Looking for Great Clam Chowder Recipe....

[Skyclad]

Hello to my friends at eGForums...  I have no doubt there are lots of chowder recipes on this site, but thought I'd ask everyone for their favorite recipe of the above..  I've been craving this particular "bowl" of late (it's very cold here!) and thought I'd ask you guys for a killer recipe..  Regardless of what is posted, I'm sure it's better than Campbell's Chunky out of a can......:/ 

Thanks in advance for any help on this...!

[HungryChris]

36 minutes ago, Skyclad said:

Hello to my friends at eGForums...  I have no doubt there are lots of chowder recipes on this site, but thought I'd ask everyone for their favorite recipe of the above..  I've been craving this particular "bowl" of late (it's very cold here!) and thought I'd ask you guys for a killer recipe..  Regardless of what is posted, I'm sure it's better than Campbell's Chunky out of a can......:/ 

Thanks in advance for any help on this...!

@Skyclad, there are so many types of chowder and I like many of them. I think that if I had to choose just one, it would be the clear broth style and as one who digs fresh clams just about every chance I get, here is my go-to winner.

https://www.almanac.com/recipe/matunuck-clear-broth-clam-chowder

HC

[Okanagancook]

That recipe looks delicious.  I bet the clam flavour really shines without the cream. Wish we could get good fresh clams here.☹️

[suzilightning]

I grew up with three styles:

New England - milk or cream

Manhattan - tomato based

Rhode Island - Chris's 

I still have my great grandmother's recipe for all of them in the recipe book she gifted to my grandmother for Christmas in 1938 after she, my grandfather(her son) and their children and my grandmother's sister had moved back to Shelter Island, NY.

 

I have eaten so much clam chowder IF I ever eat anymore it will be too soon.

 

Sorry for being snarky.  I can post the recipes if I haven't already …...my mom used to win awards with the Manhattan and  that is what we always had for the night before Thanksgiving instead of pizza

Edited January 24, 2019 by suzilightning (log)

[liamsaunt]

I am partial to New England style chowder, but I dislike the style that is overly thickened with flour.  I have a lovely cookbook by Jasper White called 50 Chowders, and his recipe is the one I usually turn to. 

 

I found his recipe for clam chowder on the Food Network site: https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/jaspers-new-england-clam-chowder-1912633

 

I sometimes omit the celery, and have swapped in bacon for the salt pork at times.

[Skyclad]

Hello and thanks to all of you for posting recipes!  I definitely will be checking into them all..  Wanted to mention that the main chowder recipes I'm looking for at this time are the creamy New England types............although interested in them all!  

Thanks again for the recipes and your help on this....!

S

[rotuts]

I grew up in CA

 

came back to NE

 

im a big fan of NE CC.

 

w/o the thick-and -ers

 

you can't go wrong w anything from Jasper White

 

and for me

 

I don't care that much for Seafood  , ultra fresh fish

 

with Tomato's

 

its just me

 

avery big issue is

 

how fresh are your Clams ?

[Skyclad]

Hello rotuts...

I can tell that I've reached someone who is a pro with regard to this recipe.......not to mention your prime location for getting the best clams..  For me, not so much as I'm totally landLocked here.........so I'm ultimately at the mercy of one or two outlets for fresh clams..  I could actually end up using canned clams (I can feel you cringing...:)).. 

Honestly, I'm looking for a basic, minimally labor intensive recipe for a cream style NE Chowder..   If you know of anything matching the above, please let me know..  I appreciate and thank you for all info you can provide....!

S

[liamsaunt]

3 minutes ago, Skyclad said:

Hello rotuts...

I can tell that I've reached someone who is a pro with regard to this recipe.......not to mention your prime location for getting the best clams..  For me, not so much as I'm totally landLocked here.........so I'm ultimately at the mercy of one or two outlets for fresh clams..  I could actually end up using canned clams (I can feel you cringing...:)).. 

Honestly, I'm looking for a basic, minimally labor intensive recipe for a cream style NE Chowder..   If you know of anything matching the above, please let me know..  I appreciate and thank you for all info you can provide....!

