What Are Gaper Clams?

Tresus is a genus of saltwater clams, marine bivalve mollusks in the family Mactridae. Many of them are known under the common name the horse clam or as species of gaper clam. They are similar to geoducks.

Are gaper clams good?

You can't really eat gaper clams whole like littlenecks — they're just too chewy. I grind mine for clam cakes or clam chowder, but many people chop them by hand. Either is fine. ... The skin should peel off pretty easily, revealing light colored clam meat with a pretty magenta tip.

How do you gaper clams?

Technique: Dig for gaper clams with a shovel. You can also use a shrimp gun to use the water in a hole you start to create a slurry with the sediment and take some of the work out of the dig. They have an oblong "show" (burrow hole) a bit larger than a quarter, making them easily identified to an experienced eye.