Block Party New England Clam Chowder

Every year our neighborhood has a small informal block party in late September.    Some people in our town have block parties with all the bells and whistles, but what I love about ours is the simplicity.  We close off the street to traffic and everyone has a job to do and each family is charged $15 for hamburgers, hot dogs and paper products.  Each family must bring either an appetizer, salad or dessert, their beverage, and a chair.  This gives little stress to any one person. For dessert we light a fire pit in the street and children toast Smores.  What this get-together is all about is neighbors taking the time to actually sit for a few hours and get to know each better and catch up on our busy lives.

My annual contribution to this event has become a large pot of New England Clam Chowder.  I have a basic recipe that gets tweaked every year.  I use fresh chopped clams from my fish market and canned clam juice making this a manageable recipe.   Since I just came back from a long weekend on Cape Cod where I ordered clam chowder with every meal, I am excited to share this with you.

Block Party New England Clam Chowder 

Makes 5 quarts

1 1/2 pints of fresh chopped clams

2 1/2 cups of heavy cream

2 1/2 quarts clam juice

4 oz. salt pork, cubed 1/4 inch

4 cups of peeled Yukon gold potatoes cubed 1/4 inch

1/2 cup flour

2 cups chopped onions

2 cups chopped celery

1 bunch of fresh thyme tied with a string

1 teaspoon ground black pepper

1 tablespoon salt or to taste.  

2 tablespoons onion power

1 teaspoon ground celery seed 

1/2 cup flour

1/4 cup fresh chopped parsley

In a large stock pot cook cubed salt pork until crispy.  Discard salt pork and add celery, onions and cook over medium low heat until soft (5 minutes).   Add 1/2 cup of flour and cook over low heat for 5 minutes stirring to coat vegetables.  Add 2 1/2 quarts of clam juice, salt, pepper, onion powder, ground celery seed and bunch of thyme.  Bring this highly seasoned broth to a boil stirring to combine.  Add potatoes and cook for 15 minutes over low heat until potatoes are tender. Remove tied thyme.  Stir in 2 1/2 cups of heavy cream and 1 1/2 cups of fresh chopped clams.  Cook chowder over low heat for 5 minutes until warm.  Do not over cook chowder at this point.  Stir in fresh chopped parsley and serve with oyster crackers.