Cooking For Engineers

[LBI fisherman]

Here on Long Beach Island ,nj we our proud of our chowda, and have a cook-off each fall. The best is fresh. Don't add the clams till the end. If you are in a hurry, buy chowder in the can. Good cooking can take some time!!

[Guest]

New England clam chowder recipe sounds delicious. Is it possible to make larger amount and freeze it?

[bacon]

For the person living in Paris, of course we have clams in Europe, in the UK they are known as cockles in French "praires" and in German "Venusmuschel". They are not the same varieties of clam as in the USA, i.e. no littlenecks or quahogs but they are in the clam family all the same and can be made into clam chowder. Cockles are usually sold minus the shell, the best place for cockles in the UK is in Wales,Swansea Market on a Wednesday, there are also delicious cockles in Morecambe Bay (where the Chinese cockle-pickers were killed by the rising tide).

[kaitsmom]

Honestly; I think if you ever had OUR clam chowder, ITS WONDERFUL, whether your from Chicopee, Mass or Fall River, Mass, Hartford, Ct or Providence, RI, Maine or Vermont, Every state and every family makes clam chowder different,! All taste good cuz it from New England!!! Hence the name, My grandmothers is slightly different then my mom, i like grams better maybe cause its old school, like the one guy said using the crean from the top of the milk back in the day. Chircio, thats a Protuguese sausage used to make kale soup! And the best is Gaspars out of Bedford Mass! I love the recipe and can't wait to make it tomorrow! I live in FL now and their chowder sucks New England Clam Chowder is just that... New England!!!

[Bobby Molden]

Well, i tried to follow the recipie best i could except for the portions. This is a dish my wife allways orders when she gets the chance so thought i'd take a crack at it. I started from the bacon grease all the way down to the heavy cream and half and half. Stuffed it in the middle with plenty of minced clams and whole baby ones. Ohh yeah, I went for broke and just for good measure added some chopped mushrooms. I got carried away and ended up with a big pot. I added some Rock sea salt and black pepper, stired it well. stuck a spoon in it and tasted. Damn that is good. Blew my mind if i do say so myself. You boys sure know your stuff up in here and im grateful. Man, i mean this stuff rivals any i've had anywhere! Thanks again for teaching me how to make this dish.

[glfgrl]

Love the recipe sounds so good, I know this is an old blog, but I also love the way to have the recipe listed below the pics....very unique format and hope to see more of your recipes....keep cookin

[Janet]

Read all the comments and ready to go-BUT I need to make this for 40 people. Do I taje basic recipe and multiple everything by 6?/
Hope for answer soon - I'm on leaving Wed 10/26 to Mexico - and YES I do my own clamming.

[Dilbert]

... just everything x6

bottom line yes, recipes are usually flexible to minor changes in proportions _except_

seasonings - some are "stronger" than others and less than x6 will work - a minor "generality" in this case as the recipe is just salt&pepper

"thickening" - one single huge pot is is going to cook differently - in particular the amount of starch coming out of the potatoes - so don't put in all the x6 liquids at one crack - hold off to see how it thickens up and be prepared to add more or less liquid than the x6 math indicates.

[ME]

Who cares where "NEW ENGLAND" is...
WEST COAST ALL THE WAY BABY!

[kimberly]

New England is a region in the northeastern corner of the United States consisting of the six states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut. New England is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean, Canada (the Canadian Maritimes and Quebec) and the state of New York.

[pjayy]

Since this is a "stew", the recipe is quite "forgiving". Nonetheless I made this chowder once, sticking closely to the recipe EXCEPT that I used diced white baby potatoes with skin-on, and was thrilled.

Using Fresh clams:

Today I made an over-sized recipe with 2 dozen clams ranging from "Cherrystone" to large "Quahog" size, and it is again marvelous. Washed, then soaked the raw clams in water with corn starch and salt, then rinsed them again. Steamed the clams open, saved the broth (let the sand settle out) and used this instead of bottled clam juice. Same as before using baby white skin-on spuds. Wow-ee.

With fresh clams (and no food processor nearby for chopping - lost it in Hurricane Irene and haven't replaced it yet) it's quite a bit more time-consuming, but I'm not complaining - it was worth it!

We are all um... happy as a clam here.

Thanks again!!!

-PJ

[Lee Siu Hoi]

I thought any parts of America in the first 13 states are classified as New England, unless, of course if you wish to call yourself New France instead.

[Guest]

So we tried your Clam Chowder tonight and it was FANTASTIC! I had three tins of clams left that my mom shipped over to the UK for me (you can't get them here) and I needed to use them up before we move back to NH. It went down a treat! The only thing I added was a can of creamed corn because that's how I remember my mom's. Thanks for the fantastic memory!

[Anna]

I have made this so many times now, that I have to post a comment. My husband is from the North and loves clam chowder. Campbell's Chunky New England style has been a staple of his single life. I tried making this recipe for the first time last year it was a hit!
Our brother in law, who is from Boston, LOVED it too. He and his wife said it was the better than a restaurant. So decadent.
I've made it a few times now, and it's always received rave reviews. I figured it was time for me to post a big Thank You!! I love your site and learning the science behind the ingredients. You have made me a better cook.

[Matttail]

I just made this recipe again, except I used all unsweetened rice milk. To help keep the recipe thick I added some olive oil in with the grease from 4 strips of bacon to bring it up to about 1/3 cup grease. Then I used 1/3 cup flour as well. Super tasty and lactose free!