S

 

 

The recipe I posted above is a classic New England creamy chowder.  If that is the style you are looking for, that recipe is about as close to perfect as you can get.  Like rotuts, I am also from Boston (in fact I am looking out my window at Fenway Park right now :-) )  I know my chowders.  Trust me and try it, you will like it :-)

[rotuts]

here are a few Ive found on the internet :

 

https://www.geniuskitchen.com/recipe/jaspers-new-england-clam-chowder-278763

 

there are serious details here :

 

https://www.seriouseats.com/2013/01/how-to-make-real-new-england-clam-chowder-the-food-lab-recipe.html

 

cheers

 

BTW

 

@liamsaunt 

 

Jasper's recipe seems more authentic 

 

as ' real ' NE CC does use salt pork

 

as that;s what they had , and it was cheaper than bacon.

 

personally , good quality smoked bacon , not too much , can elevate this dish.

 

just because Crusty Old NewEnglanders didn't have an ingredient , 

 

doesn't mean the traditional Rx can't be sent into a different direction

 

keeping all the real base equalities intact

 

the SE Rx discusses all this , including several interesting notes on ' creaminess '

 

that's not the same a over rich-ness.

 

NECC is creamy , but not overly rich.

 

on one of my bazillion or trazillion videos I have on Hsrddisk ,

 

JW himself made NECC and on another NE fish chowder

 

if you like NECC , consider looking into NE fish chowder.

 

with the right white fish , back in the day Cod or Scrod ( small cod )

 

using the frames for the stock

 

it was to die for 

 

I sued to get NEFC at No-Name  restaurant a long long time ago.

 

you should look into NE Common Crackers too.

 

PS  I don't really know why I prefer my fish and seafood w/o tomatoes 

 

whatever dish has them in it , to me might be better w/o

 

the tomatoes seem to hide a lot of the fish/shelfish simpler tastes.

 

I do love tomatoes a bazillion other ways though .........

 

had to fine , but woks w both these soups.

 

how about some NE Indian Pudding for dessert ?

 

PS : be careful w bottles clam juice    its quite salty.

 

one last P.S , or

 

P.S.S.;

 

I highly recommend Jasper Whites  ;  ' 50 Chowders '

 

you can get a good quality used copy for 5 bucks or so :

 

https://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/0684850346/ref=tmm_hrd_used_olp_sr?ie=UTF8&condition=used&qid=&sr=

 

cheers

Edited February 6, 2019 by rotuts (log)

[Katie Meadow]

I will chime in on Jasper White. Both his New England and Manhattan style clam chowders are very good. I grew up in a Manhattan style household, with a mother who was exceptionally snobby about the inferiority of "Boston" chowder, but if it is made well and isn't too  bland or goopy-- I can get into it. The main thing is to get good clams, and lots of them, not to let them overcook, and to make a good broth with the juices they render. Hard to do if you don't have access to fresh clams. Here in CA we don't have the quahogs (little necks, cherrystones, etc) that make clam chowder so easy on the east coast, so we have to make do with teeny manilla clams. 

 

About red versus white. Unless you dump in a fistful of crushed red pepper the tomato won't mask the flavor of the clams and broth. And when it comes to white, what will drag down your chowder is the use of flour or thickening agents or too much cream. And don't make the mistake of eating oyster crackers with Manhattan clam chowder! Get a nice crusty Italian loaf!

[heidih]

Los Angeles is not exactly clam territory. I can get a variety at the big fish market but that is a schlepp.  We do have access to very nice mussells however. They are cultivated just offshore on the oil platforms. I realize the flavor is different but a mussell chowder can be very nice and they are usually remarakbly inexpensive. Here is an example  http://peimussel.com/recipes/soups-chowders/61-Mussel-Chowder-Classic-Style

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_zNDU_nGijg

 

[rotuts]

I agree :  Mussel Chowder can be very fine.

[chromedome]

20 hours ago, Katie Meadow said:

And when it comes to white, what will drag down your chowder is the use of flour or thickening agents or too much cream.

 

 

I don't use cream at all in mine, for that exact reason. It adds richness, but mutes flavour. I also find most recipes over-thickened, to my taste. Of course, I hail from Atlantic Canada, which (as we like to joke) is where New Englanders learned to make chowder. 

(Not offered as any sort of serious historical commentary, or to start a turf war, it's just part of the local humour)