New England Clam Chowder

Creamy, chunky clam chowder with potatoes and bacon — Boston''s signature soup.

Ingredients

• 2 cans (6.5 oz) chopped clams, juice reserved
• 4 strips bacon, diced
• 1 onion, diced
• 2 celery stalks, diced
• 3 potatoes, diced
• 2 tbsp flour
• 2 cups clam juice (reserved + bottled)
• 1.5 cups heavy cream
• 1 bay leaf
• Fresh thyme, salt, white pepper
• Oyster crackers

Method

1. Render bacon until crispy. Remove. Sauté onion and celery in bacon fat 4 min.

2. Add flour, stir 1 min (blond roux). Gradually whisk in clam juice.

3. Add potatoes, bay leaf, thyme. Simmer 15 min until potatoes are tender.

4. Add cream and clams. Simmer 5 min (don''t boil — cream can curdle).

5. Season with salt and white pepper. Serve with bacon bits and oyster crackers.

What You're Practicing

• The roux thickens the chowder — same technique from the Mother Sauces foundation.
• Add clams at the end — they toughen if overcooked.
• White pepper is traditional in chowder (no black specks in the creamy broth).