New England Clam Chowder- Recipe

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You no longer have to go to Maine to enjoy a delicious bowl of New England Clam Chowder!  

I go to Maine at least once a year and this is one of my favorite Maine dishes.

Unlike most clam chowders you've had, Maine-style clam chowder is actually thin and brothy- only the starch from the potatoes are used as the thickener, not flour. 

Unlike most boring clam chowder recipes, this recipe uses fresh clams and fresh clam juice (not canned clams or bottled clam juice) for the ultra fresh and briny chowder! 

An insider Maine tip is substituting evaporated milk for the cream and real clam juice (the "juice" made from steaming fresh clams).  The result is a much richer and clam'y broth/soup. 

In New England quahogs are typically used but you'll also see littleneck clams, razor clams, or the catch of the day. Quahogs has more flavor than clams will add that rich signature sea brininess to your chowdah. 

NE clam chowder is easy to make and is as simple as just cooking up some salt pork, cook the onions in pork fat, dice up potatoes and cook with enough water & fresh clam juice to cover, add evaporated milk, toss in freshly steamed clams at the very end and season with salt and pepper to taste.

Tips-
* Use fresh quahogs for a more luscious chowder & fresh ocean flavor
* Use Russet potatoes which has more starch than Yukon potatoes to help thicken the soup
* Clam broth to cream ratio should be 2:1, so that the cream doesn't over power the clam broth.

INGREDIENTS
Purging brine (double if you needed to cover all the clams)
8 Cups COLD water
4 tbs sea salt

Clam Chowder:
4 dozen fresh little neck clams (steamed and chopped, or quahogs)

Salt Pork
2 tbs oil from salt pork
1 cup finely chopped white or yellow onions (about 1 medium onion)
1/4 cup dry white wine (optional)

5 cups fresh steamed clams juice (sub water as needed) 
Water (as needed to cover the potatoes if needed)
6 diced Yukon white potatoes

1 can evaporated milk 

Chopped clams (2 cups)

1 tbs unsalted butter

PREPARATION
1. Purge clams in salt water 4 tbs sea salt to 8 cups water.
2. Bring 3 cups of water to boil in a large wide stock pot. Add clams and cover the pot.  Let boil for about 10-15 minutes until the shells all open. Clams will open at different times so remove the clams with tongs as they open. Set them in a clean bowl aside to prevent overcooking of clams.  Let the broth sit for 10-15 minutes for any grit/sand or debris to fall to the bottom.  Then slowly strain with a fine mesh straine (toss out the last oz or so with all the debris). Reserve the clam juice.  Remove meat from clam shells, and trim off black parts,  loosely chop and set aside.
3. Place salted pork in a cast iron skillet and turn heat to medium, fry until fat renders in cast iron and remove salt pork when crisp and golden.  Chop salted pork into little bits for final garnishing/flavoring.
4. Leave about 2 tbs of salted pork fat into dutch oven (reserving the rest of the fat).  Saute onions until soft and yellow over medium high heat (about 4-5 min).
5. Deglaze pan with a little white wine.
2. Add strained clam juice into pot, add potatoes and add enough water to cover the potatoes.
3. Simmer covered until potatoes softened (about 15-20 min).  Do not leave over high heat or bottom may burn.  
4. Remove pot from burner.  Gently and slowly add a can of evaporated milk until milk has heated through.
5. Carefully add more pork fat into the chowder. Add chopped clams.  Smash down potatoes if they are too chunky and you want your broth more creamy.
6. Add crispy salt pork scraps but reserve some for final garnishing.  Heat slowly over low-medium heat until chowder is heated through. 
7. Season with salt and pepper to taste and a tbs of unsalted butter.  At this point you can add a dash of Tobasco, and/or Worcestershire sauce, smoked paprika (although some NE'ers would beg to differ).
8. Garnish with a little salted pork bits and a side of oyster crackers.