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Shirley Lawrences Rhode Island Style Clam Chowder

Yields1 ServingPrep Time20 minsCook Time40 minsTotal Time1 hr

Very best version of Rhode Island style Clear clam chowder

Shirley Lawrences Clam Chowder

 20 Large Quahog Clams - Scrubbed clean
 4 oz Thick cut bacon - cut into small strips/diced
 4 oz Salt pork, cut into small strips/diced
 2 tbsp Butter (mom used whatever was in the fridge, sated/unsalted)
 1 Medium yellow Onion Diced
 4 Large garlic cloves, Finely minced
 1 ½ lbs Russet Potatoes, Peeled and diced into 1/2" Cubes (You could also use Yukon Golds, But they were not even available back then)
 1 tsp Lea & Perrins Worcestershire Sauce
 ½ tsp Ground Black Pepper (you can also use white pepper if you are upset about Floating Black pepper bits!)
 1 Small pinch of Dried Thyme
1

Scrub and rinse the clams under cold water. Place them into a large pot, add 3 cups of water, cover and simmer - You are essentially "steaming" the clams to get them to open open, and release their juices about 7-8 minutes. You can remove the clams with tongs or a large slotted spoon as they open You DO NOT want to cook the clam meat at all. Remove the clams and place into a large bowl to cool. Strain the remaining broth through a fine mesh sieve or a couple layers of cheesecloth and save. I've included a link below to an excellent video showing how to steam open the clams for broth

steaming open clams

2

Once the clams have cooled enough to work with, remove the meat from the shells, leaving behind the tough bit of muscle that is attached to the shell. Roughly chop up the clam meat into 1/4" sized chunks. DO NOT use a food processor or other automatic chopping device, we are not looking for a fine mince or paste! you want semi decent sized clam chunks - something with a bit of "Chewability" . Set the chopped clams aside with the broth.

Chopped Clams for Chowder

3

Cut the bacon and salt pork into roughly 1/4" dice. Rinse out the pot you steamed the clams in and put back on stove, set heat to Medium Low. Add the Chopped Bacon, Chopped Salt Pork and cook until they get just slightly browned. Drain off all but a couple tablespoons of the rendered fat. Leave heat on medium low, add butter, diced onion, and a pinch of dried Thyme (again careful with the thyme, you can always add a bit more later if you need to). Cook the onion until it just starts getting translucent about 4 mins. Add minced Garlic and continue cooking until you just start to smell the garlic become aromatic, about another minute. Do not allow the garlic to brown at all, if it does it will be bitter and ruin the entire operation.

**Note: while her hand written recipe here shows both bacon & salt pork here, there were dozens of time she made it with one or the other.. If she didn't have salt pork "on hand" she would just double up on the bacon, or vice-versa with the salt pork. IMO you do get a bit of flavor complexity from the "hickory' flavor in the bacon, but if you don't have either just go with what you have. it is excellent either way.

Diced Bacon

4

Add in the Diced potatoes, stir them around in the hot fat for a couple minutes, giving them a good coating. Add the Clam Broth, Worcestershire Sauce and Black Pepper and bring the whole thing to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 10-12 minutes until the potatoes become "fork tender". Don't overcook, or the potatoes will become too soft, fall apart and want to "Mash".

**IMPORTANT FINAL STEP --->> Add the chopped clams to the pot during the last 1-2 Minutes, In fact you can even add them right when you turn off the heat. You absolutely do not want to overcook the clams, they will quickly go tough and rubbery if overcooked.

5

Serve in soup bowls, along with a pile of pilot crackers or crusty bread slices. if you want to be fancy you can garnish with a bit of fresh parsley. (My Mom never bothered with parsley unless "Company" was coming to the house :)

6

Notes:

The chowder is usually salty enough from the clam broth, but you can always add a bit of salt at the end to taste.

If you need more liquid/broth when making this, you can get bottles of clam juice at the Grocery Store - Cento or Bar Harbor Brands are both excellent. They also sell large Cans of "Ocean Clam Juice" and this will work fine as well. Many Folks (including myself) will even use some chicken stock (Yes, I know the chowder purists will shriek at the thought, but I have served many a chowder with chicken stock in it and not a single one of them ever noticed!)

Special Note:

In the early 80's they would make a giant pot of a similar chowder at the Ledyard Fair, in Ledyard Connecticut. They would cook it over a big open wood fire. Hints of the wood smoke would flavor the chowder, it was some of the best chowder ever! I've always wanted to cook a pot of this over wood to try and capture the taste.

7

Fun Factoids:

1) Mom would say: "You have made it properly if it looks like a big pot of dirty dish water..."

2) While my mother (Shirley) Actually was quite fond of New England style clam chowder, she would always quip: "Oh, yeah the White stuff... That's what we serve the tourists, those of who actually know better eat 'Rhode Island' style." (believing that the "tourists" would be frightened by the look of the clear broth chowder...)