New England clam chowder

Name: New England clam chowder
Prep time: 25 min
Cook time: 35 min
Total time: 60 min
Yield: 6
Cuisine: United States
Ingredients: 1 kg fresh clams (littleneck or quahog), scrubbed and steamed open (or 2 tins of chopped clams in juice, juice reserved); 400 ml clam juice (from steaming the clams, or reserved from tinned clams, make up to 400ml with fish stock or water); 600 g waxy or all-purpose potatoes (Yukon Gold), peeled and diced into 1.5cm cubes; 150 g thick-cut smoked bacon or salt pork (traditional), cut into small lardons; 1 large white onion, finely diced; 3 stalks celery, finely diced; 2 cloves garlic, minced (optional, not in all traditional recipes); 2 tbsp plain flour; 30 g unsalted butter; 300 ml double cream (heavy cream); 300 ml whole milk; 3 sprigs fresh thyme (or 0.5 tsp dried thyme); 2 bay leaves; 1 tsp salt (cautiously, the clam juice is already salty); 0.5 tsp white pepper; Oyster crackers and fresh chives, to serve

The Northeast coast in a bowl: diced potato and sweet North Atlantic clams in a smoky bacon-thickened cream broth with thyme and bay: the soup of the fishing towns from Maine to Cape Cod, served in a sourdough bread bowl on the wharf with oyster crackers and the cold salt air

Origin: United States

From the journey of Potato.

New England clam chowder is the defining soup of the American Northeast coast and one of the most culturally specific regional dishes in the United States; so specific that Manhattan clam chowder (a tomato-based version) is regarded by New Englanders as an affront, and a 1939 Maine state bill proposed making it illegal to add tomato to clam chowder. The chowder tradition in New England is rooted in the fishing communities of the 17th and 18th centuries: French and English settlers learned from the indigenous Wampanoag and Narragansett peoples to harvest the abundant quahog clams (Mercenaria mercenaria) of the Atlantic coast, and the word 'chowder' itself likely derives from the French 'chaudière': the cauldron in which French fishermen made their communal soupe de poisson. The addition of salt pork (later bacon), onion, potato, and cream to the basic clam-in-broth created the canonical New England chowder by the early 19th century. The soup is inextricably linked with the geography of New England, served at every seafood shack from Portland, Maine to Newport, Rhode Island, in sourdough bread bowls at Faneuil Hall in Boston, and at the annual Chowder Fest on Cape Cod. Potato is not a garnish or an optional addition: it is the structural element that gives the chowder its body, absorbs the clam liquor and cream, and balances the soup's salinity.

Ingredients

Clams

1 kg fresh clams (littleneck or quahog), scrubbed and steamed open (or 2 tins of chopped clams in juice, juice reserved)

Clam liquid

400 ml clam juice (from steaming the clams, or reserved from tinned clams, make up to 400ml with fish stock or water)

Potatoes

600 g waxy or all-purpose potatoes (Yukon Gold), peeled and diced into 1.5cm cubes

Bacon

150 g thick-cut smoked bacon or salt pork (traditional), cut into small lardons

Aromatics

1 large white onion, finely diced
3 stalks celery, finely diced
2 cloves garlic, minced (optional, not in all traditional recipes)

Thickening

2 tbsp plain flour

Fat

30 g unsalted butter

Cream

300 ml double cream (heavy cream)

Dairy

300 ml whole milk

Herbs

3 sprigs fresh thyme (or 0.5 tsp dried thyme)
2 bay leaves

Seasoning

1 tsp salt (cautiously, the clam juice is already salty)
0.5 tsp white pepper

Serving

Oyster crackers and fresh chives, to serve

Method

If using fresh clams: steam in 200ml water in a covered pot over high heat for 3–5 minutes until all are open. Strain the liquid through a fine sieve (lined with cheesecloth if the clams were sandy). Remove the clam meat from the shells and chop roughly. Reserve all liquid.
In a large, heavy pot, fry the bacon lardons over medium heat until the fat renders and the bacon is beginning to crisp; about 5 minutes. Remove the bacon and set aside; leave the fat in the pot. Add the butter to the bacon fat.
Add the onion, celery, and garlic (if using) to the fat. Cook over medium heat for 6–8 minutes until soft and transparent but not coloured. Add the flour and stir for 1 minute to cook the raw flour taste out.
Add the clam juice gradually, stirring constantly to prevent lumps. Add the milk, thyme, and bay leaves. Bring to a simmer. Add the diced potato and cook for 12–15 minutes until the potato is completely tender.
Add the cream and the clam meat. Stir gently. Heat until just barely simmering; do not boil the chowder after adding the clams, as this toughens them. Season with white pepper and cautious amounts of salt (taste first; the clam juice is salty).
Remove the thyme sprigs and bay leaves. Serve in deep bowls, scattered with the crispy bacon lardons and fresh chives. Accompany with oyster crackers (the traditional New England accompaniment; small, round, puffy crackers) or sourdough bread.

Notes

The New England vs Manhattan chowder debate is one of American food culture's longest-running and most passionate disputes. New England chowder (cream-based) arrived first, documented from the 1700s. The tomato-based Manhattan version appeared in the late 19th century, possibly as a result of Italian and Portuguese immigration to New York and New England fishing communities. New Englanders, particularly in Maine and Rhode Island, have never forgiven Manhattan for the innovation. The 1939 Maine bill was not entirely a joke; it reflected genuine regional identity politics around food. Both versions are delicious; the cream version is richer and more forgiving; the tomato version is brighter and more complex.

The Gastrographer

Mapping Culinary History

To explore — select an ingredient below.

To explore — select an ingredient below · click any location dot on the map for recipes and stories · browse the information panel on the right · trace the full journey on the timeline.

Journey Point Map Key

Ingredient originTrade or transit route

Became a culinary stapleColonial / trade control