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New England Clam Chowder
When I was a kid my taste in soup was sort of an aberration compared to my other culinary preferences. I had a pretty typical kid palate when it came to most things; I lived on peanut butter and jelly (I seemingly haven’t evolved much in that area), loved grilled cheese sandwiches, chicken nuggets, and all of the stereotypical things that most kids don’t venture far from. Now soup was a different story. Sure, I would happily eat a bowl of chicken noodle or tomato soup, but my true love was New England clam chowder. What?! How?! I still don’t understand it to this day, other than maybe reasoning that it was the abundance of potatoes and the creamy texture that I adored, but this soup love certainly didn’t jive with my unwillingness to try most other things. I can remember my mom and grandma both keeping their pantries stocked with cans of this and (gasp!) if either of them dare try to throw in a Manhattan clam chowder in the event that they ran out of New England, take cover. That was completely unacceptable to me and I would not eat it. My young little foodie heart belonged to New England clam chowder. And it has only taken me 25+ years to make a homemade version, ha!
The key to my finding a good homemade recipe was that it could not require the use of fresh clams. Living in Pittsburgh, the ability to easily buy fresh clams and not spend an arm and a leg for a pot of soup really just isn’t there. So I was thrilled when I found a work-around with the canned, minced clams and bottled clam juice. I was amazed at how fantastic this tasted, how close to my early memories of clam chowder it came, and of course (though not surprisingly) how superior it is to what comes out of a can.
I’m enjoying keeping up with the soup portion of my 2012 resolutions, having made a fresh batch last week (Chicken Noodle) and this week. The best part? Both of them are incredibly warm and hearty soups, and can be made in less than an hour.
What was your favorite soup when you were a kid?
One year ago: Peanut Butter Cup Bars
Two years ago: Maple-Oatmeal Scones
Four years ago: Classic White Bread
Did you make this recipe?
A classic recipe for chowder
- 4
slices
center-cut thick-cut bacon
( (about 4 ounces), cut into ยผ-inch pieces)
- 1
large Spanish onion
(chopped)
- 2
tablespoons
all-purpose flour
- 26
ounces
minced clams
(drained and juice reserved)
- 16
ounces
clam juice
- 1
cup
water
- 1ยฝ
pounds
red potatoes
(about 4 medium, scrubbed and cut into ยฝ-inch dice)
- 1
bay leaf
- ยผ
teaspoon
dried thyme
- 1
cup
heavy cream
- 2
tablespoons
minced fresh parsley leaves
Salt and fresh ground pepper
(to taste)
Fry the bacon in a large stockpot or Dutch oven over medium-low heat until the fat renders and the bacon crisps, 5 to 7 minutes.
Add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 5 minutes.
Add the flour and stir until lightly colored, about 1 minute. Gradually whisk in the reserved clam juice (from the cans), the bottled clam juice and the water.
Add the potatoes, bay leaf, and thyme and simmer until the potatoes are tender, about 10 to 15 minutes.
Add the clams, cream, parsley, salt and pepper to taste; bring to a simmer. Remove from the heat, discard the bay leaf, and serve immediately.
Calories: 385kcal
Fat: 24g
Saturated fat: 12g
Cholesterol: 75mg
Sodium: 587mg
Potassium: 703mg
Carbohydrates: 32g
Fiber: 2g
Sugar: 4g
Protein: 9g
Vitamin A: 17.4%
Vitamin C: 20.5%
Calcium: 5.6%
Iron: 9%
Did you make this recipe?
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Looks great! I’m always looking for new and wonderful NE Clam Chowder recipes. It’s always been my favorite too! Do you think it would work with freshly steamed clams instead of minced ones from a can? I can’t find canned clams, but I can find loads of fresh ones!
Hi Liz, I haven’t tried it with fresh clams but I don’t see why it wouldn’t! Enjoy!
This is really good, made it tonight but I was out of thyme. Just used a little extra parsley and I added celery to it as well. I will make this again and again. Thanks for sharing the recipe.
Tim
I am not a native New Englander, but my husband is. Whenever I’ve made clam chowder it was always Snows, because that was supposed to be the best canned. I didn’t know better because I grew up in Pennsylvannia and my mother never made it. So hubby made a challenge to me to make it home-made. Yours was the recipe I picked and he is so happy. He said it was the best clam chowder he ever had and that I can’t make any other recipe!
Thanks for your recipe!
Looks so yummy!!!!! Making tonight for dinner!!! Thank- you for recipe…..
Tried this tonight. Turned out great. Remember to leave the potatoes in long enough to become tender.
Is it unusual for children to like new england clam chowder? I loved it as a kid. As far as I knew, my friends loved it too. I had no idea that this was unusual.
I’ve never seen a recipe that didn’t use fresh clams either. I can get them, pretty cheaply, but I have bad luck with them. Either too many die before I cook them, or too many are dead in the final cooking and I have to pick them out. I have better luck cooking things with canned clams. I can get whole clams in their broth at the supermarket.
Also a huge fan of New England style even though I am a NY-er born & bred. I have never like Manhattan style at all. My sister went to college up in Cambridge, MA when I was 13 and we visited with her a few times a year. We would go to the original Legal Seafoods or to Anthony’s Pier 4 in Boston and have the New England Clam Chowder. It was the best. Now you can find the Legal Seafoods brand at Costco so I can have their clam chowder any time I want. It is so thick and delicious. Thanks for this great recipe. I can’t wait to try it.
When I was little I LOVED clam chowder, canned and grandma’s homemade, when I came home from school for lunch my grandma would make us a nice hot bowl of clam chowder, unfortunately the older I got, fish started to creep me out so I stopped eating it. Just recently I ordered a bowl at a restaurant to try it out and realized, I still loved it! Will definitely be making this soon!
OMG!!! Made this over the weekend and it was delicious (and easy). Thanks for sharing.
I’ll start off by stating that I was born in Rhode Island, smack in the middle of chowder country (and where “Manhattan” chowder comes from) and my grandmother makes all three types of chowder; white, clear and red. We always just classified them by color.. And I must say, I certainly could not choose a favorite. They all seem to have their own place and time when that particular recipe is just better. During the summer, red and clear are perfect when that creamy richness of white is just a little too much during the heat. She goes back and forth with fresh/canned clams. (between you and me, she prefers the canned just because they are definitely easier) And oh, my, word. Since moving to North Carolina, I have never missed having a steaming hot clamcake as much as I do now. Dunk it in a bit of red chowder if you must, but I would kill for a whole bowl of clamcakes right now. They are FAR superior to hush puppies!
But enough of my homesickness- I have always wanted to make clam chowder and I’m super excited to try your recipe! (Grandma won’t give me hers!)