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Along the rocky coast of New England, chowder has been a staple for as long as fishing boats have come back to shore. The word likely comes from the French “chaudière,” a cooking pot brought by early settlers to Quebec and the Maritimes, from where the tradition spread south. Fishing families built chowder from whatever was on hand — salt pork, potatoes, onions, and cheap, abundant clams. The cream-based “New England style” took shape over the 1800s, distinct from the tomato-based “Manhattan style” further south, a rivalry serious enough that Maine once considered banning tomatoes in chowder within state lines.
What You’ll Need
- 4 slices bacon or 4 oz salt pork, diced
- 1 onion, diced
- 2 celery stalks, diced
- 1½ lbs potatoes, cubed
- 2 cups clam juice
- 3 tablespoons flour
- 2 cups whole milk
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 2 (6.5 oz) cans chopped clams, juice reserved
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1 teaspoon thyme, 1 bay leaf
- Salt and pepper, to taste
- Oyster crackers, for serving
How to Make It
- Cook the bacon or salt pork until crisp; remove and set aside, keeping the fat in the pot.
- Add onion and celery, cook 5 minutes. Add potatoes, clam juice, thyme, and bay leaf; simmer 12–15 minutes until potatoes are tender.
- In a separate pan, melt butter, whisk in flour, then gradually whisk in milk until thickened.
- Stir the milk mixture into the pot with the cream. Keep at a gentle simmer — don’t boil, or the dairy can separate.
- Stir in the clams and reserved bacon; cook 3–4 minutes just until heated through.
- Season with salt and pepper, remove the bay leaf, and serve topped with oyster crackers.
Tips for the Best Chowder
Fresh clams give the richest flavor, but good canned clams work well for a weeknight. Keep the heat low once the dairy goes in — a hard boil is the most common way to ruin a pot of chowder. Many cooks find it tastes even better the next day, once the flavors have melded overnight in the fridge.
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