Portuguese Stuffed Quahogs

4.82 from 16 votes

Portuguese Stuffed Quahogs

Portuguese Stuffed Quahogs are an appetizer staple in Southeastern Massachusetts. Each hearty bite is seasoned perfectly and loaded with all the Portuguese flavors one would expect in a stuffed quahog.

Prep Time20

Cook Time40

Total Time1

Course: Appetizer

Cuisine: Portuguese

Keyword: #Stuffed Portuguese Quahogs, Stuffed Quahogs

Servings: servings

Calories: 165cal

Author: Amy Desrosiers

Ingredients

4 Quahogs You want to make sure they are scrubbed and carefully rinsed to remove any sand or debris.
4 cups water to boil the quahogs (2 cups will be reserved for stuffing once quahogs are done being boiled)
1 egg
1 bell pepper finely diced
2 onion yellow, large, finely diced
3 cloves garlic minced
1 tbsp olive oil
4 tbsps butter
1 1/2 tbsps crushed red pepper
5 Portuguese bread buns Can use 5 cups of day old Italian bread
3/4 cup chourico chopped
1/2 tbsp Portuguese all seasoning spice Adobo with pimenta
Paprika optional

Instructions

Add 4 cups of water into a stockpot. Place it on the stove, and turn up the heat.
Once the water is rapidly boiling, add your quahogs. Boil them until they open up. If they fail to open up (give them a full 20 minutes) they are bad and should NOT be eaten.
Once they are boiled, reserve 2 cups of water from the top of the pan. Do not use the water at the bottom because that might have sand residue.
Run the quahogs under cold water and twist their shells into two pieces.
Remove any lose pieces and set aside shells and bellies.
You should have 4 quahog bellies. Using knife, chop them into super small pieces. Quahogs can be a chocking hazard so tiny pieces are a must!! I choked on one as a child!
Pull apart Portuguese Rolls into small chunks.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.
Pour over the reserved quahog water and let the bread absorb it while you saute the onion, pepper (bell), garlic, and chourico in a skillet with the oil and butter.
Saute meat, and veggies until tender. The onion will take on a translucent look; set aside.
Add soaked bread to a colander and squeeze out any excess liquid. It is ok it the bread is mushy.
Add bread to a large bowl with chopped quahogs, crushed red pepper, egg, Portuguese seasoning, and sauteed chourico and veggies. Mix everything until fully combined.
Stuff Quahogs generously will mixture and place them on a large baking sheet. If you have extra mixture, bake it in small oven-safe ramekins.
Optional- sprinkle each with paprika.
Bake quahogs uncovered for 40-45 minutes. The outside with have a crispy texture and the insides will remain moist but should not be super soggy.

Notes

If you do not want to stuff the stuffing into the shells, you will need 10 4 ounce ramekins. These bake fine in this size.

Nutritional values may vary and are meant to be a guide.

Nutrition