New England Clam Chowder
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 40 minutes
- Total Time: 50 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
- Category: seafood, soup
- Cuisine: dinner
Description
Happy New Year everyone! We survived 2020! And my condolences for anyone who lost a loved one over this past year. It’s been rough for all of us. The light is at the end of the tunnel, though.
Do you guys make New Year’s resolutions? I don’t. I mean, I make plans for what I want the year to be, but not actual goals or commitments. I’ve spent so much time the past few months building up the recipes here that I’ve fallen behind on all the other projects I like to tinker with… I mean, it’s eat, drink, play with tools, and I have not been playing with enough tools. Or when I have, I haven’t had the time to actually write them up because I’m back in the kitchen cooking and writing up recipes!
So, my goal this year is to slow down on the recipe posts and reduce those to maybe a few times a week. But start ramping up more on my woodworking and gardening. What are your aspirations for the year? I know New Year’s is actually an arbitrary date, but this year, I do feel a sense of hope and a small tickle of excitement.
Anywho, on to what this blog is supposed to be about! New England clam chowder, if not my favorite soup, definitely one of the top five… up there with split pea soup, broccoli cheddar soup, and tomato soup. New England clam chowder is such a cold winter’s day soup that warms you to your bones.
I used to make New England clam chowder by throwing together a can of Campbell’s cream of celery, cream of potato soup, and a couple cans of their clam chowder. That was living cheap and frugal! But, it’s not like it was the most scrumptious clam chowder.
The clam chowder I make now is from scratch, and it is so worth the time and effort to make it from scratch. Most of the time I get a couple dozens of fresh clams to add to the soup. However, if I want to be a bit more frugal or I don’t feel like running out for fresh clams and want to just use up things in the pantry, I’ll skip the fresh clams and throw in an extra can of baby clams. I give you both options in the recipe below. The flavor is equally the same, but having fresh clams allows you to add some nice big pieces of clam meat.
The longest part of this recipe is letting the potatoes soften, which can take about 30 minutes. But while they’re simmer away, you only need to periodically stir the soup, so it’s not heavy hands on cooking.
Clam chowder is so easy to pull together from scratch, and once you make it from scratch, store-bought clam chowder will never come close again.
Enjoy!
Ingredients
1 large sweet onion, chopped
6–8 celery stalks, chopped
8 garlic cloves, minced
2 large russet potatoes, peeled and cubed ~ about 1” x 1″
6 sprigs of thyme
2 bay leaves
16 oz bacon
1 cup heavy cream
2 – 10 oz cans of whole baby clams, liquid reserved
2 – 8 oz jars of clam juice ~ 2 cups
3 cups seafood stock ~ or an additional 3 cups clam juice
2 dozen fresh clams ~ cleaned and de-bearded (or 1 additional 10 oz can of whole baby clams, drained)
3 TB butter
4 TB flour
Instructions
Line the back on a wire rack on top of a baking sheet. Place in a cold oven and turn the temperature to 400°F. Cook the bacon for 22 to 24 minutes, or until just crispy. Remove and let drain on a paper towel. When cooled, chop.
Meanwhile, melt the butter over medium heat in a large heavy-bottomed pot or large Dutch oven. Once melted, add the onions and celery. Lightly season with salt and cook, stirring often, until just starting to soften ~ about 8 minutes. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant ~ about 30 seconds.
Sprinkle the flour over the vegetables and stir to fully saturate the flour. Slowly add the seafood stock and clam juice, stirring constantly and scrapping the bottom and sides. Bring to a simmer. Then add the thyme sprigs, bay leaves, and potatoes. Reduce the heat to medium-low and cook until the potatoes are fork tender ~ about 30 minutes. Stir often.
Once the potatoes are fork tender, remove the bay leaves and thyme sprigs. Add the canned clams with the liquid, the heavy cream, and the bacon. Stir to combine. Once the soup has returned to a simmer, remove from the heat.
Meanwhile, in a large pot or wok, boil 4 cups of water and add the fresh clams and cover. Cook until each clam opens ~ removing them as they open. Discard any clams that don’t open. Shuck the clams and divide evenly among the bowls. Top with the soup and serve immediately!
Great with Pillsbury crescents or crusty bread!
Keywords: seafood saturday, new england clam chowder, clam chowder, chowder, seafood chowder
