When I’m in the mood for something warm and comforting, I like to have a nice hot bowl of creamy New England style clam chowder. Here’s my favorite clam chowder recipe, it makes about eight or 10 servings:
New England Clam Chowder
Ingredients:
- 6 ounces unsalted butter
- 6 ounces all-purpose flour
- 2 ounces bacon, diced
- 7 ounces celery, diced
- 7 ounces yellow onion, diced
- 4 ounces carrots, diced
- 1 ½ pounds red potatoes, scrubbed, skin-on, diced
- 6 ounces sweet corn kernels
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 5 pounds Middle Neck clams, poached, removed from shell, rough chopped (poach in half-water, half-white wine with fresh thyme and shallots)
- ½ gallon clam stock
- ½ gallon milk
- 3 cups heavy cream, warm
- ½ teaspoon fresh thyme
- 1 tablespoon fresh parsley, chopped
- ½ teaspoon white pepper
- ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 2 bay leaves
- Kosher salt, to taste
Method:
- Melt butter in a large stock pot, and add garlic and bacon to brown. Meanwhile, heat clam stock and milk separately in a medium stock pot.
- Add celery, onion and carrots to the browned garlic and bacon mixture, season with salt and cook until tender, add flour to make a roux.
- Stir in clam stock and milk with a wire whisk until all the liquid is incorporate and soup is smooth.
- Add corn, potatoes, clams, parsley, thyme and seasonings to the soup and simmer until potatoes are done. At this point, exchange the whisk for a wooden spoon to prevent you from breaking up the potatoes and clams.
- Finish by adding the heavy cream and two more ounces of butter.
- Taste, adjust seasoning and serve immediately.
I like to serve this chowder with Westminster Oyster Crackers and a cold beer. You may garnish the soup with paprika and more chopped parsley if you like. Enjoy!