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You are here: Autumn » Cincinnati Clam Chowder

January 30, 2012

Cincinnati Clam Chowder

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Cincinnati Clam Chowder 1

I’m a happily landlocked Midwestern girl — give me space for a vegetable garden and I’m good to go — but I’ll admit to a little coastal envy now and then. Mostly, the envy involves fresh seafood. Our fish suppliers do their best to get the freshest deliveries possible — and by “freshest” I mean flash frozen — but it’s in no way a substitute for enjoying a catch mere hours old.

(There’s also the locavore guilt that comes with seafood, but that’s a topic for another day.)

So, in the mood for clam chowder, I hopped onto the interwebs to do a little research. New England clam chowder is a staple at Casa SoupAddict, but I wanted to change things up.

Clearly, I’ve been living under a rock, as I had no idea there was such territorialism about clam chowders. There is as much passionate argument about chowdah as there is BBQ and chili.

Here’s the basic line-up:

  • New England clam chowder – cream-based
  • Manhattan (or New York) clam chowder – tomato-based
  • Rhode Island clam chowder – clear broth (no cream or tomatoes)
  • Minorcan clam chowder – a super spicy, tomato-based version, famous in Florida

If the interwebs is to be believed, tomato-based clam chowder was introduced by Portuguese immigrants who settled on the coast in the 1800’s. Several sources say that the red chowder version received its name from the staunch New England version supporters, who concluded that only New Yorkers would be nutty enough to add tomatoes to their chowder. And so the gauntlet was thrown, and the dukes went up.

While they all sounded good (really good), none were quite what I had in mind. I ended up doing what I often do — I just hit the kitchen and start pulling out ingredients. Basically, I wanted a thick New England clam chowder with tomatoes.

Is this is a brand spankin’ new clam chowder invention? Probably not. But so as not to take sides in the Eastern seaboard’s chowdah skirmishes, I created this recipe in my Midwestern kitchen using vegetables from my Cincinnati garden, canned clams from a California company (Bumble Bee), and Italian pancetta. So, there you have it.

Cincinnati Clam Chowder 2


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Cincinnati Clam Chowder

Prep Time:15 minutes
Cook time:40 minutes

Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients
1 tablespoon canola or grapeseed oil
1/4 cup pancetta, diced
1 medium onion, diced
2 celery stalks, diced
1 small carrot, diced
2 small Yukon gold potatoes, peeled and diced
2 teaspoons minced garlic
3 tablespoons white wine
1 can (15 oz) crushed or petite diced tomatoes
2 (8 oz) bottles clam juice
3 cans chopped clams, drained, juices reserved
1/2 cup heavy cream or half-and-half
hot pepper sauce
salt and freshly ground black pepper

Instructions

Heat oil in a 4 or 5 quart dutch oven or large stock pot until shimmering. Add the pancetta and cook until the pancetta begins to lightly brown. Add the onions, celery, carrots and potatoes and cook for 8 to 10 minutes, until the onions are soft and beginning to turn golden. Add the garlic and saute for a few minutes more, until fragrant. Add the white wine and deglaze the pan. Add the tomatoes and stir to mix well.

Combine the bottled clam juice along with the reserved juices from the canned clams. You’ll need a total of 4 cups — top off with water, if necessary, reach the 4 cups. Add to the soup. Turn heat to medium-high until soup comes to a boil, then reduce to medium-low, maintaining a simmer. Cook for 20 minutes.

Use an immersion blender to smoothe out the soup to your preferred texture. Reduce heat to low and stir in the heavy cream, clams and a few dashes of hot pepper sauce. Allow soup to gently warm for 10 minutes. Taste and adjust for salt and pepper.

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Filed Under: Autumn, Dinner + Entrees, Lunch + Brunch, Pescatarian, Savory Cooking, Soup Recipes, Winter Tagged With: carrots, clams, pancetta, Potatoes, recipes, seafood

Did you make this recipe? Take a photo, post it on social media and tag me, @soupaddict. I'd love to see how you made it your own!

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Germaine says

    September 4, 2017 at 7:23 am

    I love Yukon Gold Potatoes and this year I seem to be having trouble finding them. I live in Canada, is there another type of potatoe that can be used for your soups

    Reply
  2. Susan Becker says

    March 8, 2012 at 8:21 am

    Well, I’ve been waiting to have the chance to cook this one. Last night was the night! OMG! This is the best! Thank you Karen. 🙂

    Reply
    • SoupAddict says

      March 8, 2012 at 9:14 am

      If I had known that a New Englander was preparing my clam chowder, I would’ve been sweating bullets all night! Whew! Very glad you liked it. 🙂

      Reply
  3. Michelle says

    February 4, 2012 at 8:13 pm

    I just pinned this! 🙂

    Reply
  4. amy@currylime says

    February 1, 2012 at 2:45 pm

    This looks lusciously good!

    Reply
  5. Angie@Angie's Recipes says

    January 31, 2012 at 6:58 am

    The chowder looks terrific!

    Reply
  6. Susan says

    January 31, 2012 at 12:18 am

    This looks & sounds wonderful! I’ll bet the pancetta added a great layer of flavor!

    Reply
  7. Christine says

    January 30, 2012 at 9:37 pm

    I love how you just dream up recipes, it’s so amazing! If I did that, I’d never eat! 😉 Sounds so good, I may have to make a pot before the weather changes and it’s back to the grill!

    Reply
  8. Heidi @ Food Doodles says

    January 30, 2012 at 4:12 pm

    I actually had no idea there were so many different variations, I only knew of two. This looks delicious! I love that it’s like the best of both 😀 I’m in the same situation as you though, while we have lakes nearby so local fish are possible, I do miss being on the coast for the variety of seafood 🙂

    Reply
  9. yummychunklet says

    January 30, 2012 at 4:00 pm

    That clam chowder does look delicious. Great post!

    Reply
  10. Cher says

    January 30, 2012 at 1:21 pm

    I like the look of Cincy Chowder 🙂

    Says the nutty New Yorker who usually takes her Chowdah New England style. When we have our local Chowder Fest things get really crazy and all sorts of unapproved items get inserted into chowder. Our neighbors to the East would be appalled. Utterly so…

    Reply

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SoupAddictKaren Gibson is the head soup chef, vegetable chopper-upper, and dishwasher here at SoupAddict.com, where she shares recipes for all manner of foods-in-bowls. Read more

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