Clam Chowder?

[Reverend Al]

Last week I made a big pot of Chicken Rice soup and last night I made a big pot of Jambalaya. Also have a hankerin' for some Clam Chowder lately. Does anyone have a good recipe to offer for a good Clam Chowder? (Personally I prefer white over red ...)

[Winger Ed.]

That's some good stuff. It might be worth a trip to Maine and pay somebody's Grandmother to make ya the real deal.

[gbrown]

My goto place for recipes is All Recipes. www.allrecipes.com I take it you have access to fresh clams? I live on the Gulf Coast of Texas, so we didn't have clams, but mom would make a delicious oyster chowder. She added crumbled bacon and some of the left over bacon grease to hers. Potatoes, carrots, parsley, salt, pepper, milk, butter, and flour for thickening. I don't know the exact measurements of all the ingredients or what other spices she used. Some people use Half and Half or real cream. Mom just used whole milk. One thing I do remember is that she didn't add the oysters until last and then didn't cook them long, just til they were barely done. I don't think she ever got the pot hot enough to boil, either.

[Reverend Al]

OK, thanks for the info!

[DougGuy]

Most clam broth on store shelves is really nasty. Lots of times our markets here have 100ct bags of fresh live clams, I steam those open and reserve the broth and I make my clam chowder from that, and a quart of fish stock made from fish we caught and ate, and finely diced potatoes.

[Lloyd Smale]

i love me some clam chowder! biggest trick to it is to not scrimp on the clams. Heres my recipe. Its not the best ive ever ate but its good

2 cups cubed potatoes (don't overcook or they get to mushy)
1/2 stick of butter
2tbs chopped green onion bulbs
1/3 cup chopped celery
1/3 cup chopped carrots
1/4 cup of flour
3 6.5 oz cans of clams in real juice
1/3 cup clam juice (added to the juice in the clams)
16 oz half and half
1/2 cup milk
1ts salt
cook the spuds. Melt the butter in a 2qt sause pan, add onions, celery, carrots and cook till the onions are transparent and the carrots are a bit soft. Add flour and stir it in well. Add half and half a little at a time stirring it in briskly then add clams all the juice and milk and salt and bring to boil on med heat. Then simmer for at least 15 minutes. If you want it a bit thicker at some corn starch if you want it thinner add a bit more milk Like it a bit more salty add more salt. I do this in a triple batch and freeze a lot of it in single serving glad containers. this is actually my sisters recipe and I like to add a can of corn to 3 batches too.

[Reverend Al]

Thanks for the recipe! I'll give that one a try ...

[knifemaker]

That is a good recipe given by Lloyd and he is right about using plenty of clams in the recipe or you end up with potato chowder. Here on the West coast, many cooks add "Old bay" spices to the recipe. use 1 teaspoon and taste and add another if you think it is needed. We also use "Old Bay" in the boiling water when cooking crabs for better flavor.

[Lloyd Smale]

wish I did have access to fresh clams but here in the UP of Michigan there rare and EXPENSIVE!

[Reverend Al]

Took me a while to get around to it, but finally made a big pot of Clam Chowder using the recipe above since we have my brother in law and mother in law out to visit with us from Manitoba. Came out great (as far as I'm concerned) and it was a big hit with the "clan" too ...

[johnho]

Here's one I concocted after eating a fantastic clam chowder in a place in NH. The trick was to add the Old Bay. Can be used for clam, shrimp or lobster chowders.


3 tablespoons bacon drippings-see below using bacon instead of drippings.
2 stalks celery, chopped
1 medium oinion, chopped
2 small or mid sized potatoes, peeled and chopped in small cubes
1 clove garlic, chopped fine
1 8 oz bottle of clam juice
1 tablespoon Old Bay Seafood seasoning, or to taste
clams, corn, shirmp or fish, whatever. Amount to your taste
2 cups chicken stock
1/4 teaspoon whlte pepper, ground
1/8 teaspoon thyme, dry
1/3 cup flour
3 cups Heavy cream

1. Heat bacon drippings to dutch oven or heavy pot. Add celery and onions and cook until tender. Add garlic and cook for 1 minute. Stir in potatoes, clam juice, stock, pepper and thyme. Bring to a boil and cook until potatoes are tender, about 15 to 20 minutes. Add Old Bay Seasoning and stir.

2. In a small bowl mix the flour with 1 cup of heavy cream until smooth. Add to mixture and bring to boil to thicken. Add in remaining cream. Adjust Old Bay Seasoning to taste here.

3. Add in clams, shrimp, corn, fish or what ever you want. If adding clams the recipe I built this from called for 2-6.5 oz cans of clams undrained for reference to amount of things to add.

4. Can also use 4 strips of bacon, fry it up in pot and remove. Cook onions and celery in the remaining drippings. Chop up bacon and use for topping on soup when served.

[JBinMN]

Old Bay is great stuff!
;)

[webfoot10]

New England chowder, 1 bushel medium sized hardshell clams, 1/2 lb salt pork, six large
onions, 5lbs potatoes.
Cut pork into small cubes and fry in large cast iron pan till crispy. Put the pork into
a large kettle, Dice up onions and put in salt pork grease, cook till crispy, but not
burnt. Add onions to pot. Cut up potatoes into small pieces. Peel potatoes if you like.
Cut the clams from their shells, saving all clam juice. Put clams & juice into a blender
and chop them up. Add the clams, potatoes,onions and saltpork into kettle. add 1 tsp
black pepper. Add enough water to cover potatoes. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and
cook till potatoes are done. This will be a clear chowder, add milk or tomato juice if you
like. Rhode Islanders tend to like the clear chowder, New York the red chowder, And
Boston likes the white chowder. Let chowder set for an hour before eating to let the
flavors mix. Reverend Al, You have the hard shell clams where you live, but I guess
most people just use them for bait. Go dig a few and enjoy.
webfoot10

[Reverend Al]

Reverend Al, You have the hard shell clams where you live ...

Most definitely ... all of the clams I used in my recipe were extremely hard shell ... they came in tin cans!

[Lloyd Smale]

you must dig them up in the same place i do.
Most definitely ... all of the clams I used in my recipe were extremely hard shell ... they came in tin cans!