Flours and Fudge: Clam Chowder

It's been a very very busy few weeks. I just spent my memorial day weekend up in Errol, NH at my family's camp, with Dan, my cousin Jimmy and his girlfriend Jen. It was fabulous. Four hours away from home with no cell phone service, cable, computers, etc. Just sitting around fires, grilling, and watching out for moose on the roads. We did see some on the drive up. We also a bunny and a moth the size of the moon.

No joke.

We named is mothadactyl.

Anyways, we came home yesterday afternoon to continue our weekend by eating lobsters and steamers with some family to celebrate an upcoming birthday that I'm going to pretend isn't happening. We had a good amount of steamers left over, so my family asked me to make clam chowder with it.

Dan loves his chowder very thick, and I attempted to make it quite thick, but it's not as thick as the canned kind that's full of preservatives and whatnot. I searched a few recipes and tried to find ones that stated they were thicker, and reading about the battles and arguments over "New England" clam chowder, and how traditional NE clam chowder is not thick, and is practically milk and clams. I'm from New England, and I like a thick chowder. That's my stance.

I also used the clam bellies that were not going into the chowder and attempted to make fried clams. It reminded me of how much I hate frying things on my stove top, as my kitchen gets all smoky and everyone thinks I'm burning my house down. Because the bellies did sit overnight, they were kind of mushy and didn't hold well with the frying. It was basically a nice fried outside and mushy clam mess in the middle....oh well, I tried. I am leaving the directions of the original blog I got the recipe from on how to steam your clams, in case you are going that route. You can also use cans of minced clams.

Clam Chowder
adapted from here

12 large chowder clams (or two dozen small clams) (I used leftover steamer clams)
1/2 lb. thick cut bacon, chopped
1 yellow onion, diced (I used a quarter of a large onion)
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
3medium potatoes, peeled cut into 1″ cubes
3 bay leaves
1 cup clam juice (I only added this because I used leftover steamers and didn't have the clam juice from steaming them)
2 cups heavy cream
1 cup whole milk
salt and pepper
pinch or so of parsley
splash of Madiera or sherry (optional) ( I did not use)
** instant mashed potatoes

1. First pick over your clams, discarding any with chipped or cracked shells. Next, clean your clams — get a useful how-to here.
2. In a large steaming pot, add 1 1/2 cups water, and then the steaming bucket with the cleaned clams. Steam clams for 5 – 10 minutes, until they have just opened. For those that don’t open, remove open clams and steam for a bit longer. Any clams that do not open should be discarded.
Shuck clams with a knife — open them over a bowl and save any juice that comes out. Mince the clams.
3. In large pot cook the bacon over medium heat for about 5 minutes. Remove bacon to a bowl.
4. Add the onion to the bacon drippings and cook until it softens, about four minutes. Add the flour, stir, and cook for another minute. Add the potatoes, bay, clam juice salt, and pepper Cover and simmer over medium-low heat 20 or more minutes, until the potatoes are tender.
5. Stir in the milk, cream, parsley, minced clams, and Madeira, if using. Warm over low heat, stirring frequently.
6. If you would like to thicken your chowder, add in instant mashed potatoes, about a heaping tablespoon at a time, until you get your desired thickness.
7. Serve in a bow topped with bacon and some oyster crackers or crusty bread on the side!

** If you want to thicken up your chowder, you can add in some instant mashed potatoes towards the end of cooking. I added in about 4 heaping tablespoon of them to help thicken it up, and actually should've added more. Instant mashed potatoes are a great thickener for chowders!