linguine
Clam juice
Canned crab meat
Head of garlic
Canned tomatoes

HOW TO MAKE IT:

Go out, get a couple dozen cherry-stones, or medium-sized clams, whatever they call them.
Make sure you get the fresh, otherwise you’re gonna be eating rubber bands. Go to Wolley’s over on Route 9. They have nice clams, or go to the Stop and Shop in Manalapan and talk to the kid with the tattoos on his neck (assuming he’s still there.) Or any fish monger of your choice.

Prepare a nice big aluminum tin thing with a big lip, you know, the thing you make the roast beef in - whatever it’s called.

Then get a handful of fresh basil, 1 jar of the white Progresso Clam Sauce. (I know what you’re thinking already, but go ahead and use it!) Add to it a bottle of the Doxee or any clam juice. Put all of that in the tin with a pint of either fresh or canned crab meat. Lynn likes the Progresso because it has the oil already in it.

Ok, so you have the clams, the basil, the crab meat, the clam sauce in the jar, oh, I forgot – throw in a whole head of garlic sliced thin like they did in Goodfellas. Oh, and 8 oz. of tomatoes.

Cover it up with foil and steam until the clams open.

Cook your pasta to taste. Better al dente - you don’t want it to be mushatta!

And here’s a big no-no!

Don’t, whatever you do, serve cheese with this! No self-respecting Italian never puts cheese on the fish.
However, some nice red pepper flakes would round it out nicely.

And there you go…hope to catch you Saturday!