Great New England Clam Chowder

Being a Cape Codder, I'm picky about my clam chowder....I've made a few recipes from this site with limited success. This recipe is the closest I've come to getting it right. The thickness is perfect and the flavor is rich, but it's missing something.....I think other posters are correct in saying it needs a bacon element added. I think next time I will try to sneak in a bit of bacon fat or salt pork to see if that helps....I think that would be better than just adding bacon to the mixture. I'll keep working at it but thanks so much for a great recipe!! We really enjoyed it.

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After reading the other reviews I decided to make this with a little twist. I started by frying half a package of bacon in the stew pot. I removed the bacon then used the grease (which was about 1/4 of a cup and added only 1/4 of a cup butter to make the half cup of butter it called for in the recipe) I cooked the remainder just as called for in the recipe except I didn't have the extra clam juice, I only had the juice from the cans of clams. Oh and I added a can of corn and the cooked bacon in the last 5 minutes of cook time, and waited until the last 5 minutes to add the clams so they wouldn't over cook. (I also waited to add the potatoes because I cooked them completely before adding and I didn't want them to turn to mush in the soup) I seasoned the soup as called for in the recipe and added a dash of cayenne pepper to it. It was so great that my husband who isn't a soup eater had 2 bowls of it.

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I'm editing this from my first review. Made again with fresh razor clams but added sweet walla walla onions and chopped garlic with the green onions. At the end I added 1 lb of cooked, chopped bacon. Served with fresh garlic and french bread.

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Great tasting chowder! I didn't change a thing. It was a snap to make, but tasted as though I slaved all day making it!! Thanks for sharing Carol

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I cut the recipe in half and used razor clams that hubby and I dug up at our last digging...I used the nectar from the clams as my juice...this was delicious...I made as posted...this came out rich and thick and yummy...we felt it was very similar to Ivar's chowder...this is a keeper and will be made often...we didn't feel it needed anything else...

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I followed the recipe exactly. I only added some cooked small bacon pieces (drained), as other reviewers suggested. This recipe just produced a potato soup. It tasted good, but just doesn't have very much clam flavor. This was an easy recipe to put together. However, due to the lack of clam flavor, I will search for a better recipe.

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This was excellent! I didn't use the extra clam juice, just subbing in more of the other liquid which I think made it a little thicker then intended but all around some of the best clam chowder I've had!

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This was great! I liked the consistency--creamy without being too gloppy. My family of 3 finished the pot, because everyone had seconds!

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I used fresh clams, which added a bit of grit to the soup. I opened them raw and the shells got a bit destroyed. I used heavy cream instead of the half-and-half. This came out very very good. Definitely making this again!

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This was REALLY good. I topped with bacon bits for flavor and tops of the green onions for color.

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My family loved this, altho I did use another reviewer's idea to sub the whole milk and clam juice with half and half. This produced an incredibly rich chowder which got rave reviews at my house. Next time, I'm going to try to go with the original recipe. This recipe comes together so quickly and easily that I'm very grateful to have it!

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Wow this is great. Comfort food at it's best. Thick, creamy with a smokey flavor that really sends this over the top. Since the closest Red Lobster is a 2 hour drive from our place it's great to be able to make this ourselves, plus I agree that it's really better than Red Lobster. I loved how easy and fast it went together and all the flavors blended so well. The only thing I did have to do differant is there was no clam juice in our little country store - so got an extra can of the clams and added that (with the juice) to the pot. It was wonderful - thanks Carrol for another winner. Made for PAC - Fall -09

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Awesome Recipe I doubled it. I changed the half-and-half. I used 2% canned milk to cut back on the fat. I also added 8 slices of crumbled cooked bacon. YUMMOOOOO the bacon added a nice smokey flavor which my husband just loved.

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I first have to say, I have never had Red Lobsters clam chowder. I have had several being that I live in an ocean community in California. There are a few I LOVE, but most are just good. My son wanted clam chowder for his birthday, I found this recipe. I have never made clam chowder before, so I was a bit nervous (especially since I had my in laws out, and my husband is very picky about his chowder). I doubled everything, and I did end up adding a bit more half and half and flour to thicken it up (we like it very thick and creamy). Everyone said it was the best clam chowder they have ever had, and my husband said we did not have to out for it anymore (great in this economy, since the whole double batch ended up costing a little under what 2 bowls would at a restaurant). It was super easy to make, and it was perfect!!! Thank you for posting it!!

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Followed recipe as written and to me was a nice milk & potatoe chowder. I used fresh clams and needed to add 2 cups chopped clams & 1.5 cups clam juice to get a nice clam flavor. Recipe was a nice guide to the ingredients for making a great New England Clam chowder.

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Very nice chowder especially on this cold and windy first day of spring. I did use regular onion instead of green onions and 1% milk instead of whole milk. But the half and half is what really makes this dish. Thanks for a new clam chowder recipe.

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Great Clam Chowder! First time I've ever made it and it was surprisingly easy! I altered a few things to personal preference: we love garlic so added (1) tsp to butter in pan; used (1) whole bunch of green onions; (3) 6-oz cans clams with juice; and (3) lrg russet potatoes. All else was same. Next time will try low fat 1/2 & 1/2 and milk. Thanks for a great recipe - it'll be made often as it's my DH's favorite.

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CarrolJ, thanks for posting a really tasty chowder. I did add 3 bottles of clam juice, as we like the taste and added bacon when it was served.

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I loved this recipe so much I e-mailed it to my sister. Thank you so much for sharing. My 6 kids and husband really liked it, and that is not a common thing in this house. Thanks again.

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Delicious!

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