Holy smack-a-roly, I can’t believe that I’ve never put a clam dip recipe on here! It could be an oversight or simply because I find dips to be problematic. There are so many things to consider: spicy or not spicy; baked or not baked; base combination–cream cheese, mayo, sour cream; and the ever present herb/condiment combos for flavor.

I truly believe that you could throw almost anything into a cream cheese and/or sour cream base and voila, you have a dip.

About 3.5268 seconds of thinking and I had solved my clam dip issue. I wanted it cool and spicy. Or not spicy. But definitely cool. And maybe with a smoky flavor. I am all about making smoky foods as witnessed by Smoky White Bean Chicken Chili and Malt Vinegar Oven Fries and Chicken Cordon Bleu Casserole and Smoked Gouda, Bacon, and White Truffle Butter Mac and Cheese and Savory Mashed Potatoes and and several more things, but I’ll stop here because I suspect that your eyes have completely glazed over by now.

The recipe that I ended up creating is quite tasty. The degree of heat and smokiness is very flexible, relying on the amount of chipotle hot sauce that is added.

There are several varieties of hot sauce on the market that have a good chipotle flavor. I prefer Cholula brand because…well…just because it tastes the best to me. I do like it better than Tabasco because the heat factor is not as sharp. I don’t mind heat, but the heat from different types of peppers hits the tongue and mouth in various ways.

What I am saying is probably not making much sense. I’ll have to think about a better way of explaining heat from peppers. Sure, I’ll get around to doing that real, real soon. Ummhmm, I’ll get right on it.

While I’m fixating on that hot pepper explanation, here’s the recipe for a great little clam dip.

Print Recipe

Smoky Clam Dip

Prep Time10

Chill Time1

Total Time1 10

Servings: cups

Author: Terri @ that's some good cookin'

Ingredients

1 8 ounce block cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup sour cream
1 6 ounce can minced or chopped clams
2 tablespoons minced green onions
2 teaspoons chipotle flavor hot sauce
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1/2 teaspoon seasoning salt
chives or green onion tops for garnish

Instructions

With an electric mixer or by hand, blend together the softened cream cheese and the sour cream until smooth.
By hand, stir in the remainder of the ingredients except the garnish.
Chill, covered, for at least an hour to allow flavors to blend. Garnish as desired prior to serving.

Notes

For additional heat, add a pinch of red pepper flakes. For additional smokiness and heat, use a pinch of chipotle chile powder, to taste, or increase the amount of chipotle flavor hot sauce. Chipotle chile powder will increase the heat and smoky flavor without adding additional liquid to the dip. For additional smokiness without adding more heat, use a sprinkle of smoked paprika, to taste.

Recipe by Terri @ that's some good cookin'