There are a lot of different reasons why a clam might open its shell. My friend Jonathan Robinson, a marine ecologist at Washington State University, told me all about it. If we spent some time where ...

Almost the entire creature is edible, which makes preparation a cinch. The one trick: Unlike littlenecks, razor clams have a brittle shell. That means it can crack easily during the opening process.

Here’s how the beloved television personality preps clams for dishes like pasta alla vongole and clams casino.