clam chowder

[mkls0]

I'm looking for a good clam chowder recipe.

[YPSIFLY]

This is the one I use, made up a batch this afternoon actually.

2lbs butter
2medium carrots, peeled and slice
2 large red onions, chopped
3 celery stalks sliced
2lbs all purpose flour
1/2-3/4c minced garlic
2Tbs concentrated clam base
2qts canned clams
1lb rock shrimp
1lb "scrap" fish poached and chopped*
2qts water
1c dry white wine
2qts heavy whipping cream
1qt half and half
2-3 heaping Tbs fresh basil, chopped
4-5 baked potatoes, chilled,peeled, and chopped
salt and pepper to taste

Melt butter then add garlic, carrots, celery, onions, and clam base and simmer until the onions are carmelized. Then slowly add flour, stirring as you go to make a roux. It helps if you turn the heat way down or even off as the flour will tend to stick to the bottom of the pot and eventually burn if you're not careful. It helps to use a thick pot as this will cut down on this.

Once you have a good roux, add the clams with the "juice". Again, go slow and stir the whole time. Then slowly add the water and wine (keep stirring as you go), then the rock shrimp and scrap fish. Let simmer for about 15 minutes, again it never hurts to stir but you don't have to do it the whole time, just enough to keep the flour from settling at the bottom.

Then add the cream and half and half, basil and salt and pepper.

The whole process usually takes me about 45 minutes. If you like it really thick, let it simmer a bit longer. Then add the potatoes. They are easier to work with if they are chilled after baking, the skin comes off much easier that way.

This is the exact recipe I use at the restaurant, so it yeilds a LOT of chowder...you might want to scale it down unless you really like chowder or are throwing a big dinner party that calls for almost three gallons of the stuff.:)

*By scrap fish I mean those pieces that are left over after I portion out the fillets I get from my distributor. I have found that whitefish works really well for this recipe, but tonight I used some mahi mahi and that worked out just fine.

I have other ecipes, including traditional New England style, Manhatten, and one of my favorites: shrimp and corn. Let me know if you are interested in any of those.

[SALMONATOR]

Where do you get concentrated clam base? Is that something you could buy at a regular super-market?

Al

[YPSIFLY]

I think you might be able to. I buy mine from Gordon Foods and they have stores that you can buy from, even if you don't have a corporate account. I know there's one in Ypsilanti on Carpenter road.