Savannah Clam Company and a recipe for Steamed Littleneck Clams with White Wine Sauce

The river delights to lift us free, if only we dare to let go.
– Richard Bach

Life is all about choices.  It is fascinating to see what direction people take when they are at a crossroads in their lives.  John Pelli, owner of Savannah Clam Company in Savannah, Georgia, is someone who was faced with a career choice.  He is one of many people that we have met in our travels who has said “the heck with it,” quit a  professional position and has become a farmer and now owns his own business.

After 21 years with Union Camp (a paper company) and traveling all over the world with the company, John was asked to make a move to Memphis, Tennessee when they were acquired by International Paper Company in 1998.  John decided to stay in Savannah, give up the corporate world and find a new career on the river he loved.

You have to love John’s tagline

John chose to become a clammer.  He first worked an apprenticeship with a local clammer.  When he realized that this man was able to make a suitable living from the river, including the ability to buy his own home (with cash), he decided this is where he wanted to be.  As someone who has always loved the river, enjoyed boats, and being out on the water, this seemed a fitting place for the next stage of John’s life.

About to set sail

At one time there were as many as 12 clammers in Georgia, however, now there are only five and John is the only clammer in Savannah.  The University of Georgia has offered scholarships to people interested in becoming clam farmers through their Marine Extension Service, however, it has not worked as they had hoped.  John said, “The people took the money from the University, but didn’t really want to work.  Many ended up wasting the money and drinking it away.”

It is peaceful on the river

Clamming is not an easy job as we experienced on a very warm day in July last year.  We traveled many miles by boat up the Skidaway Narrows and the Wilmington River to get to John’s clam beds where he is raising about 1.5 million clams in this leased space.  It is here that the clams receive the saltwater from the ocean, for superior taste, yet the protection of the river for improved growth and harvest.

Clam and other shellfish farming have become more popular over the last decade due to the demand for local shellfish, fewer wild stocks, habitat, and pollution.  However, it is difficult to maintain with the high cost and low availability of shoreside land.  Shellfish aquaculture is also highly regulated by the Department of Agriculture.  These regulations are good for the consumer because there is documentation on the shellfish from the moment of harvest.  However, there is a lot of paperwork involved for John and other farmers along with routine inspections from the government.

Dropping anchor

Putting up the tarp to give us some shade

Harvesting clams is dependent on the tides, the seasons, and the weather.  Some days are pretty rough and cold on the water, days like the one we had, make up for it.  John will harvest two days a week and on average will return to shore with 6,000 – 8,000 clams each week.  They are then sold primarily to local wholesale seafood businesses.

If you are not familiar with aquafarming, here is a brief description of the process to grow clams.  John purchases clam eggs (seeds) that are 2-3mm in size.  They are placed in what is called a grow-out bag.  About 5,000 eggs go in each of these bags.  The seed bags are set in the water until each seed is about the size of a penny.   They are then planted in the sand under a protective mesh.  When they reach a certain size, depending on their use, he will rake them up from the sand and place them in bags that are anchored to the sand bed.  From here they will eventually be harvested as needed.

Clam seeds – photo from the internet

These mesh nets are the protective screens for the clam beds

Harvesting clams can be fun

The entire process to raise Littleneck Clams takes between 18 months to two years.  During this time, John has to battle the loss of clams to predators like crabs, stingrays, sea turtles, and manta rays.  While he takes precautions against this loss, some of these sea creatures are strong enough to crush conch shells, so his protective netting does not always keep them out.

It took several hours to harvest the clams

Lots and lots of clams

John put me to work.  There’s no such thing as a free ride on this boat!

The seasons pose different problems for clamming.  In the summer months, water temperatures reach 85 degrees.  These high temperatures take a toll on the clams.  We saw quite a few that were dead the day we were with John.  The transition out of these hot waters into the coolers, which are 40 to 45 degrees, can shock the clams and some will be lost to the extreme temperature change.  The shelf life on clams in the summer is one week.

In the winter months, the water temperatures run between the high 40s to low 50s.  The mollusks thrive in these temperatures and the transition to the storage cooler is much easier and fewer clams are lost.  He can keep winter clams up to two weeks.

Some of the clams that did not survive

Sorting and counting clams is tedious work

Blood Arc – a delicacy that is popular in Asian restaurants

John has been working on the development of a machine that would assist in the tedious process of raking the clams from the sandy bottom of the rivers before they go into the final phase prior to harvest.  While he has had one prototype, he continues with its development and hopes to have it perfected in the near future.

The most amusing thing we learned while clamming is that John’s wife does not eat seafood and he doesn’t care much for clams.  “I’ll occasionally eat 6 or 12 of them with balsamic vinegar and then I am good for a month.”  Thankfully, his brother enjoys them and will eat 100 or so at one seating. 🙂

John seems really happy when on the river

It is peaceful on the river and while clamming is physically challenging and sometimes dangerous (John has had a few stingray barbs over the years), I can see why this man enjoys his work.  He laughs a lot about life in general and always seems to have a smile.

“I got tired of the corporate world and the travel became too hard.  I could always go back to a cubicle job and yeah, I’d be better off financially.  You are only here for a split second, so you better enjoy what you do.  Look at today (motioning to the blue skies and warm breezes).  That’s what I love about this.”

We had to agree.  We have heard this from so many corporate transplants that have given up the security of a company job to start their own business in farming.  Manakintowne Specialty Growers, Kimberly’s Crabs, Carolina Bison, Singer Farm Naturals, River Road Farms, and Tennessee Truffles are just a few of the people we have worked with that made the transition to farming.  They were at one time either doctors, lawyers, or business executives.  It is all about the quality of life.

As Richard Bach said, “The river delights to lift us free, if only we dare to let go”.

Bringing in the boat at the end of the day

Thank you so much to John for allowing us to take a glimpse into his life as a clammer.  We enjoyed the time spent getting to know him, learning more about clamming, and experiencing the beauty of the river in Savannah.

John sent us home with a bag of gorgeous clams and recipes from an event that he participated in in March 2009, Romancing the Clam.  Roger is a huge fan of these little guys, so he was happy as a clam.  Sorry…just had to say that. 😉

Clams fresh from the rivers of Savannah

This recipe is from Chef Joe Elliott in Providence, Rhode Island.  It is a simple preparation, but the broth is very flavorful and perfect with crusty French bread to sop it up from the bowl.  When shellfish is this fresh, it is best to enjoy the flavors of the clams and not overwhelm them with too many other ingredients.

Enjoy!

Roger loved these!

Steamed Littleneck Clams with White Wine Sauce

This recipe from Chef Joe Elliott was originally called Northern Neck Clams and was one of the recipes prepared at Romancing the Clam in Savannah, March 2009. Chef Elliott used clams from the Northern Neck region of the Western Shore of Virginia. I used fresh Littleneck Clams from Savannah Clam Company in this recipe.

Ingredients:

25 small clams in shell, scrubbed
2 tablespoons Extra-virgin olive oil
6 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup white wine (I used a Sauvignon Blanc)
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 cup chopped fresh Italian parsley
1/2 cup julienne Smithfield ham

Directions:

1. Wash and scrub clams to remove any dirt or sand. In a large pot, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add garlic; saute for 1 minute or until tender. Pour in the white wine and boil until wine has reduced to half its original volume.

2. Add clams, cover, and steam until clams start to open. Add butter and ham, cover, and cook until most or all of the clams have opened. The whole process should take between 10 to 15 minutes. Discard any that do not open.

3. Transfer clams and sauce to large bowls. Sprinkle with parsley. Serve immediately.

Chef Joe Elliott
Providence Westin
Providence, Rhode Island