Cape Cod Clam Chowder Recipes

Steps:

• Steam clams and drain, reserving liquid. ( If you don't have fresh clams than bottled clam juice will do.) Add reserved liquid to water and boil potatoes until just barely soft. In frying pan, fry salt pork until crisp. Remove pork bits, add potatoes. Saute onions in salt pork fat until soft. Combine onions and potato mixture. Add clams, milk, cream, salt and pepper to chowder mixture, heat to just below boiling. If you like thicker chowder, mix flour with a little water to form a thick paste and add to chowder, stirring until soup is slightly thickened. At serving time, a small amount of butter may be added to each serving, if desired. Quahogs or little neck clams make the best New England Chowder but canned minced clams may also be used. Serves 6
• How thick clam chowder should be promotes many a discussion around the dinner table. The answer is probably " however thick you like it". Serving crackers or biscuits to be crumbled up in the chowder seems to satisfy some "old salts" who insist that a soup spoon stand straight up in the bowl! (written by Pat Bryant) author of this recipe from "Flavors of Cape Cod"

Steps:

• In a Dutch oven, cook bacon over medium heat until crisp. Remove to paper towels to drain; set aside. Saute celery and onion in the drippings until tender. Add garlic; cook 1 minute longer. Stir in the potatoes, water, clam juice, bouillon, pepper and thyme. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, until potatoes are tender, 15-20 minutes., In a small bowl, combine flour and 1 cup half-and-half until smooth. Gradually stir into soup. Bring to a boil; cook and stir until thickened, 1-2 minutes., Stir in clams and remaining half-and-half; heat through (do not boil). Crumble the cooked bacon; sprinkle over each serving.

Steps:

• Put the salt pork on a plate and wrap in plastic. Cook in microwave for 2 1/2 minutes. Meanwhile, make roux with the same amounts of butter and flour. Add 3/4 pound of flour to 3/4 pound of the butter and stir. Make the roux pourable but not too loose or too thick. Begin to cook on low flame or in an oven until the roux is nice and hot. In a heavy bottomed pot, put the remaining 1/4 pound butter and the salt pork. After the salt pork gets lightly browned, take the chunks out. Add the onion, celery and herbs, let it saute for about 5 minutes. Add water and potatoes and bring it to a boil. Then add the clam base, keep stirring so the base and potatoes don't stick or burn to the bottom of the pan. Add the clams and their juice. When the potatoes become slightly tender bring everything back to a boil and start adding the hot roux. Turn the flame down a little and let simmer for approximately 5 minutes. Slowly add the light cream to the base until you get the right creamy chowder, not too thick or thin. Season with salt and pepper.

Steps:

• Put the clams in a large, heavy Dutch oven, add about 4 cups water, then set over medium-high heat. Cover, and cook until clams have opened, approximately 10 to 15 minutes. (Clams that fail to open after 15 to 20 minutes should be discarded.) Strain clam broth through a sieve lined with cheesecloth or doubled-up paper towels, and set aside. Remove clams from shells, and set aside as well.
• Rinse out the pot, and return it to the stove. Add butter, and turn heat to medium-low. Add bacon or salt pork, and cook, stirring occasionally, until the fat has rendered and the pork has started to brown, approximately 5 to 7 minutes. Use a slotted spoon to remove pork from fat, and set aside.
• Add the leeks to the fat, and cook, stirring frequently, until they are soft but not brown, about 10 minutes. Stir in potatoes and wine, and continue cooking until wine has evaporated and the potatoes have just started to soften, approximately 5 minutes. Add enough clam broth to just cover the potatoes, approximately 3 cups, reserving the rest for another use. Add the thyme and the bay leaf.
• Partly cover the pot, and simmer gently until potatoes are tender, approximately 10 to 15 minutes.
• Meanwhile, chop the clams into bits about the size of the bacon dice.
• When potatoes are tender, add cream and stir in chopped clams and reserved bacon. Add black pepper to taste. Let come to a simmer, and remove from heat. (Do not let chowder come to a full boil.) Fish out the thyme and the bay leaf, and discard.
• The chowder should be allowed to sit for a while to cure. Reheat it to a bare simmer before serving, then garnish with chopped parsley. Serve with oyster crackers.