The Clam's Mike Price prepares the restaurant's Cherrystone Stuffies (VIDEO)

Located in the West Village at 420 Hudson St., The Clam Restaurant features seafood specialties like Clam Fried Rice, Steamed Littlenecks, and Clam Chowder. Chef and Co-Owner of The Clam meets with Potluck Video to share The Clam's take on the very traditional stuffed clam: The Cherrystone Stuffies.

"A classic dish, every cuisine almost has some kind of version of stuffed clams," Price says. "These are kind of particular to Rhode Island. It definitely has that Italian influence and I think the real special thing about the stuffed clams is the amount of stuffed clams that you can fit back into the shell."

To prepare the clams, he starts a pot off with some sliced garlic browning in a splash of oil. He adds fresh thyme that adds a crackling sound as it hits the pan. Topping off the garlic and thyme mixture, Price adds dry vermouth to the pot. The choice of vermouth over the typical white wine that is often seen in clam preparation gives a heavier and more classic taste to the clams. With flames piping out of the pot, he places his clams in and covers them with a lid until they open up.

Over another burner, he heats a medium frying pan for the "stuffing."

Pancetta is chopped and tossed into the pan for a browning. Price throws some more sliced garlic in with the pancetta until both are toasted. He adds his vegetables in, equal parts celery, onion, and red pepper. The vegetables add some moisture to the pan which is needed to deglaze the bottom of the pan. The deglazing process helps remove and dissolve the browned food from the bottom of the pan.

After the vegetables have become tender, Price adds a couple of ladles of fresh-made clam stock to the pan. The stock not only will soften the vegetables, but it aids the deglazing process which will give the stuffing an enhanced flavor.

With a sprinkling of chopped chives and a few more minutes of cooking, the stuffing is pulled aside and placed in a large mixing bowl. After the clams have opened up, Price does a rough chop on the clam meat. When preparing the recipe for The Cherrystone Stuffies, Price had to decide the amount of vegetables vs clam meat. "The ratio I like to go is pretty much a little bit more clams than vegetables. Some we're looking for almost half and half."

Price tosses the chopped clams in with the vegetable mixture. On the side, Price prepares the bread crumbs which will be placed on top of the stuffed clams. The panko bread crumbs are joined with chopped chives and meyer lemons- which is a lemon crossed with a tangerine and they have a very specific flavor. The bread crumb mixture is then topped with some melted butter to aid in the toasting process.

With cleaned clam shells, Price adds the clam and vegetable mixture into the shell and coats it with the bread crumb blend to get a "toasted crunchiness on the outside."

The clams are then baked in an oven for 12 to 15 minutes and come out sizzling with a golden-toasted color.