Here are three versions of New England Clam Chowder.
Most clam chowder recipes specify live clams of course, but where I live live clams aren't easily available and are expensive. However I did try making clam chowder once with live clams and the result was a disaster - the taste was kind of nasty and I actually ended up dumping it all out which is amazing. However I've found that canned chopped clams work very well
One more note, one of the biggest challenges for clam chowder, and really for any recipe including diced potatoes, is cooking it until the potatoes are just tender. It is hard to cook diced potatoes to the right consistency and it's very important - too short a time and they're hard and crunchy which is terrible, and too long they become little cubes of mashed potatoes. Really, really need to monitor them.
COOK'S ILLUSTRATED CLAM CHOWDER
This is the version I use, from a pretty old cookbook they published called "The Best Recipe". This is their "canned clams" version, they recommend the Doxsee brand of canned clams and clam juice which of course I can't find in my area. Regardless, this actually makes a very good clam chowder.
Ingredients
4 cans minced clams 6.5oz ea, drained and juices reserved
1 cup water
2 bottles clam juice 8oz ea
4 slices thick-cut bacon (about 4 ozs), cut into 1/4 inch pieces
1 medium to large Spanish onion, diced medium
3 - 4 tablespoons flour (or more - the recipe calls for two but I prefer it thicker)
3 medium boiling potatoes (about 1-1/2lbs), scrubbed and diced medium.
1 large bay leaf
1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves or 1/4 teaspoon dried
I cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley leaves
Salt and ground black or white pepper
Instructions
1. Combine clam juice from bottles and drained cans with the water.
2. Fry bacon in kettle over medium-low heat until crisp and fat has been rendered. Add onion and sauté until softened, about 5 minutes.
3. Add flour and stir until lightly colored, about 1 minute. Gradually whisk in clam juice mixture. Add potatoes, bay leaf, and thyme; simmer until potatoes are tender, about 10 minutes.
4. Add clams, cream, parsley, and salt if necessary, and ground pepper to taste. Bring to simmer, remove from heat, and serve.
NEW YORK TIMES CLAM CHOWDER
Haven't tried it and of course they only have a "live clam" recipe. The final step of this recipe says that after making it, the clam chowder should be allowed to sit for a while to "cure" and then reheated before serving. That is weird. No other recipe says the clam chowder should rest before serving, others say to serve immediately.
Ingredients
24 medium-size quahog clams, usually rated ‘‘top neck’’ or ‘‘cherrystone,’’ rinsed
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
¼ pound slab bacon or salt pork, diced
2 leeks, tops removed, halved and cleaned, then sliced into half moons
3 large Yukon Gold potatoes, cubed
½ cup dry white wine
3 sprigs thyme
1 bay leaf
2 cups cream
Freshly ground black pepper to taste
¼ cup chopped parsley.
Instructions
1. Put the clams in a large, heavy Dutch oven, add about 4 cups water, then set over medium-high heat. Cover, and cook until clams have opened, approximately 10 to 15 minutes. (Clams that fail to open after 15 to 20 minutes should be discarded.) Strain clam broth through a sieve lined with cheesecloth or doubled-up paper towels, and set aside. Remove clams from shells, and set aside as well.
2. Rinse out the pot, and return it to the stove. Add butter, and turn heat to medium-low. Add bacon or salt pork, and cook, stirring occasionally, until the fat has rendered and the pork has started to brown, approximately 5 to 7 minutes. Use a slotted spoon to remove pork from fat, and set aside.
3. Add the leeks to the fat, and cook, stirring frequently, until they are soft but not brown, about 10 minutes. Stir in potatoes and wine, and continue cooking until wine has evaporated and the potatoes have just started to soften, approximately 5 minutes. Add enough clam broth to just cover the potatoes, approximately 3 cups, reserving the rest for another use. Add the thyme and the bay leaf.
4. Partly cover the pot, and simmer gently until potatoes are tender, approximately 10 to 15 minutes.
5. Meanwhile, chop the clams into bits about the size of the bacon dice.
6. When potatoes are tender, add cream and stir in chopped clams and reserved bacon. Add black pepper to taste. Let come to a simmer, and remove from heat. (Do not let chowder come to a full boil.) Fish out the thyme and the bay leaf, and discard.
7. The chowder should be allowed to sit for a while to cure. Reheat it to a bare simmer before serving, then garnish with chopped parsley. Serve with oyster crackers.
SERIOUS EATS CLAM CHOWDER
Haven't tried it. Serious Eats, at least, acknowledges that not everyone can get live clams and in fact they do say that canned or frozen can be used "to great effect". The picture on their website shows Snow's Chopped Clams which actually is a brand I can find, although they say they prefer chopped frozen clams.
As usual, they provide a detailed writeup with their recipe (their writeups tend to be kind of snotty: "This is the only right way to do it"). Here's a link, although I've decided to copy the entire recipe on this page. Here are some highlights:
Ingredients
1/2 pound salt pork or bacon, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
2 tablespoons butter
1 medium onion, finely chopped (about 1 cup)
2 stalks celery, finely chopped (about 1 cup)
1 cup water or clam juice
2 1/2 pounds live cherrystone or littleneck clams (see notes)
1 quart whole milk
1 1/2 pounds russet or Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch cubes
2 bay leaves
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 cup heavy cream
Oyster crackers, for serving
Instructions
1. Combine salt pork and 1/4 cup water in a heavy-bottomed stock pot or Dutch oven over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until water has evaporated and pork has begun to brown and crisp in spots, about 8 minutes.
2. Add butter, onion, and celery. Continue to cook, stirring occasionally, until onions are softened but not browned, about 4 minutes longer. Add clam juice or water and stir to combine.
3. Add clams or quohogs and increase heat to high. Cover and cook, opening lid to stir occasionally, until clams begin to open, about 3 minutes. As clams open, remove them with tongs and transfer to a large bowl, keeping as many juices in the pot as possible and keeping the lid shut as much as possible. After 8 minutes, discard any clams that have not yet begun to open.
4. Add milk, potatoes, bay leaves, and a pinch of salt and pepper to the pot. Bring to a boil, reduce to a bare simmer, and cook, stirring occasionally, until potatoes are tender and starting to break down, about 15 minutes.
5. Meanwhile, remove meat from inside the clams and roughly chop it. Discard empty shells. Transfer chopped clams and as much juice as possible to a fine-mesh strainer set over a large bowl. Let clams drain, then transfer chopped clams to a separate bowl. Set both bowls aside.
6. Once potatoes are tender, pour the entire mixture through the fine-mesh strainer into the bowl with the clam juice rapping the strainer with the back of a knife or a honing steel to get the liquids to pass through. Transfer strained solids to the bowl with the chopped clams. You should end up with a white, semi-broken broth in the bowl underneath, and the chopped clams, potatoes, salt pork, and aromatics in the separate bowl.
7. Transfer liquid to a blender and blend on high speed until smooth and emulsified, about 2 minutes. Return liquid and solids back to Dutch oven. Add heavy cream and stir to combine. Reheat until simmering. Season well with salt and pepper. Serve immediately with oyster crackers.