Homemade Clam Chowder with Corn

Name: Clam Chowder with Corn
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 60 min
Yield: 8
Ingredients: About 6 pounds of quahog or cherrystone clams; 1 tablespoon unsalted butter or extra virgin olive oil; 4 ounces salt pork, cubed (or chopped bacon or pancetta, cubed); 2 cups chopped onion; 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour (less or more, depending on how thick you want the soup); 1 cup dry white wine, like a Sauvignon Blanc (or 2 tablespoons white or cider vinegar, or lemon juice); 2 pounds potatoes (russets or Yukon gold), peeled and diced; 1 to 2 cups water; 1 bay leaf; 2 sprigs thyme; 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper; 1 teaspoon Old Bay seasoning (or paprika with a dash of cayenne); 1 1/2 cups corn (frozen is fine); 1 cup heavy whipping cream; 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

What Goes Into Clam Chowder?

Traditionally, chowder is made with salt pork, onions, potatoes, milk or cream, butter, and fish like cod or haddock, or clams. Many of the older recipes add some wine (Madeira) as well.

There's a wonderful website I recommend called The New England Chowder Compendium which showcases a collection of historical chowder recipes dating back to the 1700s. Chowder is one of those things that is made in many different ways, and pretty much everyone thinks their way is best. It's worth noting that the variations of this stew go back hundreds of years!

Pot of oysters after steaming — Elise Bauer

Clam Chowder With Corn

On one of my many visits to New England, we sampled clam chowders at practically every stop. The best chowder we had was in a little coffee shop in Concord, Massachusetts. The soup was creamy, but not overly so (some clam chowders can be such cream bombs), thickened a little with flour but not too much, and had tasty chunks of salt pork, along with chopped clams and lots of corn.

I loved it! Corn isn't usually included in clam chowder, but believe me, it's fabulous.

The recipe that follows below is my take on this clam chowder, with plenty of suggestions for substitutions. Even my father, who insists he doesn't like clam chowder, loved this soup. Consider the recipe a guideline, and play with it to your liking.

What Kind of Clams to Use for Chowder

Clam chowder is best made with fresh clams (quahogs or cherrystones), but if you don't have access to fresh clams, you can use clam juice and canned chopped clams.

If using canned clams, skip steps 1 and 2 of the recipe, and use 16 ounces of clam juice, and 1 1/2 to 2 cups of chopped clams, saving the liquid from the cans to add to the clam juice.

Bowl of New England Clam Chowder with Corn and Oyster Crackers — Elise Bauer

What Can I Substitute for Salt Pork?

Salt pork is traditionally used in chowder; it's like salty slab bacon that hasn't been smoked. You can easily substitute it with pancetta or bacon. If you don't use salt pork, you may need to add more salt to the soup. If you use bacon, you'll add a smoky note to the soup.

How to Thicken Clam Chowder

In this recipe, I am using a scant one tablespoon of flour to help thicken the soup. Some people prefer their chowder to have a thinner soup base. If that's you, please feel free to leave out the flour. If you would like your soup to be more thick, add more butter and an equal amount of flour in step 5, up to 1/4 of a cup.

How a Clever Cook Thickens Soup (or Stew) and Makes It Creamy

Storing Clam Chowder

Eat your clam chowder within a 1 to 3 days -- seafood doesn't last as long! We do not recommend freezing this soup.

How do you like your clam chowder? Please let us know in the comments.

More Great Chowder Recipes

Clam Chowder with Corn

Prep Time 30 mins

Cook Time 30 mins

Total Time 60 mins

Servings 8 servings

This recipe uses fresh clams. If you don't have access to fresh clams, you can use clam juice and canned chopped clams. In that case, skip steps 1 and 2 and use 16 oz of clam juice, and 1 1/2 to 2 cups of chopped clams, saving the liquid from the cans to add to the clam juice.

Salt pork is traditional; it's like slab bacon that hasn't been smoked. You can substitute with pancetta or bacon, though bacon will give the soup a smoky flavor. If you don't use salt pork, you may need to add more salt to the soup.

