Clam Chowder Hyde Park Style

Total Time: 1 hr 20 mins Preparation Time: 30 mins Cook Time: 50 mins

Ingredients

• Servings: 8
• 3 dozen chowder clams
• 2 1/2 cups bottled clam juice
• 2 slices bacon, minced
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 4 potatoes, peeled and diced
• 3 cups heavy cream or 3 cups half-and-half
• 6 tablespoons dry sherry
• salt, to taste
• fresh ground black pepper, to taste
• tabasco sauce, to taste
• worcestershire sauce, to taste
• oyster crackers or saltine crackers, as needed

Recipe

• 1 scrub the clams well under running water. shuck the clams, reserving the juices. cut the larger clams in half. mix the reserved juices with enough bottled clam juice to equal 3 cups.
• 2 cook the bacon slowly in a soup pot over medium heat until lightly crisp, about 7 minutes.
• 3 add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion is translucent, 4 to 6 minutes. add the flour and cook over low heat, stirring with a wooden spoon, for 2 to 3 minutes.
• 4 whisk in the clam juice, bring to a simmer, and cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. the liquid should be the consistency of heavy cream. if it is too thick, add more clam juice to adjust the consistency.
• 5 add the potatoes and simmer until tender, about 20 minutes.
• 6 meanwhile, place the clams and cream in a saucepan and simmer together until the clams are cooked, 5 to 8 minutes.
• 7 when the potatoes are tender, add the clams and cream to the soup base. simmer for 5 minutes.
• 8 stir in the sherry. season to taste with salt, pepper, tabasco and worcesteshire sauce. serve in heated bowls with the crackers on the side.