Chowder Time!

[bigslickwood]

It's been cold and wet all week. Time for some clam chowder.

Here's the recipe:

You'll need a fry pan and a big soup pot.
1 lb. bacon
3 cans chopped clams (you could mess with steaming fresh cans, but I didn't this time. I've also used razor clams from the butcher block when they're in season)
1 bottle clam juice (should be right next to the canned clams at the store)
1 large sweet onion
1 bunch celery (don't get just the ribs, you want the cheap celery with a leafy center)
6 or so potatoes
1 pint heavy cream
2 beers (Kokanee is good with this, but anything will work)
1 bunch fresh marjoram
1 bunch fresh thyme (you can use dried herbs if you want, just use a tablespoon or so of each)
Salt and pepper
Cornstarch

1. Fry the bacon in the fry pan. Drain the bacon and set it aside. Save a couple tablespoons of the grease.
2. In the big soup pot, chop/dice the onion, and fry it in the saved grease.
3. While this stuff is cooking, chop the celery and potatoes. Dice the potatoes fairly small, I leave the skins on, YMMV.
4. When the onion is slightly browned and translucent, add the potatoes and celery. Add the bottle of clam juice, and the two beers.
5. Open the cans of clams and drain the juice in with the rest of the soup. Don't add the clams yet, set them aside with the bacon. If there still is not enough liquid to completely cover the veggies, then top it off with some water, another beer, or some chicken stock, etc.
6. Add salt and pepper (careful with the salt, as this cooks down it will get more salty). Tie the bunch of thyme and marjoram up with some string and add it to the soup. By cooking it, the leaves will fall off and then you can just pick out the packet of stems later.
7. Bring the soup to a boil, cover and reduce heat. Cook until the potatoes are tender. About 30 minutes.
8. Pick out the stems. Add the clams, the bacon, and the heavy cream. Adjust salt and pepper if necessary.
9. Mix some cornstarch with some water until it's smooth. There's a lot of soup here and people vary on how thick they like their chowder, but I like mine thick and creamy so I use about 5 big spoonfuls of cornstarch. Bring the soup back to a slow boil and then slowly stir in the cornstarch slurry. The chowder should thicken almost immediately. Reduce the heat and simmer for another 20-30 minutes.

http://i219.photobucket.com/albums/cc50/5rowleys/IMG_0409.jpg

Serve it up with some oyster crackers, and my family likes cheesy biscuits like they have at Red Lobster. Those are easy. Take some Bisquick baking mix and follow the recipe for 'Drop Biscuits' except add some chedder cheese to the mix. While they're cooking, melt some butter with some garlic salt. When the biscuits come out of the oven, brush the biscuits with the garlic butter mess....

Enjoy! If someone has another recipe, I'd like to see it. Especially a good manhatten style.

[bigslickwood]

LOL, just went to go make the biscuits and see that they now put the cheese/garlic recipe right on the box. I worked at a Red Lobster for a while in college and knew that's all there was to it...

[Zemo]

Oh man, I'm going to be in Boston for two nights next week and I'ma gonna get me some chowder!

[Quads]

It's been cold and wet all week. Time for some clam chowder.

Here's the recipe:

You'll need a fry pan and a big soup pot.
1 lb. bacon


SOLD!!!!

[T]

I love me some CHOWDA!

Best type of soup, and pretty much the only soup type thing I'll eat. some chowder and Bennigan's ultimate baked potato soup.

I'll have to try that recipe out later this fall.

T

[morningwood]

Just printed out and will "test" your recipe against the "New England" Palate (the inlaws). This would work as a very nice corn chowdah as well. Biscuits hint of kickass-ed-ness.

[syklopz]

mmmmmmmmmmm......chowder

[Quads]

In all seriousness though, no joking aside. A good bowl of chowder gives me wood.

[timsta007]

NOM NOM NOM!

[bigslickwood]

Just printed out and will "test" your recipe against the "New England" Palate (the inlaws). This would work as a very nice corn chowdah as well. Biscuits hint of kickass-ed-ness.


Now I'm all nervous... Hope everyone likes it.

