I go against everything I stand for when it comes to clam chowder.
I'll take marinara any day versus a creamy Alfredo sauce. Cacio e pepe is good for a novelty don't get me wrong, but I crave a bolognese sauce on a weekly basis. I always order red sauce on my pizza. Given the opportunity, I yield towards the tomato. However things get flipped on their heads when it comes to chowder. To me, chowder means creamy, no exceptions. Whether it's corn chowder, fish chowder, chicken chowder, or the highly coveted clam chowder, I want a cream base. When it comes to clam chowder there is a pretty intense schism based on geography. Similar divides occur over the Lobster Roll, so apparently New England folk have some hard set opinions. Clam Chowder is either creamy, delicious, potato filled soup, or it is made with a tomato broth. Basically one day some city slickers from New York came around and decided to make the broth tomato based and forever created a war between true New Englanders and New Yorkers. If you want to make a clam soup with tomatoes that is fine. I would probably do the same. However to me, New England Clam Chowder is through and through a white sauce. Some call New England Clam Chowder "Boston Chowder" and I think that is why I went to Boston University rather than NYU. My GPA had nothing to do with it.
Truth be told the Manhattan clam chowder was actually created due to an influx of Portuguese immigrants coming to New York and Rhode Island. Their backbone is delicious seafood in tomato sauce so no wonder they insisted on their methods. I sometimes am afraid I will like Manhattan clam chowder more than New England some days. Regardless of the chowder methodology let's get one thing straight. I love clams. I love them raw, I love them fried, and I think we covered the basis that I love them in chowder. My Achilles heel in life is that it is super likely that I will soon develop a shell fish allergy. My mom has it, her mom had it, and my grandmother's mom had it. Talk about a sexist curse.
My goal currently is to take in as much shellfish as I can in my last days before the allergy sets in. If you see an influx of seafood posts, you know why. I'm looking at you lobster, shrimp, mussels...
My goal currently is to take in as much shellfish as I can in my last days before the allergy sets in. If you see an influx of seafood posts, you know why. I'm looking at you lobster, shrimp, mussels...
Ingredients:
4 center-cut strips of bacon
1 large onion diced
2 ribs of celery diced
3 garlic cloves minced
3 medium sized potatoes diced
1 8oz bottle clam juice
2 6.5oz cans of clams (save juice)
1 cup chicken broth
1/2 tsp dried thyme
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp old bay seasoning
1 cup frozen corn
1/3 cup all purpose flour
1 cup half and half
1 cup light cream
black pepper to taste
In a dutch oven, or large pot cook bacon over medium heat until crisp. Remove from pan and place on a paper towel to drain excess oil. Cook onions and celery in the drippings for roughly 4 - 5 minutes until tender. Add in garlic and cook for an additional minute. Add potatoes, chicken broth, bottled clam juice, juice from clam cans, and thyme. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer and cook for 20 minutes until potatoes are tender and you can pierce with a fork. In a small bowl, whisk together flour and 1 cup half and half until smooth. Add to the pot along with the 1 cup of light cream, and frozen corn. Bring to a boil and cook for 1 - 2 minutes until mixture has thickened. Season to taste with black pepper as needed. Top bowls with crumbled up bacon.
4 center-cut strips of bacon
1 large onion diced
2 ribs of celery diced
3 garlic cloves minced
3 medium sized potatoes diced
1 8oz bottle clam juice
2 6.5oz cans of clams (save juice)
1 cup chicken broth
1/2 tsp dried thyme
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp old bay seasoning
1 cup frozen corn
1/3 cup all purpose flour
1 cup half and half
1 cup light cream
black pepper to taste
In a dutch oven, or large pot cook bacon over medium heat until crisp. Remove from pan and place on a paper towel to drain excess oil. Cook onions and celery in the drippings for roughly 4 - 5 minutes until tender. Add in garlic and cook for an additional minute. Add potatoes, chicken broth, bottled clam juice, juice from clam cans, and thyme. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer and cook for 20 minutes until potatoes are tender and you can pierce with a fork. In a small bowl, whisk together flour and 1 cup half and half until smooth. Add to the pot along with the 1 cup of light cream, and frozen corn. Bring to a boil and cook for 1 - 2 minutes until mixture has thickened. Season to taste with black pepper as needed. Top bowls with crumbled up bacon.
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