3977. CLAM CHOWDER with BACON and CROUTONS

Yields 6 servings

1/4 cup (60 mL) butter

2 onions, finely chopped

1/4 cup (60 mL) all-purpose flour

4 cups (1 L) milk

3 medium potatoes, peeled and diced

1 tsp (5 mL) dried thyme

1/4 tsp (1 mL) salt

1/4 tsp (1 mL) pepper

2 cans (5 oz/142 g each) clams with juices

Garnish:

6 slices bacon, cooked crisp and chopped

1/2 cup (125 mL) bread croutons

3 green onions, chopped

Melt butter in a large saucepan or Dutch oven. Add onions. Cook until fragrant but do not brown. Add flour. Cook over medium low heat, stirring, for 5 min. Cool slightly.

Whisk in milk. Bring to a boil. Add potatoes, thyme, salt and pepper. Reduce heat, cover and simmer until potatoes are tender (about 20 min).

Add clams and juices and heat thoroughly. Do not boil. Taste and add seasoning, if necessary.

Serve garnished with green onions, bacon bits and croutons.

bacon recipe source: Dairy Goodness (@100CanadianMilk), 1801 McGill College Avenue, Suite 700, Montreal, QC, H3A 2N4

3396. THE BEST CLAM CHOWDER

yields 8-10 servings


24 medium-size quahog clams, usually rated "top neck" or "cherrystone," rinsed
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1/4 lb. slab bacon or salt pork, diced
2 leeks, tops removed, halved and cleaned, then sliced into half moons
3 large Yukon Gold potatoes, cubed
1/2 cup dry white wine
3 sprigs thyme
1 bay leaf
2 cups cream
freshly ground black pepper to taste
1/4 cup chopped parsley

Put the clams in a large, heavy Dutch oven, add about 4 cups of water, then set over medium-high heat. Cover, and cook until clams have opened, approximately 10 to 15 minutes. (Clams that fail to open after 15 to 20 minutes should be discarded). Strain clam broth through a sieve lined with cheesecloth or doubled-up paper towels, and set aside. Remove clams from shells, and set aside as well.

Rinse out the pot, and return it to the stove. Add butter, and turn heat to medium-low. Add bacon, and cook, stirring occasionally, until the fat has rendered and the bacon has started to brown, approximately 5 to 7 minutes. Use a slotted spoon to remove bacon from fat, and set aside.

Add the leeks to the fat, and cook, stirring frequently, until they are soft but not brown, about 10 minutes. Stir in potatoes and wine, and continue cooking until wine has evaporated and the potatoes have just started to soften, approximately 5 minutes. Add enough clam broth to just cover the potatoes, approximately 3 cups, reserving the rest for another use. Add the thyme and the bay leaf.

Partly cover the pot, and simmer gently until potatoes are tender, approximately 10 to 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, chop the clams into bits about the size of the bacon dice.

When potatoes are tender, add cream and stir in chopped clams and reserved bacon. Add black pepper to taste. Let come to a simmer, and remove from heat. (Do not let the chowder come to a full boil). Fish out the thyme and the bay leaf, and discard.

The chowder should be allowed to sit for a while to cure. Reheat it to a bare simmer before serving, then garnish with chopped parsley. Serve with oyster crackers.


bacon recipe source: Sam Sifton, "Founding Fodder," The New York Times Magazine, August 10, 2014

3274. SWEET POTATO CLAM CHOWDER with BACON

2 dozen medium clams (such as Manila) or 3 dozen small clams (such as Littlenecks)
1 1/2 cups water
1 12-oz. bottle of clam juice, as needed
1 cup (about 4-5 slices) diced raw applewood smoked bacon
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 medium yellow onion, chopped (1 1/2 cups)
2 stalks celery, chopped
1 bay leaf
3 1/2 cups (about 1/4 lb.) raw sweet potato, peeled and diced into 2-inch chunks
1 teaspoon Kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
3 cups half-and-half

Scrub the clams well. Spread them in an even layer in a large 12-inch frying pan with a lid. Add the water, cover, and bring to the water to a boil. Set a heatproof bowl nearby to hold the cooked clams. Cook the clams until the shells open, about 2 to 5 minutes. As a clam opens, remove it from the pan with tongs and plop it into the waiting bowl. Give the clams 5 minutes more to cook, transferring clams as they open. After 5 minutes, turn off the heat and discard any clams that remain closed. Pour the pan liquid through a fine-meshed sieve or cheesecloth to strain out any grit. You should have about 1 1/2 cups clam cooking liquid. If there is less than that, add enough bottled clam juice to equal this amount. Set the liquid aside. Transfer the clams, still in their shells, back to the pan and cover it with a lid to keep the clams from drying out while you finish the chowder.

Cook the bacon in a 3-quart soup pot until crisp and brown. When the bacon is done transfer to a paper-towel lined plate to drain, reserving 1 tablespoon of the bacon fat in the pot. Discard the rest of the bacon fat. Using the same soup pot in which you cooked the bacon, pour back in the 1 tablespoon of bacon fat, add the olive oil and heat over a medium flame for a few seconds; add the onion and celery. Cook vegetables until soft and golden, about 5 minutes. Add the sweet potatoes, clam cooking liquid, the bay leaf, salt and pepper. (Save the cooked bacon to sprinkle over the chowder just before serving.) Cover the pan and simmer just until the sweet potatoes are tender, 8 to 10 minutes.

