Homemade New England Clam Chowder
This rich and creamy homemade New England clam chowder is packed full of meaty fresh clams, bacon, buttery yellow potatoes, and just a touch of heavy cream. This is the perfect soup for cold winter days and nights.
Servings: 6 servings
Ingredients
- 8 slices thick sliced bacon diced
- 2 celery stalks small dice
- 1 large yellow onion small dice
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 2 pounds baby yellow potatoes cut into 1/2 inch chunks
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme leaves
- 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
- 4 6.5 ounce cans chopped clams in water USE THE CLAM JUICE DON'T DRAIN
- 3 8 ounce bottles clam juice 3 cups
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 cup heavy cream
Instructions
- In a large soup pot set over medium heat add bacon.
- Once the bacon starts to render its fat add in diced celery and onion.
- Cook over medium heat until the vegetables are soft and translucent.
- Add in garlic and saute until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
- If your bacon does not give off a lot of fat drizzle in a little olive oil or a tablespoon of unsalted butter.
- Add potatoes, thyme leaves, red pepper flakes, oregano, kosher, salt, and black pepper to the pan. Stir to combine.
- Sprinkle in flour and toss to combine until you see no more dry flour.
- Add the clams WITH THEIR JUICE to the pan along with bottled clam juice and bay leaf.
- Stir and bring to a simmer, reduce heat to low, and simmer for 15-20 minutes or until your potatoes are fork tender.
- When your potatoes are soft add your heavy cream, stir to combine, taste, and season if needed, and serve hot with oyster crackers.
Notes
- Using fresh clams: Steam 2 dozen cherrystone clams and dice the meat. You'll need to use 2 more cups of clam juice to make up for the lack of clam juice found in the cans.
- Each can of diced clams should give you 1/2 cup of clam juice. That means you'll like need 3 bottles of clam juice.
Nutrition
Serving: 1g | Calories: 412kcal | Carbohydrates: 43g | Protein: 16g | Fat: 20g | Saturated Fat: 11g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 8g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 74mg | Sodium: 861mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 4g