New England Style Clam Chowder
It’s either crazy pants kitchen shenanigans or wishful thinking that I’m making a hearty cream soup in 90F humid August in the DC area… but here we are. New England clam chowder is a delicious briny milk-based chowder chock full of clams, bacon, potatoes and leeks. This quick to put together pot of comfort is always welcome if a bit of an odd choice in summer temps. Actually sitting down to a bowl with an icy beer alongside felt a bit like being seaside minus the crowds, seagulls and sandy pants.
This recipe makes a generous plenty to please a crowd or have plenty of leftovers. Served with crusty rolls (or IN crusty bread bowls … ohhhh that’d be delicious) or oyster crackers (our family favorite), this soup is as delicious as it is belly-warming but not so heavy that late August bowlsful are out of the question. Nary a locust here or BD has turned up his snoot to it.
A bonus to this recipe, no matter the time of year or day of the week you are making it, this clam chowder recipe is a quick dish to pull together and can be from vegetable washing/chopping to dinner table in about an hour-and-a-half or quicker if your chopping skills are aces.
I usually know where a recipe comes from and give the originator due credit but I have no idea where this came from. The first time I made this New England Clam Chowder was for Locust the Younger’s first birthday party in 2006 when most of my recipe book was printouts or handwritten pages. To celebrate, we had a soup party with tortilla soup and pho (both of which recipes I’m on a search for … sigh) and this chowder. I credit LtY’s love of all things seafood with this first taste of the briny.
If this recipe looks familiar, give me a shout and I’ll add due credit. Please and thank you.
INGREDIENTS
Bacon
I generally use regular grocery store sliced bacon (the better the quality, the better the flavor of course). Traditionally, I do believe salt pork was used so there’s always that but you’d need to soak and reduce the amount. This most recent go, I forgot that I had used the bacon that I had bought for this recipe for BLTs for dinner two days before.
Being loathe to grocery shop on a good day, I decided to sub in my prosciutto butt that I was saving for a vegetable bean soup. It was a delicious swap! Of couse, when I get to the vegetable bean soup, the good lord willin’ and the crick don’t rise, I’ll have gotten to the Italian Store for another butt. Note to self. Total aside of no use really unless you’re curious, our Italian store, called … The Italian Store, sells the ends of prosciutto for a pretty decent discount. These butts add the most delicious, dare I say umami, flavor to soups or stews or long-cooking dish that needs a little oomph.
Leeks
Leeks grow in sandy soil. Sandy soil sticks to leeks like stink to a polecat. The easiest way I’ve found to clean leeks is to tip and tail them (take off the bulb and fibrous green ends), slice in half lengthwise, and then cut into half moons. Put the slivers into a salad spinner with tons of cold fresh water. Swish around a lot. Let sit. Swish some more. Keep that going until the leek bits are cleaned. Leeks float; grit drops. If you don’t have a salad spinner just use a large bowl and fish them out with a strainer when done. The whitest ends were closest to the sandy soil so rub between your fingers to make sure you don’t feel any grit. Drain, spin and carry on. And yes, they are worth the trouble.
The Rest of the Vegetables
I use yellow onions but you can really use any round onion (white, sweet, red … in other words just not scallions or more leeks).
Use whatever potatoes you like or have on hand. I like Yukon Gold or Russet because they keep their shape even while turning creamy but really any will do. I don’t peel them because I like the flavor. Feel free to peel if that’s your preference. Chowder is unfussy and easily adapts to what you have on hand.
I don’t peel my carrots but do scrub them.
Clam Juice
You can either use the juice of fresh clams supplemented by bottled, just bottled, or (as I found by accident) fish stock! This last go I used homemade fish stock from the freezer as a taste test and it came out deliciously if a bit darker and cloudier because it was a very rich stock. Most goes I use a nice bottled clam juice because I, gasp! egad! use canned clams a lot because of my love of throwing this together and lack of good planning to get to the seafood market which leads me to …
Clams
Fresh-from-the-water clams are the best choice. Next best is from a reliable fish market. If you get them shucked, request the liquid if that’s not already offered. We are fortunate to live near two very wonderful seafood markets – BlackSalt Fish Market and Ivy City Seafood Market – both of which have equally delicious restaurants attached. That being said (cover your eyes, purists), I just as frequently use canned whole baby clams and I’ve never had a nose turned up to a bowl of this New England style clam chowder.
Milk vs. Cream
It’s really a matter of your taste preference. Milk is thinner and, to me, lets the flavor of the other ingredients shine a bit more while still adding a lovely creaminess. Cream adds a decadence that makes this clam chowder much richer but mutes the other flavors a bit. While I prefer whole milk, half-and-half is a happy medium between the two. Lower fat milks add nothing and I think I’d go with a Rhode Island Chowder and just bypass the dairy altogether. And that is not to dis Rhode Island Clam Chowder which I just recently came to discover. It may be – gasp again! – my favorite clam chowder. And don’t get me started on Rhode Island calamari. Lordy! Kerplunk! TDF! Sorry, not sorry, about that side trip from the dairy aisle. Back to trying to be useful… In order of my preference: whole milk, half-and-half, cream and … that’s it.
To Serve
Oyster crackers are a traditional (and my favorite) accompaniment for New England clam chowder. A hollowed out sturdy bread bowl is a festive and delicious option as is a big bowl of chowder served with rolls on the side.
If you make this chowder recipe, please let me know. If you’re on social media, please tag #piecrustandpasta @piecrust and pasta. As always, if you need clarification or have comments, please leave them below.
Have a souper day! No I could not help that.
New England Style Clam Chowder
Ingredients
- 12 oz bacon, 1/2 inch dice
- 1 cup chopped leeks about 1 lb. cleaned
- 1 cup chopped yellow onion
- 1/2 cup chopped celery
- 1/2 cup chopped carrot
- 3 dry bay leaves
- 1 tbsp chopped fresh thyme or 1 tsp. dried
- 1/2 cup AP flour
- 1 lb potatoes, 1/2 inch dice peel or not (I don't)
- 4 cups clam juice bottled or homemade
- 2 cups heavy cream or whole milk I use milk
- 2 lbs little neck clams shucked and chopped or 3 – 10 oz cans best quality clams chopped
- 2 tbsp finely chopped fresh parsley
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- In a heavy large soup pot (I used 6 qt enameled cast iron with lid), over medium heat render the bacon until crisp. It will take approximately 8-10 minutes.
- Stir in the leeks, onions, celery and carrots. Sate until vegetables are softened but not browning, about 3 minutes.
- Add 1 tsp of Kosher salt ant about the same of freshly ground black pepper. Stir.
- Add the bay leaves and thyme.
- Sprinkle the flour over the vegetables and cook for 2 minutes stirring regularly.
- Add the potatoes and clam juice. Bring to a boil and then reduce to a simmer. Cover the pot and simmer until the potatoes are fork-tender. Depending on the potatoes, this can take from 10 to 15 minutes.
- Add the cream or milk and bring to a simmer. Do not let it boil. Add the clams, stirring, and let cook for five minutes.
- Stir in the parsley, season with salt and pepper and either turn the heat off or reduce to the lowest setting. Ladle into bowls and serve.