If you've been reading this blog, then you've probably figured out that I'm a big fan of Good Eats. I picked up the new Good Eats: The Early Years cookbook the day it came out and I've already made a few of the recipes. Today I decided to try out the recipe for clam chowder.
The recipe looked simple enough, so I made a list of what I needed and headed to Central Market, my glorious local supermarket. The recipe called for a 14oz can of minced clams. I could only find 6.5oz cans, so I got two and hoped for the best. I also got a 10oz can of baby clams to substitute for the fresh clams called for in the recipe. Yeah, my market has fresh clams, but they're kinda expensive. If I were making the recipe for company and wanted to look fancy, then I'd get the fresh clams. But for just Ty and me, canned would do.
The recipe also called for salt pork. The only salt pork I could find looked...well...kinda gross, and it was a large package and I only needed 3oz. I went for some slab bacon instead because it was local, fresh, and I would actually use the leftovers.
Groceries at hand, I went home and got cooking. The recipe calls for mincing the bacon into small cubes and sauteing until golden. I did this in my trusty cast iron soup pot (I really, really love this pot), so I wouldn't have to dirty more than one pot. After crisping the bacon I removed it to a small plate and put it in the microwave so it wouldn't get too cold. I then sauteed an onion in the bacon fat. The bacon must have rendered more fat than I realized, because when I rather incautiously plopped in the onion I splashed some very hot fat onto my hand. It hurt.
While the onions cooked, I finely diced three russet potatoes. The recipe calls for leaving the skins on, so I did so. However, I'm not happy with what they did to the final texture of the soup - more on that later. Once the onions were translucent I dumped in the potato and about three cups of whole milk. I brought it to a boil and then turned it down to a simmer for a little over ten minutes. Once it had simmered for a while, I added the liquid from the canned clams. This gave the soup a pleasantly clammy, but not overpowering smell.
After the soup had simmered I took an immersion blender to it. Here's where I dislike those potato skins. I like my chowder thick, like almost paste thick, so I blended the heck out of it. The potato all but disintegrated into a rich, thick, creamy pot of deliciousness - except for the skins. The skins remained whole and when I ate it later I would have velvety chowder with strips of potato skin floating in it. If I had left more of the potatoes intact it would have been fine, but I didn't.
After blending, you fold in the clams and add salt and pepper to taste. I topped this with some fresh parsley from my garden. It made a delicious soup. About halfway through our first bowls I realized that I had forgotten about the bacon. Do not forget the bacon. The soup is amazing by itself, but with a few cubes of crispy, salty, unctuous bacon it becomes sublime. Mmmm, soup.
The recipe looked simple enough, so I made a list of what I needed and headed to Central Market, my glorious local supermarket. The recipe called for a 14oz can of minced clams. I could only find 6.5oz cans, so I got two and hoped for the best. I also got a 10oz can of baby clams to substitute for the fresh clams called for in the recipe. Yeah, my market has fresh clams, but they're kinda expensive. If I were making the recipe for company and wanted to look fancy, then I'd get the fresh clams. But for just Ty and me, canned would do.
The recipe also called for salt pork. The only salt pork I could find looked...well...kinda gross, and it was a large package and I only needed 3oz. I went for some slab bacon instead because it was local, fresh, and I would actually use the leftovers.
Groceries at hand, I went home and got cooking. The recipe calls for mincing the bacon into small cubes and sauteing until golden. I did this in my trusty cast iron soup pot (I really, really love this pot), so I wouldn't have to dirty more than one pot. After crisping the bacon I removed it to a small plate and put it in the microwave so it wouldn't get too cold. I then sauteed an onion in the bacon fat. The bacon must have rendered more fat than I realized, because when I rather incautiously plopped in the onion I splashed some very hot fat onto my hand. It hurt.
While the onions cooked, I finely diced three russet potatoes. The recipe calls for leaving the skins on, so I did so. However, I'm not happy with what they did to the final texture of the soup - more on that later. Once the onions were translucent I dumped in the potato and about three cups of whole milk. I brought it to a boil and then turned it down to a simmer for a little over ten minutes. Once it had simmered for a while, I added the liquid from the canned clams. This gave the soup a pleasantly clammy, but not overpowering smell.
After the soup had simmered I took an immersion blender to it. Here's where I dislike those potato skins. I like my chowder thick, like almost paste thick, so I blended the heck out of it. The potato all but disintegrated into a rich, thick, creamy pot of deliciousness - except for the skins. The skins remained whole and when I ate it later I would have velvety chowder with strips of potato skin floating in it. If I had left more of the potatoes intact it would have been fine, but I didn't.
After blending, you fold in the clams and add salt and pepper to taste. I topped this with some fresh parsley from my garden. It made a delicious soup. About halfway through our first bowls I realized that I had forgotten about the bacon. Do not forget the bacon. The soup is amazing by itself, but with a few cubes of crispy, salty, unctuous bacon it becomes sublime. Mmmm, soup.
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