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