Maine Steamers appears as a signature dish in 1 United States cities. See each city's local variant and where to eat it.
Maine Steamed Clams (Steamers) · Portland
Soft-shell longneck Maine clams steamed in their own briny liquor with white wine, butter and garlic, served in a bucket with a small pot of melted butter, a cup of broth for rinsing and a wedge of lemon.
Soft-shell clams (Mya arenaria), called steamers in Maine, have been harvested from the mudflats of Casco Bay, Penobscot Bay and the Damariscotta estuary for centuries. The Wabanaki peoples relied on them as a primary protein well before European contact, leaving the great shell heaps that line the Maine coast. The 19th-century lobster-and-clam shore-dinner codified the modern serving format: a bucket of steamers, a melted-butter ramekin for dipping and a cup of broth to rinse grit. Portland's J's Oyster and The Port Hole keep the canonical down-east bucket; Eventide and Scales run more refined plated versions.
Where to eat in Portland:
- Boone's Fish House + Oyster Room
- Eventide Oyster Co
- Fore Street
- Scales