Clam Chowder
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https://instructions.wiki/recipes/clam-chowder
Makes 6 · 20 min prep · 35 min cooking
Ingredients
- 4 slices thick-cut bacon, chopped
- 2 tablespoons (30 g) unsalted butter
- 1 large yellow onion, chopped
- 2 stalks celery, chopped
- 1/4 cup (30 g) all-purpose flour
- 3 cans (6.5 oz / 184 g each) chopped clams, drained, juice reserved
- 2 bottles (8 oz / 240 ml each) clam juice
- 1 1/2 lb (680 g) Yukon Gold or russet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2 inch cubes
- 1 bay leaf
- 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
- 2 cups (480 ml) half-and-half
- 1/2 cup (120 ml) heavy cream
- Salt and black pepper to taste
- Oyster crackers, for serving
Render the bacon
Cook the bacon in a large pot or Dutch oven over medium heat, stirring now and then, until the fat has rendered and the pieces are browned and crisp at the edges, about 8 minutes. Lift the bacon out with a slotted spoon onto a paper towel and leave the fat in the pot.
Soften the onion and celery
Add the butter to the bacon fat. Once it melts, add the onion and celery and cook, stirring, until the onion is translucent and soft but not browned, about 6 minutes.
Make the roux
Sprinkle the flour over the vegetables and stir until it coats everything. Cook, stirring constantly, for 1 to 2 minutes. The flour will smell faintly nutty and lose its raw look.
Add the clam juice and potatoes
Pour in the reserved juice from the canned clams and the bottled clam juice, stirring and scraping the bottom of the pot as the liquid thickens. Add the potatoes, bay leaf, and thyme. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat to a gentle simmer.
Cook the potatoes until tender
Simmer, partially covered, stirring occasionally so nothing sticks, until a potato cube breaks apart when pressed with a spoon, 15 to 18 minutes. A few cubes falling apart helps thicken the chowder.
Add the clams and dairy
Stir in the half-and-half and cream and heat until the chowder steams and small bubbles appear at the edge of the pot. Add the chopped clams and cook only until they are heated through, 2 to 3 minutes. Boiling after this point will turn the clams rubbery. Remove the bay leaf. Season with salt and pepper; the clam juice is salty, so taste before adding much.
Serve with bacon and crackers
Ladle into bowls, scatter the reserved bacon on top, and pass oyster crackers at the table.
Storage. Chowder keeps in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Reheat over low heat, stirring, and do not let it boil. It does not freeze well because the dairy separates and the potatoes turn grainy.
Substitutions. Use 1 lb (450 g) shucked fresh clams with their liquor in place of the canned clams, adding them at the same point. Salt pork can stand in for the bacon.