With all the below average cold weather we’ve been having, we are still in soup-making mode. When I mentioned to Eric that I was thinking of doing an oyster stew or clam chowder for the blog, he suggested I go with the clam chowder & he had just the recipe I should use! A former boss of Eric’s passed along his version of a broth-based clam chowder years ago and it is still Eric’s favorite version.

A little background on the development of the recipe: Dick & his brother-in-law each had a beach house built on the ocean just 6 miles north of Cape Hatteras, NC, back in the mid-1980s. On trips down there to check out the progress on the houses, the guys would sometimes stay in a small motel in Cape Hatteras and would eat their meals in one of the few year-round restaurants open at the time. Since it was the off-season, the clientele was mostly locals and some visiting fisherman. The restaurant always had a big pot of soup on that was known as Hatteras Clam Chowder. It was a very basic soup made mostly from local ingredients. No milk or cream like New England clam chowder or tomato like Manhattan clam chowder, just the basic soup vegetables and local clams. Dick always enjoyed coming in from the cold & having some of that soup and set out to develop his own recipe that he has been working on, ever since.

Hatteras Clam Chowder

Dick’s Hatteras Clam Chowder    Makes 6 servings

• 3 slices 1/4 inch thick salt pork, cut into small pieces
• 3 cloves fresh minced garlic
• 1 onion, diced
• 1 leek, finely diced
• 2 large carrots, cut into 3/8 inch cubes
• 3 stalks celery, diced
• 1 cup water
• 3 8-ounce bottles clam juice
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 tablespoon dry sherry
• 4 medium red potatoes, 1/2 inch dice
• 2 cans chopped clams, juice drained & reserved
• 1/2 teaspoon white pepper
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons corn meal

In a large soup pot, brown the salt pork over low heat to render the fat.

Add in the minced garlic and sauté for 2 minutes.  Add in the onions, leeks, carrots, celery & water and sauté for an additional 5 minutes.

Add in the clam juice, bay leaf, dry sherry and potatoes along with the juice drained from the canned clams. Bring the soup to a boil then reduce the heat and simmer the soup for 1 hour or until the potatoes are tender.

Add in the chopped clams, white pepper and salt. Slowly add in the corn meal, stirring to combine and simmer the soup for an additional 15 minutes.  Serve promptly.

Thanks for the warming soup recipe to beat back the cold, Dick!  ~Linda

Dick’s Hatteras Clam Chowder    Makes 6 servings

• 3 slices 1/4 inch thick salt pork, cut into small pieces
• 3 cloves fresh minced garlic
• 1 onion, diced
• 1 leek, finely diced
• 2 large carrots, cut into 3/8 inch cubes
• 3 stalks celery, diced
• 1 cup water
• 3 8-ounce bottles clam juice
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 tablespoon dry sherry
• 4 medium red potatoes, 1/2 inch dice
• 2 cans chopped clams, juice drained & reserved
• 1/2 teaspoon white pepper
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons corn meal

In a large soup pot, brown the salt pork over low heat to render the fat. Add in the minced garlic and sauté for 2 minutes.  Add in the onions, leeks, carrots, celery & water and sauté for an additional 5 minutes. Add in the clam juice, bay leaf, dry sherry and potatoes and the juice drained from the canned clams. Bring the soup to a boil then reduce the heat and simmer it for 1 hour or until the potatoes are tender. Add in the chopped clams, white pepper and salt. Slowly add in the corn meal, stirring to combine and simmer the soup for an additional 15 minutes.  Serve promptly.