Clam Chowder Recipe; New England Style

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There’s nothing like a nice creamy serving of homemade New England Clam Chowder on a cold winter’s night or any night!

This recipe calls for fresh clams, cream, bacon, onions, celery, potatoes, herbs and seasoning to taste.

New England Clam Chowder Recipe

Ingredients:

• 4 pounds clams (littleneck or cherrystone)
• 2 cups water for steaming clams (reserving 1 cup clam juice)
• 4 pieces thick bacon
• 1 large yellow onion diced
• 2 celery ribs sliced
• 2 large russet potatoes peeled and diced 1/2″ pieces
• 3 Tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
• 1 1/2 cup whole milk
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 bunch thyme (bundled)
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Optional: chopped parsley for garnish

Directions:

Steam Clams

Prepare large pot for steaming clams. Place water in pan and add clams. Cover and heat on high for 7-10 minutes.

Uncover and carefully remove opened clams placing them in a large bowl. If there are any clams not yet opened return lid to pan and continue cooking for 2-3 more minutes.

Turn off heat and discard any clams that did not open.

Allow clams to cool then remove meat from shells. Chop clam meat into pieces and set aside.

Clam Juice

Strain liquid into a mesh strainer lined with a coffee filter. I do this because sometimes when steaming the clams the shells may break and while having the coffee filter in place this helps to keep smaller particles from being transferred to the chowder.

The Chowder

Cook bacon over medium heat until crispy. Remove bacon from grease and set aside.

Add onions and celery to bacon grease and cook for about 2 minutes or until onions become translucent. Add potatoes and continue cooking for about 5 minutes.

Sprinkle flour over mixture and stir to coat evenly.

Add clam juice to mixture and stir to combine all ingredients. Pour in milk and heavy whipping cream, 2 pieces of bacon chopped up and add bay leaves and thyme.

Bring mixture to boil and immediately turn heat to low and simmer for about 15 minutes or until potatoes are soft.

After the potatoes have softened go ahead and add the chopped clams and continue cooking on low for about 3 minutes.

Serve in soup crocks with croutons or oyster crackers and top with chopped bacon and parsley. Enjoy!

I AM EXCITED YOU ARE VIEWING JETT’S EASY RECIPE FOR NEW ENGLAND CLAM CHOWDER AND WOULD LOVE TO HEAR HOW YOURS TURNS OUT SHOULD YOU DECIDE TO MAKE IT!

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