Clam Chowder - Maine Style

A Coastal Maine Chowder Worth Setting Sail For

This is the proper Maine clam chowder, the working-fisherman version that came before tourist-spot versions thickened it with flour and cream. Salt pork and onions render slowly in a cast-iron pan to build the savory base, then water, potatoes, and ground clams simmer together until everything tastes like the sea and a Maine kitchen at once.

Grinding the clams through a meat grinder is the move that distinguishes this version. Whole clams sit at the bottom of the bowl while diced clams disappear into chunks. Ground clams distribute their briny flavor evenly through the chowder, giving every spoonful that signature shellfish savor.

A splash of evaporated milk added at the end (not boiled, not whisked into a roux) is the traditional Maine way. It enriches the broth with creaminess without turning it into the heavier roux-thickened chowder you get further south. The let-it-rest, reheat-before-serving trick lets the flavors settle and meld.

Chef Tips

• Use fresh-shucked or canned chopped clams with their juices. Frozen clams turn rubbery, and bottled clam juice goes flat and metallic.
• Render the salt pork slowly, low heat. The fat and the crisp bits both flavor the chowder; rushed pork burns and goes acrid.
• Use waxy potatoes like Yukon gold, not russet. Russets break apart and turn the chowder gummy. Waxy varieties hold their shape.
• Don’t boil the chowder once the evaporated milk is in. High heat curdles the milk and breaks the texture.
• Make it a day ahead. Maine cooks know chowder always tastes better the next day after the flavors have time to develop.

Variations

• Substitute bacon for salt pork if salt pork is hard to find.
• Add a bay leaf and fresh thyme during the simmer for an herbier chowder.
• Stir in a tablespoon of butter just before serving for extra richness.