New England Clam Chowder →

Food memories from my childhood are some of my fondest memories. As a native New Englander who spent the summers of his early years near the Rhode Island shore digging for clams, crabbing, and surf fishing, I am somewhat opinionated about seafood. In those days my grandfather and I could gather a bushel basket of littlenecks and cherrystone clams in a few hours. As we shucked them, we ate our fill of the succulent, briny raw littlenecks, then my grandmother would turn the harvest into clam cakes (fritters) and delicious New England Clam Chowder; sometimes the clear version, but my favorite was creamy, briny chowder full of chopped clams, diced potatoes, onion, celery, and salt pork or bacon. In honor of those childhood memories, recently I decided to research clam chowder recipes to develop my own ideal version of New England Clam Chowder: no tough, tasteless, over-cooked clams, or thick, pasty soup you-can-stand-a-spoon-up-in for me. My quest was for a delicate, creamy soup full of tender, barely cooked clams, accompanied by the usual potatoes, salt pork (or bacon), and aromatic vegetables. The following recipe meets my gastro-geek standards thanks to food consultant J. Kenji López-Alt who taught me about the magic of emulsifying the broth to create a delicate, creamy soup base without using flour and when to add the chopped clams so they don’t end up tough and tasteless. Apart from the broth, I tweaked my recipe departing from López-Alt’s to meet my own culinary aesthetic. The link to the original López-Alt recipe can be found at the end of this post. If you cook at home, you don’t have to settle for less-than-perfect clam chowder. Here’s my version. Enjoy! 

New England Clam Chowder
Serves 4 as a main; 6 as a starter

Ingredients

• ¼ pound pancetta, salt pork, or slab bacon, cut into ¼ inch dice (Salt pork adds saltiness; bacon will add a smokey note to the chowder; pancetta is not traditional, but I like it in place of smokey bacon.)

• 2 tablespoons butter

• 1 medium onion, finely chopped (about 1 cup)

• 2 stalks of celery, finely chopped (about 1 cup)

• 1 cup bottled clam juice

• 2 ½ -3 pounds live cherrystone or littleneck clams (1-1 ½ cups chopped. See *Notes)

• 1 quart whole milk

• 1 pound+ of russet potatoes, peeled and cut into ¼ inch cubes (You want about 4 cups of diced potatoes)

• 2 bay leaves

• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper (Optional: use a pinch of celery salt in place of the Kosher salt.)

• 1 cup heavy cream

• Oyster crackers, saltines, or croutons for serving

Preparation

1. Sauté the diced pancetta or bacon in a heavy-bottomed stock pot or Dutch oven over medium heat, stirring occasionally until the fat has rendered, and the pork is brown and crisp, about 8 minutes. Add butter, onion, and celery. Continue to cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions are softened but not browned, about 4 minutes longer. Add the clam juice and stir to combine. (Note: if using chopped clams from a fish monger, in a separate pan, bring the bottled clam juice to a boil with a bay leaf, add the chopped clams and shut the heat off. Wait a minute and strain the clam juice into the saute reserving the clams for the last step.)

2. Add whole clams and increase heat to high. Cover and cook, opening the lid to stir occasionally, until clams begin to open, about 3 minutes. As clams open, remove them with tongs and transfer to a large bowl, keeping as many juices in the pot as possible and keeping the lid shut as much as possible. After 8 minutes, discard any clams that have not yet begun to open.

3. Reduce heat to medium-high and add the milk, potatoes, bay leaves, and a pinch of salt and a few turns of freshly ground black pepper to the pot. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a bare simmer, and cook, stirring occasionally, until the potatoes are tender and just starting to break down, about 8-10 minutes.

4. Meanwhile, remove the meat from the clamshells and chop it. Discard the empty shells (or sterilize them for a few minutes in boiling water and save them for your next batch of Baked Stuffed Clams). Transfer the chopped clams and as much juice as possible to a fine-mesh strainer set over a large bowl. Let the clams drain, then transfer the chopped clams to a separate bowl. Set both bowls aside.

