Clam Chowder
This Clam Chowder is thick, creamy, and loaded with smoky bacon, tender potatoes, and sweet clams. You render the bacon, build a quick roux with the vegetables, then simmer everything with cream and clam juice for a New England style bowl that is ready in 45 minutes.
Servings 6 servings
Calories 350kcal
Ingredients
- 6 strips bacon
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 onion chopped
- 1 stalk celery chopped
- 2 cloves garlic finely chopped
- 1/2 teaspoon salt or to taste
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper freshly ground
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1 tablespoon hot sauce use less for a milder pot
- 3 tablespoons all purpose flour
- 2 cups chicken broth low sodium preferred
- 1 cup cream heavy cream for the thickest result, or half and half
- 1 cup clam juice bottled
- 3 bay leaves 3 to 4 depending on size
- 3 potatoes peeled and cut into half inch chunks
- 2 cups clams in shells about 2 cans chopped clams if fresh is not available
Instructions
- Fry the bacon in a dry skillet over medium heat for 6 to 7 minutes, until crisp. Transfer it to a paper towel lined plate, let it cool, then crumble it and set it aside for serving.
- Cook the chopped onion and celery in the olive oil in a large saucepan over low heat for about 5 minutes, stirring, until soft and translucent. Add the minced garlic and cook 1 minute more.
- Stir in the salt, black pepper, Worcestershire sauce, and hot sauce. Cook everything together for 1 minute so the seasonings bloom in the hot fat.
- Sprinkle the flour over the vegetables and cook, stirring constantly, for a full 2 minutes. The mixture will look like a thick paste, which is exactly what you want.
- Pour in the chicken broth, cream, and clam juice, then drop in the bay leaves. Stir well to break up any lumps of flour and bring the pot to a gentle simmer.
- Add the potatoes and simmer for 20 minutes, until they are tender all the way through. Keep the pot at a gentle simmer so the cream stays smooth.
- Stir in the clams, removed from their shells, for the final 5 minutes of cooking, just long enough to heat them through. Remove the bay leaves and serve topped with the crumbled bacon and chopped fresh parsley.
Notes
- Fresh littleneck or cherrystone clams give the sweetest flavor. Steam them just until the shells open, pull the meat, and strain and save the liquor to add to the pot.
- Two 6.5 ounce cans of chopped clams work if fresh is not available. Add the juice from the cans along with the bottled clam juice.
- Do not skip the bottled clam juice. It is the briny backbone that keeps the chowder from tasting like potato soup with clams in it.
- Cook the flour for a full 2 minutes before adding liquid. That removes the raw flour taste and is what makes the chowder coat a spoon.
- Never let the pot boil hard after the cream goes in. A gentle simmer keeps the dairy smooth instead of grainy.
- Leftovers keep in the fridge for up to 3 days. Freezing is not recommended, since cream and potatoes both turn grainy after a thaw.
Nutrition
Calories: 350kcal