Mussel chowder, New England style
Clam chowder rests on one rule: the shellfish go back into the soup only for the last two minutes. Cooked longer they turn rubbery, and that mistake cannot be undone. In New England it is made with hard-shell clams; here we use mussels, which are easy to buy in Poland — if you can get clams (vongole), use the same weight. The liquid they open in is more valuable here than stock — do not pour it away, strain it.
Your own work in that: 25 min.
- Cleaning, opening and shelling the mussels 25 min
- Bacon and onion 12 min
- Cooking the potatoes 18 min
- Cream and shellfish 7 min
Step by step
0 / 7 doneClean and sort the shellfish
Scrub the shells and pull off the beards. Tap any open one against the counter — if it does not close within seconds, discard it. Same for cracked shells. Sorting is the only safeguard you have.
Ingredients: 1200 g mussels · 200 ml white wine · 3 cloves garlic · 1 tsp thyme
TipKeep mussels in a bowl under a damp cloth, never in water or a sealed bag — they suffocate.
Steam them open
Bring the wine to the boil with garlic and thyme in a large pot (about 3 minutes), add the mussels, cover and cook 5–7 minutes, shaking once. Lift them out as soon as they open. Discard any still shut at the end.
Ingredients: 1200 g mussels · 200 ml white wine · 3 cloves garlic · 1 tsp thyme
Take them out in batches as they open.Keep the liquor and shell the meat
Strain the pot liquid through muslin — there is always sand at the bottom. Pick the meat out of the shells, keeping a few in their shells for the top. That liquor is the strongest flavour element in the whole soup.
Ingredients: 1200 g mussels · 200 ml white wine · 3 cloves garlic · 1 tsp thyme
Render the bacon and soften the vegetables
Fry the bacon dry for 6 minutes until crisp. Lift half onto paper — that is the garnish. In the rendered fat with the butter cook the diced onion and celery for 6 minutes until soft.
Ingredients: 150 g smoked bacon · 1 pcs onion · 2 pcs celery · 30 g butter · 3 tbsp plain flour · 600 g potatoes · 500 ml fish stock · 2 pcs bay leaves
Half the bacon into the soup, half on top.Make a roux and cook the potatoes
Add the flour and cook 2 minutes, stirring, until the raw smell disappears. Slowly pour in the strained shellfish liquor and stock, stirring constantly to avoid lumps. Add the potatoes and bay and cook 15 minutes.
Ingredients: 150 g smoked bacon · 1 pcs onion · 2 pcs celery · 30 g butter · 3 tbsp plain flour · 600 g potatoes · 500 ml fish stock · 2 pcs bay leaves
TipChoose waxy potatoes, not floury. Floury ones disintegrate and the chowder loses the chunks you eat it for.
Add cream and shellfish at the end
Lower the heat, pour in the cream and warm through without boiling, about 5 minutes. Add the shellfish meat and keep it on the heat for only 2 minutes — it should warm through, not cook a second time.
Ingredients: 250 ml whipping cream (30%) · ½ bunch chives · ½ tsp pepper · 1 tsp salt
The cream goes in below boiling so the soup does not split.Season and serve
Season with pepper and salt carefully — the shellfish liquor and bacon are already very salty. Ladle into bowls, scatter the crisp bacon and chives and set the shell-on mussels on top.
Ingredients: 250 ml whipping cream (30%) · ½ bunch chives · ½ tsp pepper · 1 tsp salt
Before you start
From canned clams
In an emergency use 400 g of drained canned clams, with 200 ml of their juice in place of the cooking liquor. The flavour is milder but the soup is done in 30 minutes.
Manhattan version
Swap the cream for 400 g of canned tomatoes. That is the New York version — lighter, more acidic and without cream.
Do not reheat at a boil
Reheat the chowder over low heat, stirring. At a full boil the soup can split and the shellfish turn tough.