(It was pretty damn good)

[Moddy]

In all seriousness though, no joking aside. A good bowl of chowder gives me wood.

x2 amigo! has to be the New England Clam Chowder tho - aint' tryin for that bloody red shit.

[Faust]

Had some great chowder when I lived in Seattle, but the best was in San Francisco out of a sourdough bread bowl. Germans don't know shit about chowder!:(

[bobr99]

Just wanted to say I made your Clam Chowder the other day and everyone loved it.

I added corn and some red pepper flakes to spice it up a little.

I'm going to try the same base with a sausage and corn chowder next time.

+ rep coming your way.

Bob

[syklopz]

In all seriousness though, no joking aside. A stiff wind gives me wood.

FYP...

[bigslickwood]

Just wanted to say I made your Clam Chowder the other day and everyone loved it.

I added corn and some red pepper flakes to spice it up a little.

I'm going to try the same base with a sausage and corn chowder next time.

+ rep coming your way.

Bob

Corn and sausage sounds awesome. Now I'm going to have to try that...

[j p frog]

dang that looks good. I will have to try out your recipe. rep sent

[Me2hunter]

I am going to try it out this Sunday and sere it during the race at Talledega...

I hope mine turns out as good as yours looks in the picture.

[Quads]

SON OF A BITCH!!!!

My house smells like bacon and beer right now.

I'm trying to make some chowder (following BSW's recipe) but I keep getting distracted with multiple / spontaneous orgasms.

All of a sudden... Ohh Ohh Ohh!!!
(yeah, you know what I'm talking about. I'm showing the stove my "Ohh Face"

http://images.lamer.net/oh-face.jpg

[Quads]

Holy Christ!

If you haven't made this chowder, I *highly* suggest you get your ass to the store and buy the needed ingredients and make it.

This is quite possibly in the top 5 best of everything I've ever cooked. I want to make another batch and make a few minor tweaks but otherwise, it is fan-fucking-outstanding-tastic.

Play by play:

Most of the goodies to get started:
http://www.pcpotato.com/uploader/files/1/clam_chowder_01.jpg

Bacon!
http://www.pcpotato.com/uploader/files/1/clam_chowder_02.jpg

Prep-work
http://www.pcpotato.com/uploader/files/1/clam_chowder_03.jpg

Onions and bacon juice. This will send your nose into an orgasm if there is such a thing.
http://www.pcpotato.com/uploader/files/1/clam_chowder_04.jpg

My helper with her milk mustache
http://www.pcpotato.com/uploader/files/1/clam_chowder_05.jpg

And the best part... "Add two beers!"
http://www.pcpotato.com/uploader/files/1/clam_chowder_06.jpg

Cooking for 30 minutes or so
http://www.pcpotato.com/uploader/files/1/clam_chowder_07.jpg

BACON!!!!
http://www.pcpotato.com/uploader/files/1/clam_chowder_08.jpg

Clams and cream ready to go
http://www.pcpotato.com/uploader/files/1/clam_chowder_09.jpg

Everything added - now to thicken it up with the corn starch 'mix' that you make. (very very important that you follow this step)
http://www.pcpotato.com/uploader/files/1/clam_chowder_10.jpg

Thick and ready to eat with a fork.
http://www.pcpotato.com/uploader/files/1/clam_chowder_11.jpg

http://www.pcpotato.com/uploader/files/1/clam_chowder_12.jpg

My bowl, my crackers, await their fate.
http://www.pcpotato.com/uploader/files/1/clam_chowder_13.jpg

Ready after the 2nd 30 minute cook / simmer.
http://www.pcpotato.com/uploader/files/1/clam_chowder_14.jpg

*THAT* my friends, is a meal.
http://www.pcpotato.com/uploader/files/1/clam_chowder_15.jpg

The Wifey had a bowl.
The first words out of her mouth: "OMG THIS IS GOOD!!!!"
Not often do I get that reply from her. She's a pretty honest critic of what I cook. Both her and I agreed, that it exceeded both of our expectations. I expected it to be 'good'. At my first whack at it, it was *fantastic*

My only minor tweaks would be:
Less celery I'm not a fan of it to begin with, so I may skip it all together, or simply use about 1/4 or a what's called for.
Peel the potatoes prior to adding them. I'm not a fan of the skin on, but that's just a personal preference.

