Baked Clams

Ingredients

• 1  bacon 
• 1 ounce bread french
• 0.5 cup wine dry white
• 1.5 teaspoons thyme sprigs fresh chopped
• 32  littleneck clams scrubbed
• 2 teaspoons shallots minced
• 1.5 tablespoons butter unsalted divided

Equipment

• food processor
• bowl
• frying pan
• baking sheet
• sieve
• broiler
• cheesecloth

Directions

1. Bring wine to a boil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.
2. Add clams; cover and cook 4 minutes or until shells open.
3. Remove clams from pan, reserving cooking liquid. Discard any unopened shells. Strain cooking liquid through a cheesecloth-lined sieve into a medium bowl. Cool clams. Discard top shells.
4. Place clams, still in bottom shell halves, in a single layer on a baking sheet.
5. Return reserved cooking liquid to pan; bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Cook until reduced to 3/4 cup (about 3 minutes).
6. Remove from heat; remove 6 tablespoons cooking liquid from pan, and reserve for another use.
7. Add 1 1/2 teaspoons butter to cooking liquid in pan; stir until butter melts. Spoon about 1/2 teaspoon cooking liquid back into each clam shell.
8. Preheat broiler.
9. Place bread in a food processor; pulse 10 times or until fine crumbs measure about 1/2 cup. Cook bacon in a small skillet over medium heat until crisp.
10. Remove bacon from pan; finely chop.
11. Add shallots to drippings in pan; saut 30 seconds.
12. Add 1 tablespoon butter to pan, stirring until melted.
13. Remove pan from heat; stir in breadcrumbs and bacon. Divide breadcrumb mixture evenly among clam shell halves, pressing mixture gently into shells. Broil 1 minute or until golden brown.
14. Sprinkle with thyme.