Serve this hearty clam chowder with a crusty loaf of french bread and take the winter or autumn weather chill out of your day!
Clam chowder is one of my favorite soups so after years of only enjoying it in restaurants I decided it was time to come up with my own recipe. My clam chowder differs from other recipes you may have tried because there is not any chicken broth in it. Clam chowder has a distinct flavor of it’s own and shouldn’t taste like potato soup with clams in it. Instead of cooking the potatoes and vegetables in chicken broth, I cook them in clam juice. That one simple thing makes all the difference. I do recommend making this clam chowder the morning or night before you are going to serve it. Doing that allows the flavors to blend. This clam chowder is good freshly made, it is just better the second day.
So clam chowder is really easy to make. First you’re going to start by sweating the onions and celery. Remember sweating vegetables in basically half cooking them in a small amount of butter or oil. After you have done this add the potato cubes to your pot. Open your cans of clams and drain the clam juice into the pot. Do not add the clams yet. After adding the clam juice from the clam cans, add enough bottled clam juice to cover the potatoes. Simmer until the potatoes are cooked though. As you can see above the majority of the clam juice was absorbed while cooking.
Just a word about canned clams here. Don’t buy whatever is least expensive or off brand clams. In my experience, cheap, non-name brand clams have chewy, tough clams and quite a bit of sand in them.
While the potatoes are cooking I made the white sauce. In a small pot, melt the butter. Whisk in the flour to make a paste. Add the slightly warmed half and half a little at a time, whisking constantly until smooth and all the half and half has been added. Remove the sauce from the heat and add it to the potatoes once they are done. Stir in the clams, salt and pepper. You are now ready to serve or you can refrigerate the soup overnight and reheat and serve the next day.
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Description
Serve this hearty clam chowder with a crusty loaf of french bread and take the winter or autumn weather chill out of your day!
Ingredients
- 1 Tbs Butter
- 3/4 Cup finely chopped Onions
- 3/4 Cup chopped Celery
- 2 1/2 Cups small diced Potatoes
- 3 (6.5 oz) Cans Chopped Clams (See note at end)
- 1 (8 oz) Bottle Clam Juice
- 3 Tbs Butter
- 3 Tbs Flour
- 1 quart Half and Half slightly warmed
- 1 tsp Salt
- 1/4 tsp White Pepper
Instructions
- In a 3 to 4 quart soup pot melt 1 Tbs. Butter. Saute’ the onions and celery until they are half cooked. Add the potatoes. Drain the clam juice from the clam cans over the potatoes. DO NOT add the clams yet. Pour enough of the bottled clam juice over the potatoes to cover them. Simmer until the potatoes are done.
- While the potatoes are simmering, prepare the white sauce. In a small pot, melt the 3 Tbs. Butter and whisk in the flour. Add the slightly warmed half and half a little at a time, whisking constantly until smooth and all the half and half has been added. Remove the sauce from the heat and add it to the potatoes once they are done. Stir in the clams, salt and pepper.
- You are now ready to serve or you can refrigerate the soup overnight and reheat and serve the next day.
Keywords: new england clam chowder, clam chowder
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