While the chowder simmers, remove the clams from their shell. You can use a paring knife or even a grapefruit spoon to scrape them out of their shells and into a bowl. Discard the shells. When the sweet potatoes are perfectly done, add the clams to the chowder. Pour in the Half and Half, heat gently until the chowder is piping hot, and ladle it into individual serving bowls. Sprinkle bacon around the edge of the chowder and serve.


bacon recipe source: Cat Cora.com

2106. TOMATO, BASIL and BACON CLAM CHOWDER

makes 4 servings


4 thick slices streaky bacon, cut into pieces
1 medium onion, finely chopped
2 celery ribs, finely chopped
3 dozen littleneck clams, shucked and chopped, with liquor reserved
2 cups water
½ cup dry vermouth
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 medium red potato, peeled and diced
4 medium ripe tomatoes, seeded and chopped
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh basil leaves
salt

In a 4- to 5-quart pot, fry the bacon over moderate heat till crisp, drain on paper towels, and crumble. Pour all but about 2 tablespoons of fat from the pot, add the onion and celery, and stir till softened, about 5 minutes.

In a bowl, whisk together 1 cup of the reserved clam liquor, the water, vermouth, and tomato paste and add to the onion mixture. Add the potato, tomatoes, basil, and salt and pepper, stir well, reduce the heat to low, cover, and simmer till the potato is tender, 10 to 15 minutes. Add the clams, stir well, cover, and continue to simmer 2 to 3 minutes. (Do not overcook the clams.)

To serve, ladle the hot chowder into heavy soup plates or bowls and sprinkle crumbled bacon over the tops.


bacon recipe courtesy of: The Bacon Cookbook: More than 150 Recipes from Around the World for Everyone's Favorite Food by James Villas. Wiley, 2007

568. RHODE ISLAND CLEAR CLAM CHOWDER

Makes 12 cups; serves 12 as a first course or 6 to 8 as a main course

NOTE: For equipment, you will need an 8-quart pot with a tight-fitting lid (for steaming open the clams), a fine-mesh strainer, a 4- to 6-quart heavy pot (for the chowder), a wooden spoon, a small pot (to warm the milk), and a ladle.


8 pounds small quahogs or large cherrystone clams
2 pounds Yukon Gold, Maine, PEl, or other all-purpose potatoes peeled and cut
4 ounces slab (unsliced) bacon (rind removed and cut into 1/3-inch dice into 1/2-inch dice)
2 cups Clam Broth
bottled clam juice
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
Traditional Fish Stock
2 medium onions (12 to 14 ounces) cut into 1/2-inch dice
Chicken Stock or water (as a last resort)
3 stalks celery (6 ounces) cut into 1/3-inch dice
Freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
6 to 8 sprigs fresh thyme, leaves removed and chopped
Kosher or sea salt if needed
2 tablespoons chopped fresh Italian (1 tablespoon) parsley
2 dried bay leaves
2 tablespoons minced fresh chives
1/8 teaspoon fennel seeds, crushed
2 tablespoons chopped fresh chervil (optional)
1/2 to 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (optional)
2 to 3 cups whole milk

Scrub the clams and rinse clean. Steam them open. Strain the broth; you should have 4 cups of broth (and 1 pound of clams). Cover the clams with plastic wrap and keep refrigerated. After they have cooled a bit, dice them into 1/2-inch pieces. Cover again and keep refrigerated until ready to use.

Heat a 4- to 6-quart heavy pot over low heat and add the bacon. Once it has rendered a few tablespoons of fat, increase the heat to medium and cook until the bacon is a crisp golden brown. Pour off all but 1 tablespoon of the fat, leaving the bacon in the pot.

Add the butter, onions, celery, thyme, bay leaves, fennel seeds, and red pepper flakes, if using, and sauté, stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon, for 10 to 12 minutes, until the onions are softened but not browned.

Add the potatoes, the reserved clam broth, and the additional 2 cups broth, and continue to cook over medium heat until the chowder begins to simmer; if it begins to boil, turn down the heat slightly so that it maintains a steady simmer. Cook for about 15 minutes longer, until the potatoes are very tender.

Remove the pot from the heat, stir in the diced clams, and season to taste with black pep- per and the lemon juice. (It is unlikely that you will need to add any salt; the clams usually provide enough.) If you are not serving the chowder within the hour, let it cool a bit, then refrigerate; cover the chowder after it has chilled completely. Otherwise, let it sit at room temperature for up to an hour, allowing the flavors to meld.

When ready to serve, reheat the chowder over low heat; do not let it boil. Stir in the parsley, chives, and chervil. At the same time, heat the milk over low heat; do not let it boil.

Ladle the chowder into cups or bowls making sure that the clams, potatoes, onions, and bacon are evenly divided; do not fill the cups or bowls more than three-quarters full. As is customary in Rhode Island, serve the hot milk in a small pitcher so each person can add as much as he or she likes to their chowder, if any.


courtesy of: 50 Chowders, one-pot meals -- clam, corn and beyond, by Jasper White. Scribner, 2000 / Bill the Oyster Man

301. MANHATTAN CLAM CHOWDER with BACON

5 slices bacon
2 carrots, diced
2 medium to large onions, chopped
3 ribs celery, chopped
1 potato, diced (you may want more)
2 cans stewed tomatoes
1 quart water (can add more)
1 teaspoon sugar
2 (6 1/2-oz.) cans chopped clams
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper

Cut up pieces of bacon. Fry bacon slightly, then add onion and celery and sauté until onion is yellow, but not browned. In large cooking pot, pour bacon, onion and celery. To this add stewed tomatoes, diced potato, carrots, water, sugar, salt and pepper. Cook gently until carrots and potatoes are done. Last add chopped clams that have been drained. Heat for approximately 15 minutes. Do not boil after the clams have been added or they will get tough.


courtesy of: Vonnie Beaver Edwards / S. Wallace Edwards & Sons, Inc., 11455 Rolfe Highway, PO Box 25, Surrey, Virginia, 23883