Cooking & Baking
In reply to the discussion: Clam Chowder - New England or Manhattan? [View all]Gormy Cuss
(30,884 posts)a little parsley, sometimes celery, sometimes salt pork. Boston chowders are very thick.
Maine chowders are more like what pinto and I described above -- milk or cream, butter, potatoes(bigger dice,) a little bit of onion, whole clams usually, soft shell or sometimes small hard shells like littlenecks. A small amount of salt pork or bacon is crisped in the saucepan before adding the onions and potatoes. The crisped pork is removed and reserved to crumble back into the finished chowder just before serving. After the onions and potatoes have been softened, the milk or cream is added slowly and brought just to a simmer. The clam juices are then added. When the potatoes are cooked, the heat is shut off and the clams are added. The clams cook within minutes in the residual heat. When the clams are done a few pats of butter are dropped in and the chowder is seasoned to taste with ground black pepper.
Unlike Boston chowders, these northern New England clam chowders have a thin broth with a yellow tint. They're much closer to fish chowders.