The Best Clam Chowder

The Best Clam Chowder

This is a basic New England clam chowder, though with leeks used in place of the traditional onions, and a splash of wine to add a floral note. Also: thyme. Very continental! It is shockingly delicious and deserves its title as best. Bacon will add a smoky note to the stew. If you use it, it may be worth it to go the whole distance and get expensive double-smoked bacon instead of the standard supermarket fare. The salt pork, which is not smoked, will take the meal in the opposite direction, emphasizing the pure flavor of the clams.

Yield: 8 to 10 servings

24 medium-size quahog clams, usually rated ‘‘top neck’’ or ‘‘cherrystone,’’ rinsed

1 tablespoon unsalted butter

¼ pound slab bacon or salt pork, diced

2 leeks, tops removed, halved and cleaned, then sliced into half moons

3 large Yukon Gold potatoes, cubed

½ cup dry white wine

3 sprigs thyme

1 bay leaf

2 cups cream

Freshly ground black pepper to taste

¼ cup chopped parsley.

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.

TIP: I live in Arizona, so I substituted canned clams and a bottle of clam juice, but followed the recipe exactly otherwise. And it was delicious.

*Awesome! I used 4 - 6.5oz cans of canned chopped clams. I had enough broth when reserved from the cans to negate the need for any extra clam juice although I had bought a bottle just in case. Other than that I followed the recipe precisely and it turned out amazing! Just finished the last bowl. FYI this made 5 large bowls of soup.

*We made this while vacationing in Lynn using fresh clams procured in Chinatown's Happy Family Food Market. This was the best NE clam chowder I've ever tasted. We altered the recipe's Step 1 slightly in that we cooked the clams with wine, herbs, and a chopped shallot. We used wine and herbs again, per the recipe's Step 3, but my wife, being a French person, could not imagine cooking clams without wine, shallots, and herbs. New York take note.

*Used only butter (2T) and not any of the pork. I used a California Pinot Gris and substituted some cod and scallops for some of the clams. The result was more like a fish chowder. and Excellent !!!

*This is a great chowder recipe, although I don't love the addition of the wine - gives it a more metallic taste than I like. Also, I make it with whole milk instead of cream and sometimes just onions instead of leeks.

*Delicious!!! Made this exactly as written. Just a shopping note: quohogs are not cherry stones . Quohogs are large sea clams... We use them for chowder, fried clam strips or casino, chopped. Cherry stones are often served raw... We also serve them fried ( bellies and all )