In Newport, R. I., the clambake is more than just a way to pass a summer afternoon; it’s a beloved New England tradition that locals take very seriously. Castle Hill Inn’s summer clambakes, overseen by the chef Karsten Hart (the director of restaurants at Newport Harbor Corporations), have been voted the state’s best by Rhode Island Monthly. They’re inspired, Hart explains, by the Wampanoag and Narragansett tribes’ centuries-old customs — but presented with some modern twists.

Most notably, the word “clambake” itself is something of a misnomer in describing Castle Hill’s events, which function more as a combination lobster bake and clam boil. Traditionally, a clambake involves building a fire pit, coating the hot rocks and coals with seaweed and cooking a mélange of treats — lobsters, clams, sausage, potatoes, corn on the cob — topped with a wet tarp. (“Essentially, it’s like a smoker, a steamer and a pressure cooker all at once,” Hart says.) Castle Hill does all that, too — minus the clams, which Hart prefers to cook in the kitchen instead. “Clams overcook,” Hart explains. “I’ve been to clambakes where you have this pot of clams and they’re just cooked to death.” Castle Hill’s chefs cook them on the stovetop with smoked seaweed, shallots, broth and vinho verde, while the lobsters are baking outside in a pit that overlooks the Claiborne Pell Bridge. “If you can imagine the sun setting, this covered mass of lobsters that’s just kind of steaming — it’s a really beautiful setting,” Hart says.

Originally from Louisiana, Hart had never experienced a lobster prepared clambake-style until joining the Castle Hill team in 2010. “I was questioning it; I was like, ‘Wow, you bury a lobster for an hour and a half? That’s the weirdest thing I’ve ever heard.’ I figured it would taste horrible and rubbery — but quite the contrary,” he says. “It was smoky, salty and this nori flavor, and I’ve never had lobster like that in my life.” Since then, he’s perfected the art: building fires using wood sourced entirely from the inn’s property; burying the lobsters in custom-built stainless steel cages along with 10 to 20 pounds of rockweed harvested from the Narragansett Bay; and ringing a large nautical bell to summon anywhere from 20 to 40 guests from cocktail hour to their dinner seats.

T was on hand to capture the inn’s first of two clambakes planned for the season; the inn’s clambake recipe, scaled down for a backyard dinner party and with the clams cooked traditionally, follows below.