The flour is a thickener. If you are cooking gluten-free or want a thinner consistency to your soup, leave it out. If you want a thicker soup, add more fat and an equal amount of flour, up to 1/4 of a cup.

If you want to substitute the white wine in the recipe, use 2 tablespoons white or cider vinegar, or lemon juice instead.

6 pounds quahog or cherrystone clams
1 tablespoon unsalted butter or extra virgin olive oil
4 ounces salt pork, cubed
2 cups chopped onion
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1 cup dry white wine, like a Sauvignon Blanc
2 pounds potatoes (Russets or Yukon gold), peeled and diced
1 to 2 cups water
1 bay leaf
2 sprigs thyme
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon Old Bay seasoning (or paprika with a dash of cayenne)
1 1/2 cups corn, fresh or frozen
1 cup heavy whipping cream
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

Clean and prep clams:

Rinse and scrub the clams to remove any dirt. Place clams in a bowl, cover with cold, well salted water and refrigerate for 30 minutes to an hour. This will allow the clams to expel some of their grit into the water. Discard any broken clams or clams that are open and do not close when you touch them.
Steam the clams:

Place the clams in a large pot and add about a half inch of water to the pot. Cover the pot and bring the water to a boil. Let the clams steam until they all open up, 5 to 10 minutes. The steaming water may foam up a bit; just watch so it doesn't overflow.

Use a slotted spoon to remove the clams from the pot to a bowl. Strain the remaining clam steaming liquid through a fine mesh sieve to catch any grit, and reserve. You should have 2 to 3 cups of clam liquid.

Separate the clams from the clam shells. Discard the shells. Roughly chop the cooked clams. You should have 1 1/2 to 2 cups of chopped clams.
Brown the salt pork:

Place the salt pork and butter or oil in the bottom of a large, thick-bottomed pot. Heat on medium and brown the salt pork. (Note that if you are using salt pork that is mostly fat, you won't need any additional fat from butter or oil, but you might want to put a little water in the pan to help render the fat from the salt pork.)

Elise Bauer

Elise Bauer
Add onion:

Add the chopped onion to the pan, and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions are translucent, about 5 minutes.

Elise Bauer
Add flour, let cook, then add wine:

Sprinkle flour over the onions and stir until everything is coated with the flour. Let the flour cook for a minute or two. Slowly add the white wine to the pot, stirring after each addition.

Elise Bauer

Elise Bauer
Add potatoes, clam steaming liquid, spices:

Add potatoes to the pot. Add 2 to 3 cups of the strained clam steaming liquid and a cup of water. The liquid should cover the potatoes. If not, add a little more water or clam cooking liquid.

Add the bay leaf, thyme, black pepper, and Old Bay. Heat to a boil and reduce to a simmer.

Cover and cook for 10 minutes, then add the corn (if using) and cook for 5 minutes more, or until the potatoes are cooked through.

Elise Bauer

Elise Bauer
Heat cream:

While the potatoes are cooking, heat a cup of cream in a small saucepan until steamy.

The Best Substitutes for Heavy Cream
FEATURED IN:
Add clams, stir in cream:

When the potatoes are tender, add the chopped clams and turn off the heat under the soup. Slowly stir in the heated cream. Adjust seasonings. Stir in the fresh parsley.

Note that if you simmer the soup after the cream has been added, the soup may curdle. This is why we turn off the heat before adding the hot cream.

Serve with oyster crackers or rustic bread.

Elise Bauer

Nutrition Facts (per serving)
925	Calories
31g	Fat
56g	Carbs
93g	Protein

Nutrition Facts
Servings: 8
Amount per serving
Calories	925
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 31g	40%
Saturated Fat 13g	63%
Cholesterol 278mg	93%
Sodium 4572mg	199%
Total Carbohydrate 56g	20%
Dietary Fiber 4g	15%
Total Sugars 6g
Protein 93g
Vitamin C 92mg	461%
Calcium 372mg	29%
Iron 11mg	63%
Potassium 2959mg	63%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.

Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate. In cases where multiple ingredient alternatives are given, the first listed is calculated for nutrition. Garnishes and optional ingredients are not included.