Happy New Year guys! Wow! 2009 was really fast and here we go again for 2010! What do you guys have in mind for this year? As for me, am pretty excited since am going to culinary school by the third week of January! Yay! Anyhow, as promised from my salt pork post, I created something with salt pork!
This is an easy clam chowder recipe! You can actually turn this into corn chowder or some seafood chowder just by replacing the main ingredient, clams, into something else. I used clams because I can easily get them fresh from the market!. Chowder is a thick hearty soup that it is almost like a stew and I love chowders! They are thick, rich and creamy, good for a cold weather 🙂
Here is the ingredient shot :
First, dice the carrots, cut the potatoes in small rectangles, mince some onions, and chop some parsley!
Heat up some milk! do not boil the milk, let it heat gently! 🙂
On a separate saucepan or casserole, throw in the clams!
Add in white wine!
Boil it until the clams have opened, then separate the clam meat from the shell. Set it aside, reserve the broth of course 😀
Now, get a new casserole, butter it and throw in some of the salt pork, render the fat!
Add int he onions! Sweat it!
When the onions are quite translucent, add in the potatoes and carrots! Sweat it also! 😀
Then, add some flour!
Add in the clam broth next! 🙂 Yum!
Add in milk!
Lastly, add the some cream. By this time, you should have also placed the clam meat with the soup! 🙂
Keep it warm, do not let it boil!
Serve it with parsley and some fresh cracked pepper 🙂
Thoughts
The whole dish was TOO SALTY!! argh! I have underestimated the salt level of the salt pork! I should have added less salt pork and a little more sugar 😦 If you were to try this at home, I suggest that better grind the salt pork and add some sugar to balance the salt flavor! This dish could have been really good if it wasn’t for my lack of judgement on the salt level 😦 Drinking the clam broth alone was way better than this one. It will give you a taste of the saltiness of the ocean in a good way 🙂 anyhow, that’s life, I’ll try making this again 😀
Food Journal of Hershey 
Posted by MG on January 3, 2010 at 1:06 pm
Why don’t you try using cornstarch instead of flour? Flour in food tends to feel “grainy” sometimes. 🙂
Posted by Hershey on January 4, 2010 at 1:59 am
Oh thanks! I shall try that in the future, I normally stock up on just flour for my pantry. 🙂
Posted by Maria on January 30, 2010 at 5:29 am
I came across your blog via the Pinoycook Blog.
a tried and tested methodology is to do a taste test early in the cooking process. which is around the time you added the clam juice. if it got too salty, you can at least remove part of the broth and add more water.
You can still use salted pork in future cooking attempts but simply halve the amount. And don’t underestimate the salt from the clams too.
Also, I’ve always used flour to thicken my soups and gravy. Flour only starts to taste grainy if it is still raw. So it’s best added to the mix just after you cook the onions and the bacon. It has to cook well before adding the next ingredients. Basically you are making a bechamel (white sauce). Unlike cornstarch which you simply mix in warm water and then add to the cooking, flour needs to be cooked in a roux before you add liquids. hope this helps clarify the mystery behind the grainy taste.
Posted by Hershey on January 30, 2010 at 11:58 pm
Ey Maria! Thanks for the tips 😀 I usually taste my food while cooking but I forgot to do it with this dish because I was too excited using salt pork lolz! Also, I think the grainy texture came from the potatoes because am pretty sure that I cooked out the starchiness of the flour since I have cooked it before adding in the cream and it’s cooking time was already more than 5 minutes, I think I have mashed some of the potatoes during the cooking process thus the grainy texture 😀
Posted by Smooth and velvety clam chowder – Home cooking rocks! on June 9, 2011 at 4:26 am
[…] that she made clam chowder too and posted a link. I visited her blog, saw her clam chowder recipe, and was amazed by her industriousness — she shucked the clams before adding them to the […]