5. Once the potatoes are tender, pour the entire mixture through a fine-mesh strainer into the bowl with the clam juice gently stirring the mixture to allow the liquids to pass through. Transfer the strained solids to the bowl with the chopped clams. You should end up with a white, semi-broken broth in the bowl underneath, and the chopped clams, potatoes, pancetta, and aromatics in a separate bowl.

6. Transfer the liquid to a blender and blend on medium-high speed until smooth and emulsified, about 2 minutes. Return the liquid and solids back to the Dutch oven. Add heavy cream and stir to combine. Reheat until well heated and simmering. (do not boil!) Taste and season with salt and pepper to suite your taste. Serve immediately with oyster crackers or Saltines.

Wine Pairing: Dry, white wines like Chablis, Vermentino, Albariño, Sauvignon Blanc

*Notes
For the best results, use live clams. If live clams are unavailable, skip steps 2 and 4. In step 6, add 1-1 ½ cups of chopped clams from your fishmonger, canned, or frozen clams to the chowder before heating through to serve.
Adapted from a recipe from: https://www.seriouseats.com/new-england-clam-chowder-recipe
J. Kenji López-Alt- food consultant to SeriousEats and NY Time food columnist
History:
https://www.thymemachinecuisine.com/single-post/2019/02/25/new-england-clam-chowder-the-history-of-the-name-origins-and-a-war
https://ictnews.org/archive/they-stole-our-soup-the-native-origins-of-new-england-clam-chowder

Clam Soup with Navy Beans and Pancetta

In New England, one of our traditional comfort foods is rich, creamy, sweet and briny Clam Chowder flavored with fresh Little Neck clams, cream, thyme, onions, garlic, diced potatoes, and salt pork or slab bacon. Here’s an easy to make, satisfying Mediterranean inspired alternative to the iconic New England chowder that uses a milk-free rich broth of clam juice and white wine; fresh chopped clams; pancetta, instead of bacon or salt pork; and white navy beans instead of potatoes. I hope you enjoy it with friends and family.

Serves 4-6

Ingredients:

• 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

• 1 small onion, finely chopped

• 1/3 cup diced pancetta

• 3 large garlic cloves, finely chopped

• ½ c. day old bread cut into ½ “ croutons

• One 15-ounce can navy beans with their liquid

• 3 sprigs of fresh thyme (½ tsp. dried)

• 1 bay leaf

• 1 packet Sazón Goya with saffron

• 2 cups of clam juice (available from your fish monger or supermarket)

• ½ c. dry white wine

• Freshly ground pepper

• 1 3/4 - 2 cups chopped clams (if you don’t want to shuck your own clams, check in with your local fishmonger, or the fresh fish counter at your local supermarket.)

• 2 tablespoons finely chopped flat-leaf parsley

• crusty bread (optional)

*Note: you can also add 15-20 small Little Neck clams in their shells in place of the chopped clams. After you bring the soup to a boil, reduce the heat to medium and add the clams, cover and cook about 3 minutes or just until the shells open. Remove from the heat and discard any clams whose shells have not opened.

Preparation:

1. In a large deep skillet, heat a tablespoon of olive oil until shimmering, brown the croutons and set aside.
2. Wipe out the skillet, heat a tablespoon of olive oil until shimmering and brown the pancetta; set aside.
3. Add a tablespoon of olive oil to the skillet and the onion and cook over moderately high heat until softened, about 3 minutes.
4. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute until fragrant. (don’t let it burn or it will be bitter)
5. Deglaze the skillet with the white wine making sure to scrape up any browned bits on the skillet, add the reserved clam juice, add the beans and their liquid along with the thyme, Sazón, pancetta, and bay leaf and bring to a boil.
6. Simmer the soup over low heat for 10 minutes; discard the bay leaf and sprigs of thyme.
7. Add the clams, bring the soup to a boil over high heat; reduce to low-heat and simmer for 5 minutes.
8. Sprinkle the soup with the croutons and parsley and serve.

You may want some good quality, crusty bread to help sop up the flavorful soup broth

An Italian Vermentino, Spanish Albariño, or Sauvignon Blanc or other medium bodied dry white wine pairs well with this dish.