Easy New England Clam Chowder
Loaded with tender clams, creamy potatoes, and topped with smoky bacon, this satisfying comfort meal is packed with flavour and destined to be put on repeat all season long!
Ingredients
- 6 slices bacon diced
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 large onion diced
- 2 celery ribs diced
- 2 garlic cloves minced
- 1 teaspoon fresh thyme chopped
- 1 teaspoon fresh tarragon chopped
- 2 bay leaves
- ½ teaspoon dried oregano
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon freshly ground pepper
- 1 teaspoon hot sauce
- 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
- ¼ cup all purpose flour
- 1 cup chicken concentrate warm
- 2 cups half & half warm
- 2 9.5 ounce/270 g jars baby clams, juices reserved
- 2 5 ounce/142 g cans whole clams, juices reserved
- 1 8 ounce/236 g bottle clam juice
- 1 pound small new red potatoes skin on, cubed
- 12 pasta clams (optional) scrubbed clean mandatory
Garnish
- Chopped tarragon
- Small crispy crackers like oyster crackers
Instructions
Cook the Bacon
- Heat a 4-quart saucepan over low heat. Add the diced bacon and cook until crisp, stirring occasionally, 6 to 8 minutes. Once the bacon is cooked, use a slotted spoon to remove the bacon to a paper towel lined plate, leaving the bacon drippings in the pot.
Build the Chowder
- Add the butter to the bacon drippings over medium heat and use a wooden spoon or stiff spatula to scrape clean the bottom and sides of the saucepan. Add the onions and celery. Toss to coat them in the bacon drippings and melted butter. Cook for 4 to 5 minutes until slightly soft. Add the garlic, thyme, tarragon, oregano, salt, pepper, hot sauce, and Worcestershire sauce. Cook for 2 minutes, stirring often.
- Sift in the flour, stir to combine, and cook for 2 minutes, stirring often.
- Add the warm chicken concentrate, ¼ cup at a time, stirring constantly, and scraping the pan clean before adding the next ¼ cup. Add the warm half & half, ½ cup at a time, stirring constantly, and scraping the pan clean before adding the next ½ cup.
- Add the bay leaves, the reserved juice from the canned clams and the 8-ounce bottle of clam juice to the saucepan. NOT the clams.
- Bring the soup to a low boil, then reduce to a simmer, (just bubbling lightly around the edges of the pot) for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Add the potatoes to the soup and cook until softened, 20 to 25 minutes.
- Turn the heat down to low and stir in the strained baby clams and whole clams to heat them up.
Steam the Fresh Pasta Clams
- Heat a small skillet over medium-high heat. Add the claims and 4 ounces of white wine (or water), cover and cook until the claims open (stirring occasionally), 4 to 6 minutes.
Garnish and Serve
- To serve, fill individual serving bowls and garnish with chopped tarragon, diced bacon, steamed clams and crackers. Enjoy!
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