Sep 15, 2009: How to Clean a Geoduck

Should you find yourself with a fresh geoduck on your hands, here's what to do.

First, gather your materials:

• A geoduck
• A paring knife and cutting board
• Hot water (we use a tea kettle in this demo)
• Tongs
• A bowl of ice water to cool the duck down after you blanch it

Easy Method:

Step 1: Remove rubber band and use tongs to place whole geoduck in boiling water for 10 seconds.

Step 2: Using tongs, remove the geoduck from boiling water and put in ice water bath until cool to touch.

Step 3: Remove shell and innards. Peel off skin. If skin sticks, pour hot water over the sticky spots. Rinse in fresh water.

Step 4: Trim off dark edges, separate siphon from mantle. Cut siphon in two lengthwise and rinse again to remove any lingering phytoplankton. Prepare the siphon for crudo or ceviche, and use the mantle to fry or in chowder. 

Check out a video of this process on our Instagram page.