New England clam chowder
Photo: Famartin · CC BY-SA 4.0

History

Clam chowder appeared in colonial American cookbooks by the 1750s, with cookbook author Amelia Simmons publishing a recipe in 1796. The Boston version locked in the cream-and-potato base by the 1840s, distinguished from New York's tomato-based Manhattan chowder. The Parker House and the original Locke-Ober Restaurant codified the room-service template by the 1880s. Legal Sea Foods, founded by George Berkowitz in 1968, served its chowder at every presidential inauguration from 1981 through 2017, making it the country's most-tasted bowl. Union Oyster House, in continuous service since 1826, still ladles the soup at the bar where Daniel Webster ate his.

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Common allergens: Shellfish, Dairy, Gluten

Make it at home

Yield 4Hands-on 30 minTotal 60 minDifficulty Easy

Ingredients

  • 2 pounds fresh quahog clams (or 18 ounces canned clams in juice)
  • 115g salt pork, diced
  • 1 medium onion, diced fine
  • 2 medium Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and diced
  • 2 cups whole milk
  • 1 cup heavy cream
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves
  • 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
  • Fine sea salt and black pepper
  • Oyster crackers, to serve

Method

  1. If using fresh clams, steam them in a closed pot with 1 cup of water 6 minutes until they open. Strain and reserve the broth; chop the clam meat.
  2. Render the diced salt pork in a heavy pot over medium-low heat 6 minutes until crisp. Lift out the cracklings; reserve.
  3. Sweat the onion in the pork fat 5 minutes until soft. Sprinkle the flour, cook 2 minutes more.
  4. Add the strained clam broth, the potatoes, bay leaf and thyme. Simmer 12 minutes until the potatoes are tender.
  5. Add the milk and cream. Warm gently below a simmer 5 minutes; do not boil.
  6. Stir in the chopped clams, the pork cracklings. Season with salt and pepper. Rest off-heat 10 minutes to bloom the flavour.
  7. Reheat gently. Serve in deep bowls with oyster crackers.

Tip from the editors. Never boil chowder once the dairy is in; the cream will break. Reheat slowly the next day, the soup is better on day two.

Where to eat new england clam chowder

New England clam chowder in Boston

Union Oyster House ★ 4.2

$$$ SeafoodNorth End

Union Oyster House on Union Street has shucked oysters in Boston since 1826, the oldest continuously operating restaurant in the United States.

OrderA dozen Wellfleets at the U-shaped bar and a cup of clam chowder.

TipSkip the dining-room tables and sit at the historic raw bar. The bar is the original 1826 plank.

Directions Book

Legal Sea Foods Long Wharf ★ 4.0

$$$ SeafoodNorth End

Legal Sea Foods on Long Wharf, near the New England Aquarium in Boston, has anchored the chain's flagship since 1968. Kitchen leans seafood.

OrderA cup of clam chowder, the recipe served at five presidential inaugurations.

TipLunch with a harbor-side window is the best seat. The raw bar runs daily until 22:00.

Directions Book

Neptune Oyster ★ 4.9

$$$ SeafoodNorth End

Neptune Oyster on Salem Street runs the city's defining raw bar in Boston's North End since 2004. 42 seats, no reservations, hot-buttered lobster roll.

OrderHot-buttered lobster roll on a butter-toasted split-top bun.

TipPut your name on the iPad at 16:30. The wait at 18:30 runs 90 minutes; weekday lunch is the easy seat.

Directions Book

James Hook & Co ★ 4.4

$ Street foodSeaport Fort Point

James Hook & Co on Atlantic Avenue has sold lobster rolls from the harbour wharf in Boston since 1925. Open mon-fri 10:00-19:00, sat-sun 10:00-18:00.

TryLobster roll on a butter-toasted bun

Tip$28 mayo-bound roll, $32 hot-butter roll. The seating outside the window overlooks the harbour; bring lunch on a sunny day.

Directions

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