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New England Style Clam Chowder Recipe
Vote for the Chowder!!
Your Nugget of Nutritional Info for this post:
Celery is good for you. Here are just a few reasons why this crunchy stalk is a healthy choice:
It contains: "lutein", "beta-carotene" & "zea-xanthin" all of which are rich in cancer-fighting anti-oxidants & help boost the immune system.
The Results!
All the Ingredients
Recipe in Rebus
Cook Time
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 30 min
Ready in: 1 hour
Yields: makes 4 good-sized bowls
Ingredients
- 2 cans (10 oz before draining) whole, baby clams, Geisha Brand is a favorite
- 4 cups NS chicken stock
- ¾ cup cream or ½ & ½
- ½ cup buttermilk
- 8 oz clam juice
- 1 lb bacon, optional
- 5 stalks celery, diced fine
- 1 cup shallots, diced fine
- 2 bay leaves
- 1-2 tsp Old Bay Seasoning, the kind for seafood & poultry
- dash hot sauce, Sirache brand is great!
- 4 cups yukon gold potatoes, diced
- Handful fresh thyme, I usually use close to the whole package sold in the produce section
- TIP: you can substitute fresh clams in place of canned to good effect. Or buy a handful, steam, and garnish the finished bowls!
How to do it:
- Bring 4 cups NS chicken stock to a rapid boil. Turn down to a simmer. *note: "NS" chicken stock, aka No-Salt chicken stock, is a good deal darker in color than its salted counterpart.
- Dice unpeeled potatoes into 1: inch cubes. Add to simmering stock, and cook 10 minutes. Do NOT overcook, as potatoes will become crumbly & change chowder's consistency and taste.
- While the spuds are cooking, mince shallots & celery. Slice the celery stalks into about 4 even "planks", and then dice those. Since the shallots will be part of the broth, and not as featured as say, in a duxelles, go ahead and food process them to a minced state, keeping in mind the processor tends to make hi-water content foods turn a little mushy. It saves time, though!
- If you choose to use bacon in this recipe, render it now, and set aside. Saute the shallots and celery mix in the bacon fat. If you'd rather avoid bacon for moral or health reasons, brown butter can easily be substituted as the saute medium.
- When the shallot mix is translucent, add 1-2 TBSP flour, mix thoroughly, and simmer until cooked--like a lumpy roux. Remove from heat.
- Once 10 minutes has passed, drain your potatoes, reserving the cooking stock in a separate pot. Set potatoes aside.
- Return pot of stock to the stove, add OLD BAY seasoning, and blend in shallots & celery.
- Add clam juice.
- Add blended cream & buttermilk mix ( or ½ & ½ and buttermilk mix)
- Add hot sauce
- Add: drained clams, bacon crumbles, diced potatoes. Simmer 5 minutes & remove from heat. Add cleaned thyme and stir. Yield: 4-6 good-sized bowls of chowder.
- Garnish with bacon crumbles and thyme leaves. Serve with oyster crackers, salad & Garlic, Cheesy Bread--of course!
Dish into bowls, makes about 4-6 nice sized bowls of chowder. Serve with oyster crackers, salad, & Garlic, Cheesy Bread, of course!
