In the season five Weekends with Yankee episode “Only In New
England,” Amy learns about the shipbuilding legacy of Essex,
Massachusetts, and makes a stop at Woodman’s of Essex, birthplace of the
fried clam. Back in the kitchen, Amy showcases fresh seafood by making
Rhode Island–Style Clear Clam Chowder using a favorite recipe from
Matunuck Oyster Bar in South Kingstown. To make it recipe accessible for
weeknight cooking, we substituted frozen clam meat and bottled clam
juice for the broth, then enriched the soup with bacon, onions, celery,
and fresh herbs.
Watch Amy Traverso make Rhode Island-Style Clear Clam Chowder:
Yield: 8 servings
Ingredients
2 pounds local frozen clam meat, thawed and chopped
6 cups bottled clam juice
3 slices thick-sliced bacon, cut into ¼-inch cubes
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 medium-size onions, cut into ¼-inch cubes
3 ribs celery, cut into ¼-inch cubes
2 bay leaves
2 pounds Yukon Gold or other all-purpose potatoes, peeled and cut into ½-inch pieces
2 tablespoons chopped fresh Italian parsley
2 tablespoons minced fresh chives
1 teaspoon minced fresh dill
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Instructions
Put the bacon in a 5- to 7-quart pot over medium heat. Cook, stirring
occasionally, until golden brown, about 10 minutes. Pour off all but 1
tablespoon of the bacon fat, leaving the bacon in the pot. Reduce the
heat to medium-low. Add the butter, onions, celery, and bay leaves, and
cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions are softened but not
browned, 6 to 8 minutes.
Add the potatoes and clam juice to the pot. Continue cooking over medium
heat until the chowder begins to simmer. If it begins to boil, reduce
the heat slightly. Cook until the potatoes are tender, about 15 minutes.
Just before serving, remove the pot from the heat, stir in the clams
meat, discard the bay leaves, and season to taste with salt and pepper.
Garnish with herbs. Serve hot.
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Comments
Reader L.
This *Soup* sounds delicious! Beats the heck out of this Boston
girl how anyone can call something *Chowder* if it isn’t made with milk
????
I make this chowder quite often, but I’ve never used frozen
clams. Fresh chopped clams are always available at my local seafood
store and local supermarket. Love Yankee and Weekends with Yankee!
Thanks!
Making it tonight but in a smaller batch. I was brought up in NH
and was once accused of not being a True New Englander because I didn’t
like the creamy style!
This is not authentic Rhode Island chowder! I am a lifelong Rhode
Islander and have made this chowder many times. While bacon can be a
substitute for salt pork, it’s not the way Rhode Islanders make it.
Also, It doesn’t have celery, dill, chives, bay leaves or parsley in it.
While some may think these are improvements, they all diminish the
clean, clear taste of the chowder. If you think so, fine, but don’t say
it’s Rhode Island chowder, because it isn’t.
I know what you mean. We go through the same thing every time
publishes a recipe for a Philly cheesesteak. Call it whatever you like,
but it’s nearly never the real deal, and not the way we make them.
I haven’t lived in RI for a few decades but I still miss chowder
and clam cakes every summer. We lived in South County, and harvested
our own quahogs at low tide. The twisting motion of digging with toes
to find the clams was a common sight! Back then we used salt pork
instead of bacon.
Posts
This *Soup* sounds delicious! Beats the heck out of this Boston girl how anyone can call something *Chowder* if it isn’t made with milk ????
I make this chowder quite often, but I’ve never used frozen clams. Fresh chopped clams are always available at my local seafood store and local supermarket. Love Yankee and Weekends with Yankee! Thanks!
Making it tonight but in a smaller batch. I was brought up in NH and was once accused of not being a True New Englander because I didn’t like the creamy style!
This is not authentic Rhode Island chowder! I am a lifelong Rhode Islander and have made this chowder many times. While bacon can be a substitute for salt pork, it’s not the way Rhode Islanders make it. Also, It doesn’t have celery, dill, chives, bay leaves or parsley in it. While some may think these are improvements, they all diminish the clean, clear taste of the chowder. If you think so, fine, but don’t say it’s Rhode Island chowder, because it isn’t.
I know what you mean. We go through the same thing every time publishes a recipe for a Philly cheesesteak. Call it whatever you like, but it’s nearly never the real deal, and not the way we make them.
RI clam chowder is the best. No cream or tomatoes to get in the way of the clam flavor.
I haven’t lived in RI for a few decades but I still miss chowder and clam cakes every summer. We lived in South County, and harvested our own quahogs at low tide. The twisting motion of digging with toes to find the clams was a common sight! Back then we used salt pork instead of bacon.
This is a favorite of ours and we just enjoyed some at Lenny & Joe’s Fish Take in Westbrook, Ct.
Haven’t had this type of chowder yet and I was BORN in Newport! Can’t wait to try it.
Bacon??? Celery???