A Wood Fired Clambake
It’s easy to get lost along the coast of Maine in the best of ways. On a long drive with the windows down and a lack of plans, the rocky coast allows for an endless sense of adventure to flow. We recently visited Biddeford Pool, a small enclave of old-world beach homes, local lobster boats, and soft sandy beach paths to hang out with some easy-going, salt-air-loving friends. We picked a place on the beach to meet up before sundown where cold drinks were popped open, oyster shucking lessons produced some hearty laughs, and a wood fired clambake created the memory of a lifetime.
The day started catching our own lobsters and running around packing the cooler for a drive to Biddeford Pool. The saying “As Fresh As It Gets” comes to mind every time we’re here; the food, the air, the views, and the people all come with a refreshing reminder of Maine’s signature motto - The Way Life Should Be.
The plan originally started pretty loose. We had asked our friend, Max Ablicki, if he would host one of his locally renowned wood fired dinners on the beach for a few people. He was excited to plan another beach dinner and brought a few friends of his own. Naturally, our groups meshed seamlessly over our stunning surroundings and how lucky we all felt to enjoy one of Max’s dinners on a perfect summer’s night.
As fate would have it, we were finalizing plans for the evening when we received a message from our friend James, Founder @opolis_optics, a sustainably minded brand focused on their StokedPlastic™ sunglasses made from 100% recycled plastic bottles. We bonded with James years ago over mission driven companies with a shared mutual passion for the New England coast and charting a path forward using recycled materials.
Turns out, James was in Kennebunkport for a couple weeks and was looking to catch up. He casually mentioned the 1962 Ford pickup truck he recently restored and was offering to take us for a good ole fashioned beach cruise.
After whipping up and down the coast for an hour or so, we returned to the beach to set up and get the fire started.
Max began setting up the grill and stoking the fire while a theme of the evening accidentally emerged amongst our crew. Our cousin Kayla, Co-Founder @islanddistrictcompany, served up her all-natural canned craft cocktails to get the party started in between what we like to call “founder’s therapy” sessions - a revolving set of conversations on the extreme highs and lows of starting businesses from the ground up.
And what goes better with a beach than shucking fresh oysters? We began to dive in. Shucking one after another in an effort to open them quickly to all cook at once. Although, we frequently got side tracked using the one-for-you, one-for-me method that often comes with opening really crisp and cold oysters.
An impromptu shucking lesson broke out as everyone wanted to get involved. I began by explaining that there’s a tiny cavity at the back of the cup. The key is to vertically wedge your oyster knife in there just enough to gain some leverage while slightly pressing down on the bottom shell of the oyster and giving it a little twist at the same time.
After popping the shell open it all comes down to cleanly slicing across the top shell from the inside and a tasty oyster appears within. I tried to be adamant about proceeding with caution! Whatever you do, do not press forward as hard as you can as this typically ends in bloodshed and a hole or two in your hand :(
And the ladies nailed it! Our new friends, Jessie and Cat, passed with flying colors admitting that while it can be hard to initially figure out, shucking ‘em is easy as pie once you get it down.
After oyster appetizers it was back to the grill where Max was beginning to work his magic. Inspired by Argentinian Chef, Francis Mallmann, Max has been cooking over an open wood fire for years now and has the process down to a science. As the fire heats up, the veggies and side dishes tend to go on first.
Max had onions charring in the coals while grilled lemons and polenta cooked next to a mixed greens salad and a sage butter sauce melted away to dress the upcoming oysters and dayboat lobsters.
While there’s certainly a system and process to dinners made over an open fire, there’s a real art form to this style of cooking as well. It’s not necessarily something you can see or taste, but more something you feel not just while eating, but throughout the entire evening and experience.
Last up was the main event, fresh grilled oysters with sage butter and lobsters over the wood fire creating our improvised version of a New England clambake.
The sun finally set while the lobsters were just finishing up creating a unique atmosphere where everyone watched and waited as our food finished cooking over the bright orange and yellow flames. We all made plates and found ourselves making small toasts to experiences like these and the fast friends we made in the last few hours.
We watched as our friend Drew, visiting from Seattle (and who had a big hand in catching the lobsters for dinner) piled up a tower of shells on his plate getting his first fill of fresh grilled lobster.
During dinner, the skies opened up and the most stars we’d ever seen began to blanket the sky. As we started identifying the dippers, Orion’s Belt, and The Milky Way galaxy we were completely lost in the moment. It was a night with good company coming together around a fire as we imagined humans have done for millennia and sharing a truly special evening for everyone’s first Wood Fired Clambake.
A big thank you goes to the whole crew - Max, Jessie, Cat, Cam, James, Kayla, and Drew - for an incredible experience, great vibes, and the memory of a lifetime.
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