Soooooo I grew up in New England and came from a very very N.E. background. NO HEAVY CREAM. Use milk. No dill, I used bay leaf until the initial boil, the removed. More celery salt. Lots of pepper! Tarragon was new, but an excellent addition. I think I used about 1/2 what it called for, though.
I used CANNED clams, about 10 cans and their juice and added one bottle of clam juice. Like Mom used to make! Thanks for the awesome base recipe! Remember, creamy, thick clam chowder is really not authentic.... ;-) Also, my mom took most of the salt pork out after frying it, and before adding onions and celery! I have to say now that we ate it and it has mellowed... it might be better than Mom's!
This is by far the tastiest clam chowder I have had. It was creamy without being too thick and very flavorful. I did make it without the saluted pork as I made it for a vegetarian. I just had crumbled bacon on the side for those who wanted it. The terragon added a nice flavor missing from many of the traditional recipes. I was skeptical since at the time it had no reviews or a picture. Wish I had taken a picture it had good presentation. I did change the servings to 15 instead of 10 and it still turned out perfect.
Most recipes lack the tarragon but it adds a kick that no other spice seems to carry in clam chowder recipes. The Worcestershire sauce adds a pleasant depth. I always cook my clam chowder with bacon (4 slices) because it's more mild than salt pork. Also clam juice is relatively expensive so I used only one small bottle of it (1 cup) and added 4 cups of water and made up for the flavor with ground shrimp powder (from the local Mexican food store's spice aisle) just until I thought it tasted okay without being overpowering. It was good! Basil and thyme are also good spices to add (1/2 tsp. of each). Instead of two cups heavy cream I used one cup half and half and one package neufchatel cream cheese. It's your choice what to use. It would be a great recipe even without the changes I mentioned. My compliments to Terry for a recipe that is very flavorful and true to a great restaurant style clam chowder.
This was excellent will make again everyone loved this I'll have to double the recipe would love to have leftovers of this thanks south for sharing
I went to a very famous clam chowder fest in New Hampshire on Lake Winnipesaukee and the clam chowder winner had tarragon in it..I thought it was delicious!...I always add tarragon(no dill or thyme) to my clam chowder now...it seems as though its been the missing secret ingredient!...just a small amount though its a very strong spice...this recipe is a keeper indeed
This was my first try at clam chowder and this recipe is a keeper. I used bacon instead of salt pork and added a can of condensed milk and it was wonderful! Thank you for the recipe!!
This was terrific chowder. I did use bacon because that is all I had on hand but followed otherwise. Nice and different flavors. Thanks for sharing.
It s very close to the chowder I use to get @ fishermen wharf only think missing is the sour dough bread bowl it s served in. Lol
used 2 stalks of celery diced