The classic clambake is a beach picnic of clams, lobsters, and sweet corn cooked in a pit dug in the sand. At an elaborate clambake, chicken quarters and white or sweet potatoes wrapped in foil might be added.
Invite easygoing friends who won’t mind a little sand in the butter, a few with strong arms to dig the pit and heave rocks into it, some to help cook and serve. Equipment is down-to earth: clean spade and rake, chicken wire, a piece of canvas big enough to cover the pit; a stiff brush for scrubbing clams; seaweed; and rocks about 2 to 3 inches thick and 6 to 8 inches across. Together, hot rocks, wet seaweed, and canvas create the steam that cooks the food.
Choose a spot above the high-tide line. Dig the pit about 1 foot deep and long and wide enough to hold the foods in a 6-inch layer. Line the bottom and sides with rocks, setting them close together. Build a wood fire on the rocks, using driftwood or any wood that will burn hot for at least 45 minutes. Start the fire. While it burns to coals and ashes, scrub the clams. Dip unhusked corn in seawater.
Rake the ashes and coals from the now red-hot stones, lay a 2- to 3-inch layer of seaweed on them, and place chicken wire over that. Then arrange the food in layers, chicken and potatoes first if they’re used, then lobsters, clams, and corn. Top with another seaweed layer, then the canvas. Anchor the canvas with rocks and a 5inch layer of sand. Let the foods steam for an hour.
Remove the rocks and brush away the sand; roll back the canvas. Using tongs or barbecue mitts to prevent burns, transfer food to trays. Pass bowls of melted butter for dipping.
You can replicate this feast at home if you have a large, covered enamel pot. Ask the fish store for seaweed. Wash it well and put some of it in the pot; cover with water. (If you can’t get seaweed, substitute corn husks or lettuce leaves.) Add each food at about 10-minute intervals with a layer of seaweed on top of each addition. Potatoes go first, then chicken, then lobster, corn, and clams, in that order. Steam until the clams open.