# Chowder/"Chowda"



## newchef (Jan 4, 2010)

Hello, I spent some time in Boston and loved chowder but we dont do it in my Country (England). Can anyone give me a simple recipe please? Nothing too over the top, i'm a beginner chef.


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## Robo410 (Jan 4, 2010)

the word chowder refers to the pot (chaudre or cauldron) and begins with bacon or salt pork and aromatic veg like onion and garlic, often celery. potatoes are standard as is fish and or shellfish. Clams are a favorite. Chowder clams are big and tough and need to be ground up.  Fish broth/clam broth is normal from the cooking. Then things get regional. 

New Englanders add milk (and possibly some thyme and Worcestershire sauce for seasoning. (cream if you can enjoy the calories and want a thicker soup, but milk is traditional)

Folks from lower New York do not add milk and add tomatoes. Specified as Manhattan clam chowder it is very fine but a different taste certainly.

Folks who like it very thick either have to add flour or overcook the potatoes. There are many other variations as well. 

To the folks in Maine, the Crown Pilot cracker is essential (still made for them) it is a hard crisp cracker that holds up in soup (and is their thickener). If you can find them, get them!

Other items added : parsley is very nice, a little dash of hot sauce, some white wine, especially if you are not using milk. you can leave out the bacon but it is traditional to chowders.

so a simple recipe:

 2 cups potatoes small/med dice

fine dice 1 onion, 2 cloves garlic

pinch or two of dried thyme,  1 tsp of parsley

1 rasher of bacon sliced into lardons (thin strips)

2 cans clams with juice (small)

1 bottle clam juice (8-10 oz)

1 pint whole milk

dash or two of worcestershire sauce and hot sauce

method:

saute bacon until fat is rendered, add onion and saute until soft, add garlic and saute until aromatic (1 min)

add clam juice and potatoes, simmer until softened

add milk and bring to simmer (do not boil)

add seasoning (herbs and dashes of sauces) 

when potatoes are fully cooked add clams (already cooked if canned) and warm through, adjust seasoning...should be salty enough. Black pepper optional. 

(about 2 servings)


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## lyndalou (Jan 5, 2010)

Go to food network.com and look up Jasper White's recipe. TNT


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## jennyema (Jan 5, 2010)

Here in this thread Andy M. posted a link to Jasper White's recipe and I posted a link to Legal Seafood's recipe. We're both from Boston and both Jasper and Legals do excellent chowder.

Chowder is very easy to make, so enjoy!


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## ChefJune (Jan 5, 2010)

jennyema said:


> Here in this thread Andy M. posted a link to Jasper White's recipe and I posted a link to Legal Seafood's recipe. We're both from Boston and both Jasper and Legals do excellent chowder.
> 
> Chowder is very easy to make, so enjoy!


 
I second that.

and fwiw, New Englanders do not consider that tomatoey stuff from New York chowder.  It may be tasty, but it's "Clam Soup."


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## Selkie (Jan 5, 2010)

Seafood chowder is simple.

Steam or simmer your seafood (whatever it is; clams or oysters until they open, lobster, fish, etc.)

Mix some of the simmer/steam liquid with 1 cup of cream. Add milk to make enough broth to serve.
Add a few selected cooked vegetables of your choice (diced potatoes, turnips, corn, etc.)
Salt and pepper to taste and low simmer for just a few seconds until the flavors blend, then turn off the heat and add back into the chowder the seafood and serve immediately. (The seafood should not simmer with the chowder broth. It will be over cooked. The hot chowder broth will be hot enough to reheat the seafood.) I top off mine with a pat of butter.


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## vagriller (Jan 5, 2010)

Here is the first and only clam chowder recipe I ever made. It uses canned clams. I know we all would love to use fresh clams, but this is much easier too! I doubled the recipe and forgot to put in double the red wine vinegar. I had some of it, and then out in the rest of the vinegar and I liked it better with half the vinegar.

My Best Clam Chowder - All Recipes


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## Cooking Goddess (Jan 5, 2010)

When we moved here in 2000 (from OH, where there aren't a lot of native clams) I was aware of two chowders:  "white" chowder with cream and that "red" stuff.  We discovered Rhode Island Clear a year or two later.  Now if a restaurant has it I'll usually order clear over white.  Hubby still prefers the white.  My sis-in-law likes the clear because she really loves the clam broth from steaming clams.  We both like and order it because of the calorie savings.  After all, dessert is part of a meal too!

If you google "Rhode Island clear chowder" you'll get a ton of hits like _that_ *clicks fingers*.  You can browse away until you find something that tastes good.  Being lazy, I haven't tried making any yet...


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## FrankZ (Jan 5, 2010)

Selkie said:


> ...I top off mine with a pat of butter.




Just for good measure right.


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## newchef (Jan 5, 2010)

Some great recipe ideas, thankyou very much!
I'm planning to try and make a simple one this weekend hopefully, once done I'll upload the video to my Youtube account: -www.youtube.com/user/myvirginkitchen 
and let you laugh at my very English effort!

I spent 4 Summer's working outside of Boston in a town called Franklin whilst working on a camp as a lifeguard. Great place, great people.


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## Andy M. (Jan 5, 2010)

newchef said:


> ...I spent 4 Summer's working outside of Boston in a town called Franklin whilst working on a camp as a lifeguard. Great place, great people.




We New Englander's are really terrific once we are sure you're not a Yankee fan.

Sadly, I cannot eat clams in any form so I make do with fish chowder.


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## ChefJune (Jan 5, 2010)

Andy M. said:


> We New Englander's are really terrific once we are sure you're not a Yankee fan.
> 
> Sadly, I cannot eat clams in any form so I make do with fish chowder.


 
Andy, I actually prefer fish chowder over clam chowder, unless the clam chowder is going to be eaten within minutes of the clams being added.  They have a habit of getting overdone if they stay in the soup too long, and turn into something that closely resembles pencil erasers.   OTOH, the fish just falls apart, and the soup becomes even more luscious. And you can even reheat it. which can't ever be done with Clam Chowder because of the above mentioned "eraser factor."


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## Robo410 (Jan 5, 2010)

ya see, I said it gets regional, and that means strong opinions. I love clams...probably my earliest seafood love...and I'll eat and enjoy any clam chowder: clear, white, red or pink. 

Much like crab soups (cream of crab or Maryland crab) I like 'em all! 

Enjoy the making and eating of your chowder!


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