Authentic Minorcan Clam Chowder Food

ST. AUGUSTINE MINORCAN CLAM CHOWDER

Steps:

• In large saucepan, cook salt pork or bacon over medium heat, stirring frequently, until browned and crisp, about 5 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, remove from pan, and let drain on paper towels, reserving drippings in pan. Add onion, bell pepper, and carrots to drippings; cook over medium heat, stirring frequently, until vegetables are just tender, about 10 minutes. Stir in tomato paste, oregano, rosemary, thyme, and garlic; cook for 2 minutes. Stir in chopped tomatoes, fish or seafood stock, clam juice, reserved clam liquid, bay leaves, datil pepper or sauce, and salt, and bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer for 1 hour. Stir in potatoes, and cook until tender, about 15 minutes. Stir in clams and cooked pork or bacon, and cook for 5 minutes. Serve immediately.

TRADITIONAL NEW ENGLAND CLAM CHOWDER

Steps:

• Tap clams; discard any that do not close. Place clams and water in a large saucepan. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 5-6 minutes or until clams open. , Remove meat from clams; chop meat and set aside. Strain liquid through a cheesecloth-lined colander; set aside., In a large saucepan, cook bacon over medium heat until crisp. Using a slotted spoon, remove to paper towels. Saute onion in drippings until tender., Return bacon to the pan; add clam meat and reserved liquid. Stir in the potatoes, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 10-12 minutes or until potatoes are tender., Combine flour and milk until smooth; gradually stir into soup. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Gradually stir in cream; heat through (do not boil).

MY BEST CLAM CHOWDER

Steps:

• Drain juice from clams into a large skillet over the onions, celery, potatoes and carrots. Add water to cover, and cook over medium heat until tender.
• Meanwhile, in a large, heavy saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Whisk in flour until smooth. Whisk in cream and stir constantly until thick and smooth. Stir in vegetables and clam juice. Heat through, but do not boil.
• Stir in clams just before serving. If they cook too much they get tough. When clams are heated through, stir in vinegar, and season with salt and pepper.

MINORCAN CLAM CHOWDER

Steps:

• In a large stock pot render the chopped bacon.
• Keep the bacon in the pan.
• Add the onions and red and green peppers.
• Saute until translucent.
• Add tomatoes, clams and juice, potatoes, datil peppers and thyme.
• Let simmer until potatoes are fork tender.

MANHATTAN CLAM CHOWDER

Steps:

• Heat the oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the onion, celery, garlic, and crushed red pepper and cook, covered, stirring occasionally, until soft, about 8 minutes. Stir in the tomato paste and cook, stirring, for about 1 minute more. Tie the parsley sprigs, fresh thyme, and bay leaf together with a piece of kitchen twine and add to the pot with the potatoes. Pour in the clam juice and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer, covered, until the potatoes are tender, about 10 minutes. Stir in the tomatoes and clams. Cover and bring to a low simmer. Season with pepper to taste. Divide among warm soup bowls and sprinkle with the parsley. Serve immediately.
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MINORCAN CLAM CHOWDER

Steps:

• Take 4 ounces of salt pork and cut into small pieces. If using bacon, cut crosswise into 1/2 inch pieces. Plase in a soup pot and cook for 10 minutes. When the salt pork (or bacon) is browned, remove and place on a paper towel, leaving the rendered fat in the pot. Add the diced onion, green pepper, and carrots to the rendered fat and cook 5-10 minutes until the onions are translucent.
• Stir in one 15-ounce can of chopped tomatoes, 3 tablespoons of tomato paste, all the seasonings (use fresh or dried) and bay leaves. Add one minced datil pepper or 2-3 teaspoons of datil hot sauce (to taste).
• Next, add the 8-ounce bottle of clam juice and 2 cups of fish stock. Simmer on low heat for 1 hour.
• Meanwhile, place the 2 dozen fresh clams in a colander in the sink. Lightly scrub the outside of the clams and rinse to remove any dirt or sand. Place the clams in a large pan over medium-high heat with 1/3 cup of water. Cover the pan and cook the clams for approximately 10 minutes until the clams open. Remove from stove.
• Using a slotted spoon, place the clams in a colander, let drain. Throw away any unopened clams. When the clams cool, remove the meat from the shells. Chop the clam meat into bite-size pieces. Set aside. Discard clam shells.
• Next, add one cup of the diced potatoes to the soup and cook approximately 20 minutes or until the potatoes are tender, but not mushy. Add the chopped clams and cooked salt pork. Cook just long enough for the clams and pork to be heated through - approx. 5 minutes. Taste and adjust seasonings if necessary. This soup tastes even better the next day because the flavors have had more time to meld.

NEW ENGLAND CLAM CHOWDER

Steps:

• Place the clams and 1 cup of water in a large pot. Cover and place over a high heat and cook the clams for 6 to 7 minutes. Uncover and remove the open clams.Cover the pot again and continue cooking the clams that haven't opened yet. Cook the clams for another 2 to 3 minutes. Turn off the heat and discard any clams that have not opened. Strain the liquid from the pot through a mesh strainer lined with a coffee filter and reserve.
• Coarsely chop the clams and reserve.
• Drizzle a few drops of olive oil into the bottom of the clam pot and toss in the bacon. Bring the pan to a medium heat. When the bacon has let off a lot of fat and become brown and crispy, toss in the onions and season lightly with salt. Cook the onions until they are very soft and aromatic but have no color, 7 to 8 minutes. Add the potatoes and cook for another 5 minutes.
• Sprinkle the flour over the onions and potato mixture and stir to combine. Gradually whisk in the reserved clam juice. When the clam juice has been whisked in and there are no lumps, whisk in the milk and heavy cream and toss in the bay leaves and thyme. Taste for seasoning and adjust if needed. Bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer and simmer until the potatoes are cooked through, 10 to 15 minutes.
• Toss in the reserved clams. Taste and re-season if needed and add hot sauce if using.

MANHATTAN CLAM CHOWDER

Steps:

• 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 those aside as well.
• Rinse out the pot, and return it to 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.
• Add onions, garlic, celery, green peppers and carrots to the fat, and cook, stirring frequently, until the vegetables are soft but not brown, approximately 10 to 15 minutes. Stir in potatoes, and continue cooking until they have just started to soften, approximately 5 to 7 minutes. Add 4 cups of clam broth, reserving the rest for another use. Add the sprigs of thyme and the bay leaf.
• Partly cover the pot, and simmer gently until potatoes are tender, approximately 10 to 15 minutes. Using the back of a wooden spoon, smash a few potatoes against the side of the pot to release their starch and help thicken the broth.
• Meanwhile, chop the clams into bits that are about the size of the bacon dice.
• When potatoes are tender, stir in tomatoes, and heat them through. Add chopped clams and reserved bacon, stirring to combine. Add black pepper to taste. Let chowder come to a simmer, and remove from heat. Fish out the thyme and the bay leaf, and discard.
• The chowder should be allowed to sit for a while to cure. Reheat it before serving, then garnish with chopped parsley. Serve with oyster crackers.