San Francisco winters, and ever summers can get bitterly cold. With a strong wind blowing through the Golden Gate, even the heartiest of souls is bound to get a bit cold. If you are ever visiting the wharf, you’ll know what I mean. There is no better way to get warmed up than by sitting down to a warm sourdough bread bowl brimming with a warm and thick clam chowder.

As the executive chef of a busy micro brewery a few years ago, New England clam chowder was a staple of the restaurant. I had a tall order to fill, to drag people (especially the locals) away from the street vendors and into our restaurant/brewery. I had to dig back to my days in culinary school and working with Bradley Ogden to find the right balance of clam flavor, herbs and cream. I pulled it off, as in a few months we were selling over 30 gallons of our fresh, homemade chowder a week. I even had the cable car drivers coming in and letting us know that they were sending their riders our way. Gotta love the cold summers….

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New England Clam Chowder

Printable version of this Clam Chowder recipe (word doc)

Clam chowder

Yield: 8 Servings

Ingredients:

3 oz. diced bacon (approximately 4 slices)
1 medium diced onion
3 stalks diced celery
1/4 lb. diced new potatoes (blanched)
4 cups whole milk
1 1/2 cups chopped clams
1/3 cup flour
1/2 cup half & half
3 oz. butter
2 cups clam juice or nectar
1 clove chopped fresh garlic
2 teaspoons chopped fresh basil (opt)

1 teaspoon oregano, dried
1/2 teaspoon thyme
2 bay leaves
1/8 cups chopped fresh parsley

White pepper, black pepper, cayenne pepper to taste

Instructions:

1.        Render the bacon, cook until crispy & remove the bacon pieces.

2.        Make a white roux with the bacon fat, butter and flour.

3.        Add the milk, half and half and clam juice. Blend well so no lumps are present.

4.        In another pan, sauté the bacon, garlic, celery and onion in a little oil and cook until the onions are translucent.

5.        Add the bay leaf and the rest of the herbs and simmer 15 minutes.

6.        Add Simmer for 30 minutes, stirring continually so the chowder does not scorch.

7.        Add potatoes and the clams; cook until potatoes are cooked.

a.     If the chowder gets too thick, add a bit more milk to thin it.

8.        Season to taste.

9.        Add parsley and serve with some warm sourdough bread.

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