Otherwise, spot on.
Much thanks to BSW fr posting it. +rep and some loot from the bank on its way.

[bigslickwood]

NICE!!! glad you enjoyed. Funny you brought it up today, I'm making a batch tomorrow night. It's been cold and rainy all weekend. Chowdah weather...

[Quads]

I'm going to get another bowl now that I got the first one down.
I could seriously eat this for a week.

[syklopz]

Quaddy,
As a substitute for the Celery, use Leeks. The wifey also doesn't like celery. When making any kind of Mire Poix I just sub leeks.

[T]

Fuckers

I'm heading out to the grocery right as soon as I get the ingredients all written down. Damn I love chowda. Wife...not so much and I don't care, but I'm thinking about taking left overs to a poker game this afternoon. If its really good, it will stay.

I figure, get it done, then go out and get the final leaf raking of the season in. I can't think of a better way to warm up, since its in the low 40's at best and rainy.

T

[T]

6 ladels consumed! I don't know if that is a scientific measurement, but for me it is.

Holy Shit that is some good ass chowda!

Things I did differently. I pre cut the bacon before frying. I will do this again, but smaller pieces. My beer = Miller High Life light. After Q's post, I went with only 6 stalks of celery which seemed perfect. I think I cut my potatoes too small. They will be bigger next time. I also used dry spices. I used about 3/4 of a tablespoon. I thought they smelled pretty pungent and would over power the chowder. I also did 3 heaps of corn starch. I will bump it to 5 the next batch.

Top Notch all the way!

T

[Quads]

3 of the potatoes I cut in rather small chunks, then the other three I cut in larger chunks to get a little different texture. I agree on the celery. I'll cut that down as well next time, if not kill it all together.

I've been thinking about it and I'm trying to better understand what flavor the beer has on it, which you are essentially using that as your 'stock' however I was thinking I might try it with a pal ale, rather than a couple of bud's. See if I get a little different texture with it. But I'm caution to do anything at all (other than the celery) because of how outstanding it is right now.

[bigslickwood]

Just finished up a batch. In the interest of trying to keep the calorie count down (see the weightloss thread where I mention that I haven't lost shit this week), I used skim milk instead of the heavy cream. Not a winning substitution. It still tastes good (not great) but it's no where near as creamy looking. More greyish/greenish than creamish...

[bigslickwood]

Made another batch of chowder tonight (it's 0 degrees outside). Added corn and sausage as bobr suggested. Solid addition, everyone liked the additions.

Not sure it's technically still a clam chowder at that point, but it was good...

[bobr99]

Glad you liked it!

I was talking about adding corn for the Clam Chowder or making it with sausage instead of clams.

A friend runs a local restaurant that has some great Sausage and Corn Chowder. Yours was very close so that's what made me think of trying it the other way.

Bob

Don't know if you've seen this show or not "Just Cook This" kind of funny and easy recipes. Anyway he used evaporated milk to sub for cream and said he didn't notice the difference. I was going to try that next time I need to use cream.

[morningwood]

I'm finally giving this a go, will be critiqued by my inlaws in an hour.

* edit * 10 thumbs and varius appendages up! I was just asked to make it again, soon.

[doughboy63]

I can't wait to make a batch of this up. Gonna do the week after Xmas. I am taking that week off from my "diet" then getting back on the wagon for the new year. BSW what type of bread do you eat when you make this up? I was thinking a nice sourdough.

[bigslickwood]

A good sourdough would definitely work. We usually make cheesy biscuits like they have at Red Lobster. I think I mentioned somewhere in this thread that the recipe is on the back of the 'Bisquick' box, but you just make the drop biscuits, add cheese to the dough, and brush them with garlic butter when they come out of the oven.

[bobr99]

Bump

It's been pretty cold out the past couple of weeks so it's CHOWDER TIME again. Going to make a batch again tonight.

