Clam Chowder

One of the best things about visiting coastal areas is enjoying fresh fish and seafood. But with the convenience of canned clams and bottled clam juice, you can make a thick and delicious Clam Chowder quickly and easily that brings you back to the seaside. No shucking involved.

There are two types of Clam Chowder. Manhattan and New England. This recipe is for New England style Clam Chowder which is made with a creamy broth, where Manhattan is tomato based. And it’s made with canned clams. I’m not saying canned are just as good as fresh. There’s nothing better than fresh seafood! Especially in certain dishes where the fresh flavours are the star of the show. But the taste of clams in a chowder is very subtle. There are a variety of canned clams in most grocery stores, but I found Bar Harbor clams and juice and it reminded me of a trip to coastal Maine long ago where I had some excellent Clam Chowder.

The funny/not funny story about why I wanted to make clam chowder is about travelling. For those who know me, in addition to having a fear of flying, I also have a bad case of bad travel weather luck. We decided to go to Cape Cod last fall. We had never been there but friends had highly recommended it and were going to be there too, so we booked 5 nights. As we were nearing Cape Cod (by car of course) it started raining. I’m not exaggerating, it rained so hard we could barely see to drive. We tried to get out of the car at a few “scenic” spots but with the wind and rain, it was nearly impossible. After our second night we decided to pack it in. Our Air BnB hosts were very understanding and apologetic. Their other guests were stranded on Martha’s Vineyard because all the ferries were cancelled. She told me they’d had 30 consecutive days of beautiful weather prior to us arriving. See what I mean?

I should mention that our friends were there a week before us and had enjoyed the excellent weather. And we did have a nice seafood dinner our first night with them. In one of those places with outdoor dining. So we shivered away at our table, surrounded by those plastic curtains that (mostly) kept the rain out. We had a decent lobster dinner and a pretty good bowl of clam chowder. Maybe I was just grumpy but I did think I could make a better chowder myself. In fact, those same friends were the ones who taste tested this recipe. His request? No clam juice. Their feedback? Loved it, don’t change a thing! He doesn’t know that I actually did use clam juice in the recipe. But he might be finding out now.

Since chowder is pretty simple to make, I don’t have to go into a lengthy step by step description about how to make it. If you’ve read this far, it’s already getting a bit long isn’t it? Good thing I didn’t also include my story about getting poison ivy before going to Halifax. But I did learn a few things about clams and have a little tip to offer about thickening without using so much flour.

Thick chowders are made by using a roux which is flour and butter cooked together to which a liquid is added. But you can enhance the thickness with potatoes. Dice one of the potatoes into very tiny pieces and add to the broth first so they cook for about 10 minutes. Once they’re soft, use a masher or a whisk to break them up and they’ll add extra thickness naturally. Then add the rest of the potatoes and finish the chowder.

The Bar Harbour clams I used were surf clams. They are said to be more tender and mild than some other varieties. When testing different types of clams for this recipe, I made a batch with canned baby clams from a well known brand. They had a strong and slightly metallic flavour which I found unpleasant. And I found some bits of shell. No matter what type you choose, I recommend giving them a good rinse before adding to the chowder. Clams do live in the sand and a little grit in your chowder is not a good thing. Some people recommend saving the liquid from the can and adding to the broth but I chose instead to use a small bottle of clam juice.

When you buy clams in a can, they’re already cooked. The pieces are quite small which is perfect for Clam Chowder. Clams need very little cooking time so they aren’t actually cooked and then canned, it’s the canning process itself that involves high heat that cooks them right in the can. Overcooked clams can become rubbery so it’s important to add them near the end so they just get heated up.

Serve big bowls of Clam Chowder topped with extra bacon and parsley. And don’t forget the oyster crackers. No, there aren’t oysters in them, they just look like the little bivalves they’re named after.

If you make Clam Chowder, consider leaving a comment or rating below. Here’s the recipe:

Clam Chowder

Thick and creamy New England style Clam Chowder made with canned clams and bottled juice.

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Prep Time 15 minutes mins

Cook Time 45 minutes mins

Total Time 1 hour hr

Course Seafood, Soup

Cuisine American, Canadian

Servings 6

Calories 465 kcal

Ingredients

  

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• 4 slices thick butcher bacon, cut into thin strips or about 6 slices regular bacon
• 4 Tbsp butter
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 3 stalks celery, diced
• ½ cup flour
• 3 cups chicken broth low sodium preferred
• 240 ml Bar Harbour bottled clam juice about a cup
• 1-2 bay leaves
• 1 fresh parsley bundle, tied with food safe string plus extra for garnish
• 3 medium potatoes, peeled and diced dice one potato very small
• 2 184 g cans Bar Harbor chopped surf clams 2 x 6.5 oz can, drained and rinsed well
• 1 ½ cups table cream 15-18% mf
• 1 tsp salt or less, taste broth prior to adding
• ¼ tsp ground white pepper or ½ tsp cracked black pepper

Instructions

 

• In a large dutch oven or soup pot, fry bacon strips until crispy. Remove to a paper lined plate with a slotted spoon and reserve. Do not remove bacon fat.
• Add butter to pot. Add diced onion and celery and sauté at medium heat until staring to soften and turning golden, about 5 minutes.
• Sprinkle flour over top and combine with vegetables and fat, cooking for about a minute.
• Whisk in clam juice and chicken broth, increasing heat slightly to bring mixture to a simmer. Add bay leaves and parsley bundle (about 5-6 stems) along with about half of the bacon. Cover pot and allow to simmer.
• Peel one potato and dice into very small pieces. Add to pot and cook about 10 minutes. Whisk or mash mixture to break up potatoes as much possible. (It might help to remove parsley bundle temporarily for this step.)
• Peel and dice remaining 2 potatoes and add to pot. Continue to simmer another 10 - 15 minutes until potatoes are fork tender. Taste broth and add salt and pepper to taste. White pepper adds a more earthy flavour and isn't visible in the broth. Otherwise use black pepper.
• Drain and rinse clams well. Check for pieces of shell. Add to broth, along with cream. Turn heat to very low and allow to heat through gently to prevent over cooking clams and curdling cream.
• Serve hot with reserved bacon strips and chopped parsley for garnish.

Nutrition

Calories: 465kcalCarbohydrates: 32.4gProtein: 17.6gFat: 26.7gSaturated Fat: 12.7gPolyunsaturated Fat: 0.9gMonounsaturated Fat: 4.7gCholesterol: 69.9mgSodium: 1164mgPotassium: 563.1mgFiber: 2.7gSugar: 5.1g

Keyword clam chowder, new england clam chowder, traditional clam chowder

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