New England Clam Chowder

Be sure to wash the clams very, very well, to remove any grit. There’s nothing worse than biting into a grain of sand when eating chowder. So give the clams a good scrubbing with a stiff brush under cold running water. I used Littleneck clams (about 3 dozen for this recipe) whose meat is about the size of a silver dollar, so I ran a chef’s knife over them after they’re cooked – but don’t overdo it. You want distinct, large pieces of clams. Not tiny bits that no one know what they are. If using other clams that are smaller, you might not need or want to chop them. See note at end of recipe for using canned clams. Some versions use all whole milk, others use heavy cream. I like about one-third cream, but you can use all whole milk or all half-and-half. Skim or low-fat milk isn’t recommended. Whatever you use, Just be sure not to let the chowder boil once you’ve added the milk to it, or it can break. For best results, let the chowder cool and refrigerate it for a few hours – I let mine sit 8 hours, to allow it to thicken. Rewarm it gently before serving. Be sure to serve with oyster crackers which people can float them on top. Crumbled saltines will work in a pinch. (Or make your own oyster crackers with the recipe at the end of this post.)

3 pounds (1,3kg) fresh clams in shells, well-scrubbed
2 cups (500ml) water
2 tablespoons butter, salted or unsalted
3/4 cup (110g) diced bacon
1 medium onion, peeled and diced into 1/4-inch (1cm) pieces
2 large potatoes, peeled and diced(into 1/4-inch (1cm) pieces
salt and ground black pepper
generous pinch of smoked or sweet paprika
1 cup (250ml) whole milk
1/2 cup (125ml) heavy cream
1 to 2 tablespoons chopped flat leaf parsley

Put clams in a pot. Add water, and cover. Turn the heat on and when the water starts to boil, reduce the heat to a low boil and let the clams steam until they open, about 6 to 8 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool.
When the clams are cool enough to handle, pluck out the meat from the clam shells (discard any clams that don’t open), and discard the shells. Strain the liquid through a fine mesh strainer, and set aside. Coarsely chop the clams and set them aside as well.
In a soup pot or Dutch oven, heat the butter and bacon together over medium heat, cooking the bacon for about 3 minutes, until it just starts to curl. Add the onions and cook, stirring, until they’re translucent and soft, 3 to 5 minutes. Add the diced potatoes and season with salt (lightly, as the clam broth you’ll add later is salty), black pepper, and paprika. Stir a few times then add 1 ½ cups (375ml) of the clam broth. (Reserve and refrigerate any extra for later, in case you want to thin the soup.) Cover and simmer until the potatoes are tender, 6 to 8 minutes.
Add the milk and cream, then the clams and gently warm until heated through, but do not boil. You can serve the chowder right away, stirring in the parsley just before ladling into bowls, or better yet, chill the chowder for several hours, which will give it time to meld and thicken. Rewarm it gently before serving. Taste for salt and pepper, adding more if you wish. If it’s too thick after standing, thin with a bit of the reserved clam broth when rewarming it.

Notes

Notes: If using canned clams, you can use about 1 ½ cups of (drained) canned clams (200-250g) and 1 ½ cups of the clam juice. If you don’t have enough juice from the can(s) of clams that you have, add water to make up the difference.

Traditionally chowder is made with salt pork, which can be hard to find. If you want to use that in place of the bacon, you can.

Use any kind of potatoes. Russets will break down a bit, but lends starch to the chowder. Yellow-fleshed potatoes, which are what I used.

It’s normal for the finished chowder to have a slightly separated appearance, which I don’t mind because I like the little rivulets on the surface. One technique is to strain the liquid, puree it, then rewarm it with the clams and potatoes.