Copycat Skippers Clam Chowder

Submitted by sferle

"Full of Flavor and yummy Goodness , it is the best I have ever Made."

 

• Ready In: 1hr 15mins
• Ingredients: 13
• Serves: 4-6

ingredients

• 3 (1 liter) bottles clam juice
• 3 russet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2 inch chunks (resist the urge to use Yukon Gold potatoes)
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 3 slices bacon, finely chopped (I use thick, hammy deli bacon ( use six slices of bacon if you're using the thin, pre-packaged stuff)
• 2 cups chopped onions or 1 large yellow onion
• 3 stalks celery & leaves or 1 1/4 cups celery & leaves, chopped
• 5 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 bay leaf
• 1⁄4 cup all-purpose flour
• 6 (6 1/2 ounce) cans minced clams, drained, juices reserved (chopped clams are fine ( I use minced )
• 1 1⁄2 cups half-and-half
• hickory liquid smoke (hard-to-find, but great flavor!)
• 1 -3 drop Tabasco sauce, for flavor

directions

1. NOTE: Prepare ingredients before starting! Experienced, or quick, cooks can ignore this advice. I'm neither experienced nor quick. If I don't prepare the ingredients before starting the chowder, it's a disaster.
2. Bring the bottled clam juice and potatoes to a boil in a medium saucepan over high heat. Reduce heat to medium-low. Cover and simmer until potatoes are tender (about ten minutes). Remove from heat.
3. Melt butter in heavy large pot over medium heat. Add bacon and cook until bacon begins to brown (about 8-10 minutes). Add onions, celery, garlic, and bay leaf. Sautà until vegetables soften, about six minutes.
4. Stir in flour and cook two minutes. Do not allow flour to brown.
5. Gradually whisk in reserved juices from clams. Add potato mixture, calms, half-and-half, hickory smoke salt, and hot pepper sauce. Simmer chowder to blend flavors, stirring frequently.
6. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
7. Chowder can be served after as few as ten minutes of simmering, or it can sit on the stove contentedly for hours.

Reviews

[Katrin O.]

This recipe is amazing!! It is as good or better than skipper's. I halved the amount of clams because I wanted to test the recipe and originally was only going to make a half batch. But as I was cooking, the flavors were so good, I decided to make a full batch and I did use pre-sliced package Bacon, so there were six slices to fill in anywhere there might have been a clam or two missing. But I really didn't notice anything missing at all because it was just so good!! I did sub heavy cream for half half because that's what I had on hand. Just for fun, I added a little corn. I don't think I'll ever need to look for another clam chowder recipe. I will make this again and again. I'm thinking of taking some over to my parents for lunch but I will certainly be making a double batch so there's some left for me!!

 

[Mark J.]

I tried your recipe. Excellent taste but way too much liquid. It's like potatoes added to water. Maybe you should cook this and then realize the mistake. and then change the recipe. This is not a viable recipe.

 

[kara.vrooman]

Tastes great! Hard to say if it's just like Skipper's, because it's been so many years since I've had it, but I think it's pretty close! I also added some thyme during the cooking of veggies and bacon. I didn't have hot sauce so I sprinkled in some cayenne pepper instead. Worked just fine! As a Oregon native no longer living in the state, this is the clam chowder I've been missing!

 

[Brooke M.]

This seems promising but there are a few holes in the instructions, like how much bottled clan juice and pepper sauce? Neither are in the ingredients so I didn't buy them. If you update that I'll retry and change my rating