Mouthwatering Fried Clams

Golden fried clams are an integral part of the iconic New England tapestry. The delicacy has a very interesting history. In 1914, Lawrence Henry “Chubby” Woodman and his wife Bessie opened a small concession sand on Main Street in Essex, Massachusetts.  On week-ends they sold small grocery items, homemade potato chips and fresh clams that Chubby dug himself.  At first business was slow but on July 3, 1916, things began to change.

It was on that day that a local fisherman named Tarr was visiting the stand and Chubby complained that, “Business was slower than a couple of snails headed uphill.” Tarr, while nibbling on the tasty homemade potato chips, noticed a bucket of clams nearby and jokingly said “Why don’t you fry up some of your clams? If they’re as tasty as those potato chips of yours you’ll never have to worry about having enough customers.” Fried clams were unheard of and Tarr’s comment was rewarded with cold stares from two other customers. “That’s ridiculous!” said one. The other one remarked, “Clams have shells.” The poor fisherman muttered, “I wasn’t serious. It was just a joke," he said to save face.

However, when the three men left, Chubby and Bessie started to think about it.  What if they did fry up some of the clams and sold them? If they tasted good they would have created a way to increase the demand for their own shucked clams. “Let’s try it,” Bessie said as she tossed a slab of lard into the fry pot normally used to make potato chips. They shucked some clams and experimented with different batters, having some locals try them out.  When the overall verdict was “delicious!” they knew they were on to something big!

The next day, during the 4th of July parade, Chubby and Bessie presented the first fried clams  to the citizens of Essex and the Yankee appetite has never been the same since! A year later a Boston fish market advertised that it was “now equipped to serve the new taste treat – fried clams.” And Howard Johnson, owner of a chain of restaurants on the East Coast, came himself to learn how to make fried clams from Chubby.

On the backside of their wedding certificate, Lawrence and Bessie wrote what they considered to be important family events. The first two lines were the birth dates of their two oldest sons, Wilbur and Henry. The third line was the other important birth date in the family. It read: “We fried the first fried clam—in the town of Essex, July 3, 1916.”
101 years and six generations later, clams are still frying at Woodman’s Restaurant in Essex, where it all began! So, go out for dinner with friends and have fried clams this Independence Day weekend!