RI's iconic 'stuffies' stir controversy with sausage addition – What's your top recipe?

Gail Ciampa, Providence Journal
Updated ·4 min read

Stuffies are a uniquely Rhode Island food served at clam shacks, fine dining restaurants and markets. They've also been made at home by generations of families. Other coastal places might have stuffed clams, but they don't have "stuffies."

Stuffies are in the news as the Rhode Island Commerce Corporation installs a 7-foot-tall, three-dimensional replica at airports in cities across the country. It's part of a tourism promotion to entice visitors to the Ocean State to sample delicious, local cuisine.

So what exactly are Stuffies?

Stuffies are stuffed clams, specifically quahogs. Quahogs are the largest of the area's clams, bigger than cherrystones and tiny littlenecks.

Quahogs lend themselves to being stuffed because the shells are so big, said Natalia Paiva-Neves. She runs O Dinis, her Portuguese family's restaurant in East Providence. Born in the Azores, she is a home cook and chef who speaks to the cultural origins of foods like the stuffie.

"It's a New England seafaring thing," she said.

People began making it because the clams were here and it was an easy, inexpensive way to use leftover bread to make a stuffing, she said.

Stuffies are made using quahogs because they are the biggest of the area clams. See the difference in the three sizes, biggest to smallest: quahog, cherrystone, right, and little neck, bottom.
Stuffies are made using quahogs because they are the biggest of the area clams. See the difference in the three sizes, biggest to smallest: quahog, cherrystone, right, and little neck, bottom.

Portuguese Americans might well have had a hand in creating the stuffie because most recipes call for the addition of their most popular spiced, pork sausage, chouriço, to the stuffing. But they aren't the only ones to lay claim to long-established family recipes.

TR McGrath, a third-generation bakemaster at his Newport catering company, McGrath Clambakes, traces its history back some six decades. But even before that, his grandfather Thomas “was the go-to guy when someone was having a big social event” at the Bellevue mansions. His first official job was for John Nicholas Brown at Harbor Court (later purchased by the New York Yacht Club). The guests expected seafood.

Today, the stuffie recipe he makes is from the McGrath family recipe box. “We literally make it the same way my grandfather did,” he said.

Best places to try a Rhode Island stuffie?

Stuffies are one of many iconic foods that Rhode Islanders can enjoy at any level of dining. They are served at white tablecloth restaurants, no-frills clam shacks and seafood markets.

Stuffies, or stuffed quahog clams, are sold in markets, like this one from Dockside Seafood Marketplace in Warwick, as well as restaurant dishes at clam shacks and in fine dining establishments.
Stuffies, or stuffed quahog clams, are sold in markets, like this one from Dockside Seafood Marketplace in Warwick, as well as restaurant dishes at clam shacks and in fine dining establishments.

Here are a few places in each of those categories.

Fine dining options include:

  • Coast Guard House in Narragansett

  • Matunuck Oyster Bar in Wakefield

  • Hemenway's Restaurant in Providence

  • 15 Point Road Restaurant in Portsmouth

  • The Crow's Nest in Warwick

  • George's of Galilee in Narragansett

  • Iggy's Boardwalk in Warwick and Twin Oaks in Cranston where they serve a Stuffed Quahog and a Portuguese Stuffed Quahog.

At Portsmouth's 15 Point Road Restaurant in Portsmouth, their signature Stuffies come with garlic butter.
At Portsmouth's 15 Point Road Restaurant in Portsmouth, their signature Stuffies come with garlic butter.

Clam shacks offering stuffies include:

  • Amaral's Fish & Chips in Warren

  • Quito's in Bristol

  • Monahan's Clam Shacks in Narragansett and Charlestown

  • Aunt Carrie's in Narragansett

  • Flo's Clam Shack in Middletown where they serve Flo's Fiery Stuffed Quahog.

Want to bring home stuffies from a market?

  • Dockside Seafood Marketplace in Warwick

  • Anthony’s Seafood in Middletown

  • Tony's Seafood in Seekonk

  • Ocean Pride Seafood in Cranston

  • Gardner's Wharf Seafood in North Kingstown.

Who has your favorite?: Everything you wanted to know about clam cakes. Book takes a deep dive into a RI favorite

How do you make stuffies?

You need to shuck quahogs, “The big boys,” as McGrath calls them. Then save the liqueur, cook up onion and chouriço and he promises that you will have some of the best stuffies you’ll ever taste.

Not all recipes use the sausage, some use bacon instead. But this recipe is a proven winner.

McGrath Stuffies

2 sticks butter

1¼ pounds diced onion

1¼ pounds ground chouriço

1 quart quahog juice, reserved during shucking

1 quart chopped quahogs

1 pound bag herbed stuffing

2 dozen quahog shells

Hot sauce, for serving

Melt butter in a large fry pan over medium heat. Add onion and chouriço. Cook until the onion is translucent and the chouriço is crispy.

Add the quahog juice. This is the liquid, also known as liqueur, you reserved from shucking the clams. Let it come to a slight boil.

Add the clams and cook just long enough that the clams are tender. Do not overcook.

Put heated mixture into a mixing bowl with the stuffing mix. Blend together.

Fill each shell with a few spoonfuls of the mixture. Place shells on a large baking sheet. Bake in a 350-degree oven for 45 minutes.

Optional: Serve with a bottle of hot sauce.

Makes 24 stuffies.

This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: What's so great about RI's stuffie? The secrets behind the iconic dish