Step by step

Method

4 steps

1. 1

   In a soup pot over medium heat, cook 4 oz diced bacon until crisp, 6–8 minutes. Scoop the bacon to a plate, leaving about 2 tablespoons fat in the pot.

2. 2

   Add 1 medium diced yellow onion and 2 diced celery stalks. Cook 5–6 minutes until soft and the onion turns translucent. Sprinkle in 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour and stir 1 full minute.

3. 3

   Whisk in 3 cups bottled clam juice until smooth. Add 1 lb diced Yukon Gold potatoes, 1 bay leaf, ½ teaspoon dried thyme, and ½ teaspoon black pepper. Simmer 12–15 minutes until the potatoes are tender when pierced.

4. 4

   Stir in two 6.5-oz cans chopped clams (with their juice) and 1 cup half-and-half. Warm gently 3–4 minutes — don't let it boil or the dairy can split. Fish out the bay leaf, taste for salt, and top with the bacon and chopped parsley. You want creamy New England clam chowder with tender potatoes and briny clams — not a gluey flour paste or thin watery soup.