Name: New England Clam Chowder
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 35 min
Total time: 55 min
Yield: 6 servings
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 1.5 kg fresh clams, scrubbed, or 400 g tinned chopped clams with juice; 250 ml dry white wine; 120 g salt pork or streaky bacon, diced; 40 g unsalted butter, plus extra to serve; 1 large onion, diced; 2 celery sticks, diced; 3 tbsp plain flour; 600 g floury potatoes, cut into 1.5 cm cubes; 500 ml whole milk; 250 ml double cream; 2 bay leaves; 2 sprigs fresh thyme; 1 tsp fine sea salt; ½ tsp white pepper; 1 small bunch chives, snipped; 8 saltine crackers, to serve

New England Clam Chowder

A proper white chowder — thickened with potato starch and a light roux rather than a bucket of cream — with sweet clams, salt pork and a slick of butter on top. Thick enough to hold a cracker upright.

55 min total Serves 6 servings Medium

Clams toughen within a minute of boiling, so they are cooked separately, chopped and returned only at the very end. Floury potatoes release starch into the broth as they simmer, doing much of the thickening naturally, which is why this needs only a small amount of roux.

The Method for New England Clam Chowder

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If using fresh clams, bring the wine to a boil in a large pot, add the clams, cover, and steam for 4 to 6 minutes until they open. Discard any that stay shut.
Lift out the clams, pull the meat from the shells and chop it coarsely. Strain the cooking liquid through muslin to remove grit and reserve it — you need about 500 ml, topped up with water if short.
Render the salt pork in the rinsed pot over medium heat for 8 minutes until crisp. Lift out and reserve.
Add the butter, onion and celery to the fat and sweat for 8 minutes until soft and translucent, without colouring.
Stir in the flour and cook 2 minutes, then gradually whisk in the reserved clam liquid.
Add the potatoes, bay and thyme, and simmer gently for 15 minutes until the potatoes are tender and beginning to break at the edges.
Crush a few potato cubes against the side of the pot to thicken the chowder naturally.
Add the milk and cream and warm through without boiling, then season with salt and white pepper.
Stir in the chopped clams and the crisp pork and heat for 2 minutes only. Serve with a knob of butter melting on top, chives and crackers.

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A Few Pointers

Strain the clam liquid through muslin. There is always sand, and one gritty spoonful ruins the bowl.
Never boil the chowder once the dairy is in — it will curdle and split.
Chowder is better on the second day, once the potato starch has fully hydrated.

Swaps and Variations

In a sauce, full-fat crème fraîche can usually take the place of the double cream; single cream is thinner and more likely to split if it boils, so keep it below a simmer.
A dry vermouth keeps for longer than an open bottle of white wine and is the closer swap than a random white left in the fridge; for an alcohol-free version, use the same amount of stock with a squeeze of lemon.

What to Serve With It

A crisp Muscadet or a cold lager · Serve with oyster crackers and a green salad · Finish with apple pie

Sides from the same cuisine on this site: Artisan Sourdough Bread, New York Bagels, Creamy Coleslaw.

Leftovers and Storage

Refrigerate 3 days. Reheat gently below a simmer. Do not freeze — the potatoes go grainy and the dairy separates.

New England Clam Chowder Nutrition Facts

No nutrition figures are given for this recipe: they cannot be worked out reliably from its ingredient list (some ingredient lines cannot be read). Why some recipes have none.

No Added Sugar