Bob

[morningwood]

Awesome Idea! I will make a batch for the crew on Thursday

[Quads]

It just turned for us here in sunny Kalofornia. Rainy and windy. (at least for a day or so)
Perfect time for some chowder. Timsta was over for lunch the other day and said he made the above recipe and was pretty happy with it. It's encouraged me to do the same. I'll probably knock out a batch this weekend or next week some night.

[timsta007]

Recipe was the nutz. Of course I changed it up a bit. Made a larger batch and used 2 lbs of bacon rather than using ham or sausage.

Delicious. A+ recipe.

[bobr99]

My batch didn't come out that good.

I switched it up a lot this time so it was me. I made a small batch just to try this out.

Not trying to make Clam Chowder here. But wanted to use the base for a Sausage, Potato and Corn Chowder. Not sure why but this has too much of the after taste of beer that I didn't get when I made it with the original recipe. Don't get me wrong if your drinking beer that's ok but not when your eating chowder. Maybe I need to use half a beer or go back to light beer. Or I wonder if the Clam juice somehow cut the after taste of beer down as that's about the only liquid I'm not putting in here.

But here is what I used.

1 lb. sausage
1 large sweet onion
6 or so potatoes
1 can of corn (added the water/juice it was in)
1 pint heavy cream
1 beer (I used Guinness this time and it was a little too overpowering)
1 bunch fresh marjoram
1 bunch fresh thyme (you can use dried herbs if you want, just use a tablespoon or so of each)
Salt and pepper
Red pepper flakes
Cornstarch

After this I need to go back to the original as it was so much better!

Bob

[timsta007]

Here's my re-write of the recipe that I emailed to some of the people that had dinner at my house that night. The critical flavor to me was the homemade Chicken Stock. Bob, if you had some chicken stock to cut the beer flavor I bet it would come out nicely.


1/3 to 1/2 pound bacon, chopped/diced
1 large onion, diced
3-4 stalks of celery, diced
2 or 3 peppers, diced (green or colored up to you)
2 cups frozen corn
4 cups potatoes, diced
package of Bacon, diced ham, smoked sausage, or shredded chicken
3 or 4 cloves of garlic, minced
4 cups chicken broth
Salt and pepper
Thyme
Cayanne Pepper powder
3 tbl flour
1/2 to 1 cup heavy cream
Cook bacon ahead of time and set bacon aside. If you are using all bacon as oppose to one of the other meats listed you would benefit from using a seperate skillet for ease and speed. If using a different meat just cook the bacon in the soup pot.

Throw in diced onions and celery and cook in some of the bacon grease until soft and slightly browned.

Cook diced peppers seperately (in the skillet used for bacon) in some bacon grease until soft. A little charring is ok.

Combine peppers and onions/celery and toss in the minced garlic. Sprinkle with flour and cook a few more minutes. Add your diced potatoes and stir in your chicken broth just until it covers the potatoes. You can add the spices now, just be careful not to over season since at this point it's tough to taste the soup since the stock is still pretty liquidy.

Raise the heat and bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low and simmer 20-40 minutes or until potatoes are done. After potatoes are done, add frozen corn and meat and let simmer a few minutes. Allow everything to simmer for a bit so flavors can meld. Taste for salt/pepper/thyme/cayanne flavor and adjust to tast. Add your cream and again let it come back up to a simmer and let cook for a bit.

Ladle out into your soup bowl of choice and sprinkle some of the bacon and/or parsley on top.


Notes:

Celery and onion can be either chopped up or minced finely depending on your preference. I like minced in a cuisenart for ease and because it gives the soup a nice texture.

When I made this soup on 10/9/09 I increased the amount of every item on the recipe to get a larger amount of soup. I used 10 potatoes, 1.5 lbs of bacon, extra celery, peppers, onion, garlic, seasonings, stock, flour, and a full pint of cream. Portions are pretty loose, and a little more or less of anything doesn't matter much. See what your taste prefers.

Chicken stock is the extra step to a wonderful soup that a lot of people don't do. You can substitute with canned/carton chicken broth but it won't yield the same flavor. Part of what makes this recipe so good is that while the potatoes are cooking, the stock will both infuse into all the ingredients and reduce for a concentrated essence of wonderful as my mom likes to call it.

