This is my mother’s recipe for clam chowder, she used to make it for her and my father several times a year. My mother was born in raised in Eastport, Maine and so was very well versed in fishing village staples like; clam chowder, corned pollack and dried fish. I purchased some canned clams and clam juice in an attempt to re-create the recipe.
Dice salt pork into small cubes
Do same to one medium onion
Brown pork pieces until crisp and drain off the fat
Cube and boil potatoes reserving the liquid
Combine all ingredients adding some potato liquid if needed
Add heavy cream to thicken
I mistakenly purchased whole clams, my mother used pieces of clams and that would have been much better, otherwise the chowder was good. It was a little thinner than I remembered I should have left out more of the potato water and added more cream. The clam juice by itself would have been sufficient liquid. No salt is needed as the pork is very salty. The flavor was nice but the chewy large clams was off-putting 7 out of 10.
