Clam Chowder
This is a great Clam Chowder, still needs adjustments to make it perfect, but still comes out great. Far better than anything store bought. Will be better the next day.
This is a great Clam Chowder, still needs adjustments to make it perfect, but still comes out great. Far better than anything store bought. Will be better the next day.
- Carbohydrate 44.1776244814907 g
- Cholesterol 104.957675708 mg
- Fat 15.5922741882298 g
- Fiber 3.76315941871447 g
- Protein 40.2113350875959 g
- Saturated Fat 4.5765617014878 g
- Serving Size 1 1 Serving (499g)
- Sodium 397.129463281104 mg
- Sugar 40.4144650627762 g
- Trans Fat 2.8067778458472 g
- Calories 487 calories
Step-by-step
- Cut up bacon into small pieces.
- In frying pan on medium-high heat, crisp the bacon.
- Add in onion and garlic, saute until onion is transparent.
- Add to crockpot
- Peel and Cube potatoes, add to crockpot (I like to microwave these for around 30-45 minutes to make them soft.)
- Stir in clam juice, chicken broth, potatoes, and spices.
- Put crockpot on high for around 4 hours, or until potatoes are tender.
- Pour in Clams.
- Whisk Flour and Milk until smooth. Place in frying pan and cook on low until thick. Slowly stir into chowder, continuously stirring as to not allow mixture to stick. This will thicken the chowder.
- Stirring Frequently, let the chowder simmer for a few more minutes.
Six hours of total time sets a hard boundary for anyone attempting this soup on a weeknight. Slow cookers demand patience, particularly when starchy vegetables are involved. Raw potatoes processed directly in dairy and broth often emerge crunchy or chalky because the cooking liquid lacks sufficient acidity to break down pectin. Pre-cooking the cubed potatoes in a microwave for thirty to forty-five minutes bypasses that failure point entirely. Render the bacon in a skillet on medium-high heat until crisp, then sweat the chopped onions and minced garlic in the remaining fat until transparent before transferring those aromatics to the crockpot. Six cans of clams provide a substantial volume of marine flavor, but adding delicate seafood too early results in a rubbery texture. Reserve the clams until the final phase of heating so they remain tender. Whisking flour into cold milk creates a slurry that prevents lump formation, but that thickening agent must be cooked separately in a pan on low heat before incorporation. Pouring raw flour directly into hot chowder guarantees starches will clump. Simmering the finished base for several minutes activates the thickening properties of the roux completely. Letting the pot rest overnight yields a more cohesive chowder. Starches hydrate further during overnight refrigeration, and the saline notes from the clam liquor distribute evenly through the potatoes and broth by the following afternoon.
