US Clam Chowder From Boston, MA

The Reids

Simple answer, no. Clam chowder, the real New England clam chowder that they make here in Boston and the rest of New England is a thick or thin (depending on where in New England you are) soup like dish made of salt pork, Little Neck or Quahog clams, potatoes (Maine potatoes to be authentic), clam broth, heavy cream, and onions. It is often served during a clam bake.

For a real clam bake you will need 1 chicken lobster (the smallest that is legal about 1 1-4lbs), 1 lb of clams (called Steamers by the fishmongers and normally Little Necks), 1 - 2 pieces of chorizo sausage (spicy Portugese sausage), two pieces of sweet corn, and 4-6 red pototos per person.

Here is how we do our clam bake every summer when we are either "Down East" in Maine or on Nantucket (and it is the traditional New England sytle). You have to dig a large pit in the sand, fill it with large rocks that you gather along the Atlantic ocean, pile drift wood on top, and start a really large fire. Keep the fire burning until the rocks are very hot abd all that is left is hot coals (about 2-4 hours). While the fire is heating up the rocks, gather Rock Seaweed (flat seaweed with little pods filled with sea water on the leaves) from the shallows or if a storm has just pbutted it will be all over the beach. This will create steam when added to the hot stones-coals and cook the food because the little pods of water will break open as the seaweed gets hot.

When the drift wood is coaled, place a thick layer of rock seaweed on top of the hot coals. Next, place the lobsters on the bottom as they take the longest to cook and cover with a thin layer of seaweed, place potatoes and chorizo next, another layer of seaweed, place the steamers next, another layer of seaweed, then place the corn. Cover this with another thick layer of seaweed and place 4 halves of an onion at each corner of the "pit". Cover the "pit" with a heavy canvas tarp (we use an old sail from our boat) and cover the canvas tarp with sand.

Now, go play on the beach, read a good book, drink a lot of wine-beer with your friends, take a long nap in the sun, take the kids out for a nice sail, beat your husband and his college friends at sand darts requiring them to trudge back up to your summer rental cottage to get you another bottle of white wine for the winning wives team, and in about 4 hours, go lift the corner of the tarp. If the onion halves have opened up and become soft, the lobster is cooked and you are ready to eat. Reverse the layering process and place the pile of goodies on a large plastic coated picnic blanket and sit around the bonfire you have built to watch the sun set to eat. You will have lots of left overs to make an incredible paella the next day.

Mary