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00000181-fa79-da89-a38d-fb7f2b2f0000The phrase “wildlife trafficking” usually evokes visions of elephant tusks, tiger pelts and mounted trophy heads of animals killed in faraway places, then smuggled into the United States, Asia or Europe.But traffickers and poachers are also robbing the United States of its own native fauna. Our investigation found that’s especially true in the wildlife-abundant region of the Pacific Northwest.Our team of reporters conducted hundreds of interviews, spent hours reviewing documents, and followed law enforcement as they worked their cases. Download Our EbookExperience the full series by downloading our free ebook on your iPad using the iBooks app and searching in the store for "Wildlife Detectives."Don't have an iPad? Download the PDF version of the book.

How To Cook A Geoduck

KUOW | By Aileen Imperial

Published May 18, 2015 at 5:12 AM AKDT

Kevin Bartlett of Taylor Shellfish in Seattle shows David George Gordon, the bug chef, how to cook geoduck.

Geoducks (that's pronounced gooey-duck) are a shellfish delicacy, fetching about $30 a pound here in Seattle. But how do you cook these curious creatures? Kevin Bartlett of Taylor Shellfish at Melrose Market in Seattle showed us how.

Here's the video; we also provide a step-by-step guide with photos below.

https://youtu.be/IWmeua-l1k8

1. First, as the Northwest children's song goes, you dig a duck. Pick the best one by checking its firm, round shape. Ask for the geoduck's tags if you're interested, and where it was harvested. Some are 3-years-old, but diggers have found ones that are a century old.

[asset-images[{"caption": "David George Gordon, the bug chef, holds up a geoduck at Taylor Shellfish in Seattle.", "fid": "117756", "style": "placed_full", "uri": "public://201505/screen_shot_2015-05-17_at_11.34.25_am.png", "attribution": "Credit KCTS9/Aileen Imperial"}]]2. Set out two pots: one with boiling water, another with ice water. Plunge the geoduck into the boiling water and count to eight slowly.

3. Pull out the geoduck of the boiling water and place it in the ice water to stop the cooking process.

4. Place the geoduck on a cutting board and peel off its skin, starting at the shell end. Peel the skin off like a banana; discard the skin.

5. Toward the thicker part of the geoduck are the clam's innards. Squeeze those out and throw them away.

[asset-images[{"caption": "Kevin Bartlett of Taylor Shellfish in Seattle points out the part of the geoduck you should squeeze out and throw away.", "fid": "117758", "style": "placed_full", "uri": "public://201505/screen_shot_2015-05-17_at_11.39.14_am.png", "attribution": "Credit KCTS9/Aileen Imperial"}]]6. Identify the body of the geoduck. It's the part that previously held the innards. Bartlett said he likes to use that for the chowder -- it's the fatty part of the clam. Cut that part off.

7. The long part of the geoduck is its neck, called a siphon. Cut this part lengthwise. This is the crunchier part -- like a cucumber, Bartlett said. Cut thin slices, as Bartlett does in the photo below, and serve.

[asset-images[{"caption": "Kevin Bartlett slices off razor-thin cuts of geoduck for David George Gordon, the bug chef. He cuts toward the end of the geoduck. ", "fid": "117759", "style": "placed_full", "uri": "public://201505/screen_shot_2015-05-17_at_12.00.20_pm.png", "attribution": "Credit KCTS9/Aileen Imperial"}]]