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grampops clam chowder

(1 rating)
cyrene avatar
Recipe by
Linda Kauppinen
@cyrene
Greenwood, FL

Growing up on the Jersey Shore, years ago, we had a summer place across from Sandy Hook. My grandfather and my uncles would go out to the clam beds with their baskets in an inner tube, their rakes and dig their own ipswitch clams (long necks). Us kids thought we would help too on the shore. We would walk along the shoreline trying to help watching for that spurt of tell tell water from the sand and start digging. We kids called them pisser clams. These are the tastiest of the clam family, tender and full of flavor. We have modified the recipe since so you dont have to dig your own clams!

(1 rating)
yield 6 -8
prep time 1 Hr
cook time 30 Min
method Stove Top

Ingredients For grampops clam chowder

  • 1 lg
    onion, finely chopped
  • 1 sm
    clove of garlic, minced
  • 2 md
    carrots, sliced
  • 2 stalk
    celery, finely chopped
  • 1 lg
    potatoes, diced
  • 1 lg
    bay leaf
  • 1 pinch
    salt
  • 1 1/2 tsp
    worsterchire sauce
  • 1 qt
    water
  • 1 sm
    can diced tomatoes or (4 medium ripe tomatoes, scalded, peeled and diced)
  • 1/2 tsp
    dry thyme leaves
  • 1/4 tsp
    rosemary, dried
  • 1 tsp
    dry parsley or (1/4 bunch fresh parsley removing stalks)
  • 1 bottle
    clam juice
  • 2 sm
    cans clams, minced or (2 dozen fresh medium size ipswitch (long neck) clams)
  • @ 1/8 tsp
    pepper +/-
  • 1 slice
    smoked bacon piece @ 1/3 inch thick, diced
  • 1/2
    tablespoon of butter

How To Make grampops clam chowder

  • 1
    wash 3 medium potatoes, peel and dice. rinse once in fresh water and place in stock pot. Immediately add 1 quart of cold water. **Do not place on hot burner until noted**
  • 2
    Prepare your vegetables on the side. Peel and finely dice your onion, finely dice your celery, prepare parsley(leaves only) OR (1 tsp dried parsley), mince your garlic, slice your carrots and then once you have these all together add to your stock pot. Add bay leaf and season with a light pinch of salt. Now you can turn on your burner to medium high heat.
  • 3
    Add 1/2 Tbsp of butter and cook until potatoes just about done approximately 15 minutes.
  • 4
    While broth is cooking, take your 1/3 inch thick smoked bacon, dice up and reduce it in a pan for about 3-4 minutes. Then add to broth. Now add your Thyme and Rosemary.
  • 5
    Lightly scald four medium-sized tomatoes, peel and dice add them to the preparation. (shortcut: if you don't have fresh, add a can). Open and place in a bowl twenty-four medium-sized ipswitch clams. Pour into another bowl half of their juice. On a wooden board, cut each clam into four equal pieces, and immediately plunge them into the stockpot adding 1/2 the juice and the bottle of clam juice. **Due to the processing of clams now even for fresh clams, alot of their natural flavor is processed out of them from the cleansing process. (For the shortcut: Add the 2 cans of minced clams not drained and the bottle of clam juice to the pot)
  • 6
    Stir Gently to prevent burning at the bottom while boiling, for two minutes. Set burner to simmer to keep warm. You do not want the soup to boil now. Season with a 1/2 tsp black pepper, 1 tablespoonful of Worchestershire sauce and gently stir with a wooden spoon (do not use a metal spoon!). Leave two minutes longer in the same position, but DO NOT allow soup to come to a boil. Now you may serve! Enjoy!! This soup gets even better the following day!!
  • 7
    NOTE: Ipswitch clams go by various names, but the best way to find these clams is asking for long neck clams or Ipswitch clams. I still like to call them pisser clams though! *giggles* NOTE: I put both the fresh ingredient recipe and added the shortcuts too! Hope this helps you all!
  • Last Step: Don't forget to share! Make all your friends drool by posting a picture of your finished recipe on your favorite social network. And don't forget to tag Just A Pinch and include #justapinchrecipes so we can see it too!
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