THE BEST CLAM CHOWDER RECIPES

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.

Steps:

• In a large skillet put the onion, carrot, and potatoes. Add the clam juice from the canned clams. And then add enough water just to cover the veggies.
• Let cook over medium heat for about 20 minutes…or until soft.
• While those are cooking add butter to a large soup pot, melt it. Whisk in the flour, then the cream and milk right about the time the veggies are done.
• When the veggies are done add them, the thyme, Old Bay, salt and pepper to the large soup pot. Stir everything. Heat but don’t boil.
• Stir the clams, vinegar, and wine in just at the end. Taste and add more seasoning as needed.
• Serve warm with fresh parsley on top. And bread. Always serve with bread…yum!