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Amy Traverso
Homemade clam chowder is one of those recipes that every New Englander
with a stove and even a mild interest in cooking should master.
Fortunately, it’s one of the easiest dishes to make. You cook some
bacon (or salt pork). Simmer aromatics (like onions and celery) in the
grease, add par-cooked potatoes, clams, clam juice and milk or cream.
Simmer a bit, and you’re done.
Here’s how to make clam chowder in step-by-step photos. Just want the
recipe? Head on over to the Classic New England Clam Chowder Recipe
HOW TO MAKE CLAM CHOWDER | THE BASICS
How to Make Clam Chowder
New England clam chowder ingredients. Just a handful makes a
crowd-pleasing chowder
Amy Traverso
Simple…and yet not so simple. Chowder, like politics or religion, can
be a matter of deeply held beliefs bordering on prejudices. Some will
only consider making chowder if they have seven pounds of freshly
hand-dug cherrystone clams in a basket next to the stove. Others will
buy the clams from a fishmonger, but this gets expensive, given the
amount you’ll need. Then there’s the matter of cleaning the clams,
steaming them, straining the liquid for sand, removing and chopping
the meat…
If you go to this trouble (and expense), the results can be
extraordinary. But we’re partial to a chowder you can make any old
day, and we think most of our readers are, too. That means buying
frozen chopped clam clam meat and bottled clam juice.
Luckily, one of our favorite New England clam chowder recipes — the
one served at the Chatham Fish Pier Market on Cape Cod — is made in
just this way. And they were kind enough to share it with us.
The recipe starts, as many great ones do, by browning a few slices of
bacon over medium-low heat. Do this in the chowder pot.
How to Make Clam Chowder
Three slices of applewood-smoked, thick-cut bacon (any thick-cut
variety will do)
Amy Traverso
When the bacon is nicely browned, remove it from the pot and let it
drain on some paper towels. Keep the bacon grease in the pot and add a
bit of butter (remember: fat equals flavor). Add finely chopped onion
and celery, two bay leaves, and some fresh thyme springs, if you like.
Cook until the onions are translucent, then crumble the cooked bacon
and return it to the pot.
IMG_6808
Cook until the onions are translucent, then crumble the cooked bacon
and return it to the pot.
Amy Traverso
Meanwhile, bring a medium pot of salted water to a boil. Add 2 peeled
and cubed potatoes and cook until just barely tender. Drain and set
the potatoes aside.
IMG_6809 - Copy - Copy
Add 2 peeled and cubed potatoes and cook until just barely tender.
Amy Traverso
Now this is where things get controversial again. Some consider
flour-thickened chowders an abomination, preferring a thinner broth,
or one lightly bolstered with crumbled common crackers (Mainers tend
to lean more strongly in that direction). Anyone who has choked down a
gluey diner chowder so viscous it can hold a spoon upright will
understand their aversion.
And yet…when deftly handled, a bit of flour can add a pleasing
richness to chowder. And if restaurant chowders are any indication,
most customers actually like this ultra-creamy form. So without
judgment, and fully acknowledging your right to skip this step, we
present:
HOW TO MAKE CLAM CHOWDER | THE ADDING OF THE FLOUR
Can't abide the flour? Simply leave it out.
Can’t abide flour in your chowder? Simply leave it out.
Amy Traverso
Stir in the flour (1/3 to 1/2 cup) until  evenly combined, then let it
sizzle for a couple of minutes, stirring constantly.
Add the first cup of clam broth and stir. The mixture will be very thick.
The flour-thickened base
The flour-thickened base
Amy Traverso
Continue adding the clam broth, a cup at a time. The base will thin
out. Add a pound of chopped clam meat (for best results, buy frozen,
not canned) and the cooked potatoes.
Now is that so bad?
Now is that so bad?
Amy Traverso
Now add your dairy. It can be milk, half-and-half, evaporated milk or
light cream, depending on how rich you want the final result to be.
Bring to a gentle simmer and let the clams cook until tender, 5 to 10
minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste (the folks at the Chatham Fish
Pier Market prefer white pepper, but we’re nonpartisan). And that’s
how to make clam chowder! You can serve it immediately, but it will
taste even better the next day. Serve hot with oyster or common
crackers

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