Original recipe says you can use sausage, chicken, ham, or bacon for the added meat to the soup. Any of these options would be delicious with the soup, but lets be realistic here... Bacon = win.

[bobr99]

Thanks!

I was thinking of chicken or beef stock. But wasn't sure how that would come out.

Bob

[Quads]

Don't be afraid to use veg. stock as well if you want to cut it with something other than beef / chicken stock.

[bigslickwood]

lol, that's awesome. I was making chowder again tonight, then swing by here and apparently everyone had the same idea...

[Irish]

Used you recipe today BSW, damn good chowder. This makes a ton of chowder, we'll be having leftovers for a few days. :D

+REP

[Irish]

I will add that there's a flaw in the recipe:

The first step is to fry up a pound of bacon. Then you're supposed to let that shit sit there for like an hour while you're cooking everything else. Staring at you. Gently calling out your name with it's sweet porkly aroma. How many of you can honestly say the whole pound of bacon made it into the chowder?

Anyone with their hand up a dirty liar and you know it. :mrgreen:

Oh yeah and bacon grease + sauteed onions = heaven

[bigslickwood]

I will add that there's a flaw in the recipe:

The first step is to fry up a pound of bacon. Then you're supposed to let that shit sit there for like an hour

Some would call that a 'feature' not a 'flaw'... :)

[j p frog]

answer would be to fry up 2 # of bacon.....win/win

[Pablo Sanchez]

Ended up trying the chowder recipe (Timsta's version) for some dinner guests last night. Turned out great. Served it up in sourdough bread bowls, with lots of beer to accompany it.

Chopping:
http://lh6.ggpht.com/_UFCEk15jE0w/SuCByGyxdVI/AAAAAAAAEsw/4KqXHXQUovo/s800/IMG00515-20091021-1726.jpg

Celery and onions:
http://lh5.ggpht.com/_UFCEk15jE0w/SuCByVZrtZI/AAAAAAAAEs0/ClR2yQugviE/s800/IMG00516-20091021-1726.jpg

Peppers cooking:
http://lh3.ggpht.com/_UFCEk15jE0w/SuCBy05LdvI/AAAAAAAAEs4/JYeeFrhjxOI/IMG00517-20091021-1726.jpg

Potatoes:
http://lh4.ggpht.com/_UFCEk15jE0w/SuCBzHknmeI/AAAAAAAAEs8/vgvhXtC4QlA/s800/IMG00518-20091021-1726.jpg

1.5 packages of cooked bacon:
http://lh3.ggpht.com/_UFCEk15jE0w/SuCBzU-xkSI/AAAAAAAAEtA/QowvXDvEpTM/s800/IMG00519-20091021-1726.jpg

Proof this came from my kitchen:
http://lh5.ggpht.com/_UFCEk15jE0w/SuCBz9xNWCI/AAAAAAAAEtE/OWvyK-LUWjQ/s800/IMG00520-20091021-1726.jpg

Empty pot after dinner:
http://lh6.ggpht.com/_UFCEk15jE0w/SuCB0N0pwII/AAAAAAAAEtI/iR3zsfjuV3w/s800/IMG00521-20091021-1942.jpg

Leftovers for me tonight:
http://lh5.ggpht.com/_UFCEk15jE0w/SuCB0XMTefI/AAAAAAAAEtM/LNTRP0AgX-Q/s800/IMG00522-20091021-1942.jpg

[Quads]

I've been brewing a stock pot with 2 gallons of chicken bones in it making stock to do a couple batches of chowder. Want to do a variation of this. Looking forward to using my homemade stock as the base / starter.

[Shadow]

Plan on trying this on Sunday. Should be yummy!

[Quads]

OK, I'm ready to go. The hard / slow part is done.
I got 2.5 gallons of home made chicken stock for the base.

http://www.pcpotato.com/uploader/files/1/chicken_stock.jpg

[Shadow]

Sitting on the couch, watching TV with a full tummy...

