New England Clam Chowder
I’ve tasted some really good clam chowders and some really, really bad clam chowders in my lifetime. I’m not claiming to be a clam chowder aficionado, but I did grow up on the east coast (not in New England), and my husband and I have attended practically every clam chowder cook-off in our area over the years.
Most chowders that I’ve tasted are so thick with roux that the chowder has no consistency or taste. It’s almost like eating oatmeal or cream of wheat and all the important flavors and textures get lost in all of the glue. My definition of clam chowder is a “creamy and somewhat chunky soup” and “soup” is the key word here. The chowder should be brothy and spill off your spoon like a soup instead of dropping into a big blob in your bowl. I can only imagine all the regional chowder battles that have been raging for the past 200 years about the best ingredients to use and the proper consistency for making clam chowder, and so I thought that I would add my thoughts as well.
You can either steam and shuck fresh clams and make a clam broth from scratch or you can purchase high quality canned minced clams in their juice. I’ve made clam chowder with both fresh and canned and I can honestly tell you that I can’t really tell the difference. Of course, having baby littleneck clams as a garnish in the soup looks really nice. One of the most important ingredients in the chowder is using applewood-smoked bacon. It imparts an intense sweet smoky flavor that compliments the clams, and the consistency of the bacon adds texture to the soup. I recommend that you purchase a small slab of applewood-smoked bacon and dice it yourself instead of purchasing pre-sliced. If you can’t find applewood smoked bacon than use salt pork or thick sliced hickory smoked bacon.
To start, heat canola oil in a large stockpot. Add finely diced applewood smoked bacon and render the fat and cook until golden brown. Next add medium sized diced onions, celery, minced garlic, salt and pepper and cook for about five minutes until flavors are released. Add some butter (the base for a roux) and stir until the butter melts and coats the vegetables evenly. At this point, sprinkle a nice dusting of flour over the vegetables and stir to combine. The vegetables should be coated with the flour but not so much that you have a thick paste. If you add too much flour then you can always add more liquid later to correct the consistency.
While the vegetables are simmering, strain the liquid from the clams and add the clam broth to the roux mixture. Reserve the clams (either chopped or whole to add later). Stir mixture to combine and then add chopped thyme and parsley. Next add cream and half and half. I prefer using three parts half and half to one part cream. Using cream stabilizes the half and half so that it doesn’t break under high heat. After you add the liquids, bring it up to a simmer and then add medium diced yukon gold or white potatoes, a few splashes of tabasco and worcestershire sauce and cook until potatoes are tender, approximately 30 minutes. Finally, add your minced or whole clams and salt and pepper to taste. I like to finish the chowder by stiring in pale dry sherry to taste. Garnish with minced parsley and serve with warm crusty bread.
Chowder is a really versatile soup. You can substitute the clams with crabmeat, lobster or any type of firm textured fish. Since I grew up in Maryland we would always add Old Bay seasoning to our chowders. A little old bay goes a long way but it adds a nice spice to the soup. You can avoid adding seafood all together and make potato-corn chowder or potato-curry chowder. One of my favorite chowders is to make salmon-corn chowder. The salmon and applewood-smoked bacon go really well together and the coral color of the salmon looks really great against the cream base of the soup.
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