Boston Clam Chowder

Servings: 6
Ingredients:

3    Cups  of half-and-half and
-heated the chowder to just
-below the boiling

I visited with the creator of this wonderful chowder and though he did not
give me the recipe, he did share some hints. He uses only cream and
butter, no wimpy milk for him. He starts with a roux with chopped celery
and onion and adds thyme, bay leaf and white pepper for seasoning. If fresh
clams are not available, he recommends Snow’s Chopped Clams.

Using his tips, what I know about clam chowder and a little research, I
created a very good clam chowder the other night. I don’t have the
ingredient amounts, but it doesn’t really matter if you’ve had some kitchen
experience. The real secret came from Chef Paul Prudhomme’s Louisiana
Kitchen cookbook. I figured if I was going to mess with a roux, I might as
well start with the expert roux maker.

I made a 50/50 oil/flour roux — using 1/4 cup olive oil and 1/4 cup
butter and 1/2 cup flour. I heated the oil as high as I dared and put in
about 1/3 of the flour allowing it to foam and let the moisture in the
flour escape — be careful! Roux can burn like hellfire. I continued to
add the flour and cooked the roux to a light golden color. I removed the
roux from the heat and added about 1/2 cup finely chopped onions and 1/2
cup finely chopped celery. The hot roux cooks the veggies and the veggies
cool down the roux.

I drained the liquid from 4 7-ounce cans of clams and added a 7- ounce
bottle of clam juice. I put the clam nectar in a sauce pan and added about
1 1/2 lbs of raw potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2′ cubes. I added some
thyme and a couple of bay leaves and some freshly ground white pepper.

When the potatoes were cooked, I added some of the roux to thicken the
chowder. I ended up using all the roux. I added the clams and about
point, stirring frequently and tasted it for seasoning adjustment. Toward
the end, I threw in a handful of real bacon bits for an added smokey
flavor. I topped the pot with 1/2 cube of butter and let it sit for about
an hour to allow the flavors to blend.

The result was the best clam chowder I have ever made. To complete the
dinner I served sweet cornbread and a carrot and raisin salad.

Sorry, the amounts are not precise, but if you plan ahead, it’s difficult
to go wrong.

Posted by Al Martin. Courtesy of Fred Peters.