New England Clam Chowder

New England Clam Chowder is surprisingly simple to make and packed with incredible flavor. Thick, creamy, and better than anything you’ll find at a restaurant, it’s made with tender potatoes, whole baby clams, and smoky bacon. This hearty soup comes together quickly and is pure comfort in a bowl.

Course Dinner

Cuisine American

Keyword Clam Chowder, New England Clam Chowder

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 20

Servings servings

Calories 314kcal

Author Heather

Ingredients

4 strips bacon *cut into pieces
1 lg onion *chopped, about 1 1/2 cups
2 lg celery stalks *chopped
4 cups diced Yukon Gold potatoes *about 8 small potatoes
3 cloves garlic *crushed or minced
1/2 tsp thyme
2 bay leaves
1/2 cup sherry
1 8 oz bottle clam juice
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
2 cups whole milk
1 cup half and half
2 tbsp all purpose flour
2 10 oz cans whole baby clams
fresh chopped chives *as a garnish

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Instructions

Cut bacon strips into smaller pieces.
Place an enamled dutch oven over medium heat. Add bacon and cook until crisp. Remove bacon from pan leaving bacon grease.
Rasie heat to med/high and add chopped onions and celery. Cook until sweating.
To onion mixture add cut potatoes, thyme, pepper, garlic, sherry, bay leaves, Worcestershire sauce and clam juice. Cook until potatoes are almost tender.
Measure milk and cream. In a smaller bowl combine flour and a small amount of the measured milk. Whisk until smooth adding more milk if necessary.
Add flour mixture to dutch oven and then stir in rest of cream and milk. Cook until thick and bubbly, making sure the potatoes are tender.
Stir in clam and bacon bits. Cook for 1-2 minutes.

Notes

*Please use as many organic ingredients as possible.

Recipe Notes

Be careful to not over cook clams as they will become tough and rubbery. Cook no longer than 2 minutes for whole baby clams and n more than 1 minute for chopped clams.
For extra creamy clam chowder use half and half in place of milk (total of 3 cups).
Garnish with fresh chopped chives or oyster crackers.

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