Frying up the bacon:
http://www.princeaccounting.com/xfer/chow2.jpg

Choppin' Onions:
http://www.princeaccounting.com/xfer/chow3.jpg

http://www.princeaccounting.com/xfer/chow4.jpg

Crispy goodness! Damn, it was hard not to eat that!
http://www.princeaccounting.com/xfer/chow5.jpg

Onions and bacon grease, WOW!
http://www.princeaccounting.com/xfer/chow6.jpg

Potatoes at the ready:
http://www.princeaccounting.com/xfer/chow7.jpg

Juice:
http://www.princeaccounting.com/xfer/chow8.jpg

Beer, right outta the tap:
http://www.princeaccounting.com/xfer/chow9.jpg


http://www.princeaccounting.com/xfer/chow10.jpg


http://www.princeaccounting.com/xfer/chow12.jpg


http://www.princeaccounting.com/xfer/chow13.jpg


http://www.princeaccounting.com/xfer/chow14.jpg


http://www.princeaccounting.com/xfer/chow15.jpg


http://www.princeaccounting.com/xfer/chow16.jpg

2 bowls ready and waiting...
http://www.princeaccounting.com/xfer/chow17.jpg

Filling up the first bowl...
http://www.princeaccounting.com/xfer/chow18.jpg

And goin' back for moar!
http://www.princeaccounting.com/xfer/chow19.jpg


I've tried a couple different clam chowder recipes trying to get something decent with no luck. This time, however, we got a winner! The wifey agrees. This will be made again. Of course, there is so much leftovers, it'll have to be a while...

[Zemo]

Well, I'm finally giving this a try. Made a couple adjustments. Using Timsta's version cuz my Wifey doesn't like beer. Using some clams, lump crabmeat and corn. Next summer when the fresh sweet corn is out I'm going to try this with some roasted corn. Gonna husk it, toss it on the grill to get a nice smoky hint to it, then cut it off the cob.

I'll let you know what i think, but from the smell of the simmering pot Zemo's gonna likey!

[Zemo]

Oh yeah, since the Wifey and I both have High Blood Pressure and are working on dropping some pounds, I also cut back on the bacon :eek: and used fat free Half & Half ::sigh:: it should really help drop the fat and calories from the dish, hope the tase is still there though.

[Zemo]

Well, finished the pot up and had a small bowl right away. Got to admit it seemed somewhat bland at this point. I was thinking it was from cutting back on the good ol' fat and bacon, also when I opened out jar of Cayenne I was unhappy to see there was no more than a big sprinkle left :(. Wifey tries it and has the same thought's. Sooo, I take our 10 year old out Trick or Treating for a couple hours (Enjoying a delicious Rocky Patel 1992 stogie while at it) and get back home and the Wifey says "You know, that soup actually tastes pretty darn good now" and tells me she's put down 2 bowls while we were gone. So I grab a bowl and ladle up some soup, nuke it a bit to get it hotter, give it a taste and darn right if it doesn't taste a heck of a lot better. Still not zippy enough for me though without the Cayenne soooo I reach into the spice rack and pull out some Adobo and give it a couple of sprinkles and then sprinkle a bit of some Ground Red Chipotle spice the WIfey picked up from Penzy's (If you've got Penzy's near you grab some of this stuff, it's awsome. I put it in chile, sprinkle it on meats prior to smoking and mix it into rubs to give em more of a kick) and with a little doctoring up this stuff is now awsome. Seems to have to sit a bit to let the flavors come out a bit more. I'm gonna have a bowl later for lunch and see what sitting overnight does in the way of helping thos flavors out.

[TexasPokerSupply]

I am making this tonight, Ill give you my response on Thursday.


out-flicking standing,I was requested to make this again,huge hit

[Bullfrog]

I made up a batch tonight. OFF THE CHAIN! Everyone enjoyed it.

[bigslickwood]

It's been cold and lousy here all week (who ever heard of Feb. being nicer than Apr. around here???)

It's chowder time again. Making the basic version and adding some corn and hot link sausage. Whoever made that suggestion had a winnah.

[huge1s]

I finally got around to making this. Wife was a little iffy on me making it stating that she generally does not like clam chowder. I made it anyway and she ended up liking it. I used half & half (not fat free) instead of heavy cream and used a 24 oz pabst blue ribbon for the beer. Besides the end result... the best part of this recipe is the really weird looks I got in the grocery store when asking where to find clam juice.