The geoduck — abizarre yet comestible molluskthat populates the waters of the Pacific Northwest — looks more like a gag giving you ’d purchase at Spencer ’s than the focusing of an$80 million industriousness . But according to chefs , the fleshy , long - necked clamworks well on a dinner scale , thanks to its piquant flavor and meaty texture , and is frequentlyserved upin the Seattle eating house tantrum . It ’s also prized in Asia , whereaccording toAubudonmagazine , geoduck ( pronounced " gooey - duck " ) can fetch up to $ 100 apiece .
How does theworld ’s largest burrowing clammake its way from Puget Sound to plate ? In a post over atSerious Eats , doer atTaylor Shellfish Farmsin Shelton , Washington , demonstrate , footstep - by - step , the tricky process of geoduck farming .
First , loon harvest wild geoducks from the water . They expend sprayer hoses to dig up the clams , which are often buried several metrical unit mystifying in muck . The geoducks are then transported to a hatchery , loaded up with nutritious , gamey - fatness alga , placed in quick weewee , and leave to regurgitate .
The geoducks release cloud of sperm and eggs , which join together to form fertilized ovum . Eventually , these zygotes develop tiny shells and feet . This integral cognitive operation , tell Modern Farmer , takes about a calendar month .
Once the geoducks reach a suitable size — about one - one-half an inch to an in — they ’re “ planted ” on the beach . However , since the young , developing geoducks are potentially vulnerable to Crab , diving ducks , and other predators , husbandman make certain to stick a section of engagement - cover PVC piping into the sand to protect the " seeds " as they mature .
The geoducks make themselves at home , burrowing down into the sand until they ’re large enough to make do without the PVC organ pipe . About six age by and by , the clams have attain a colossal three foot in length , at which head , it ’s time for harvest home .
amateur geoduck hunters might dig down into the sandwith a shovelto uncover a stubbornly - tunnel clam . However , professional farmers make their jobs a small easier by using diesel - powered piddle pumps , which facilitate dislodge geoducks from the sand with their sinewy spray .
It require more than half a decade , a minuscule patience , and mess of elbow grease . But the final production — a 1 1/2 to two - pound one dollar bill that ’s ready to be shipped off to China , sliced into sashimi at a nearby seafood eating place , or gawked at by tourer at the local fish market — is deserving the effort to anyone who ’s ever coddle in the deliciously main , meaty tool .
[ h / t : Serious Eats ]
