Old England Ham Chowder Recipes

CHEESY HAM CHOWDER

Steps:

• In a Dutch oven, cook the bacon over medium heat until crisp. Using a slotted spoon, remove to paper towels to drain. In the drippings, saute onion and carrots until tender. Stir in flour until blended. Gradually add milk and water. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. , Add the potatoes, corn, bouillon and pepper. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 20 minutes or until potatoes are tender. Add cheese and ham; heat until cheese is melted. Stir in bacon.

HAM CHOWDER

Steps:

• Pour stock into a large pot set over medium heat, and bring to a simmer. Stir in the cubed ham and 2 tablespoons rosemary.
• In a large skillet over medium heat, cook diced bacon until crisp. With a slotted spoon, remove bacon, and add to pot. Drain half of the bacon grease, and return skillet to medium heat. Stir in onions, leeks, garlic, and green onions; cook until tender, then add to pot.
• Place cubed potatoes, carrots, and 2 tablespoons rosemary in pot; simmer until vegetables are tender, about 20 minutes. Turn off heat, and add cream to pot.

CONTEST-WINNING NEW ENGLAND CLAM CHOWDER

Steps:

• In a Dutch oven, cook bacon over medium heat until crisp. Remove to paper towels to drain; set aside. Saute celery and onion in the drippings until tender. Add garlic; cook 1 minute longer. Stir in the potatoes, water, clam juice, bouillon, pepper and thyme. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, until potatoes are tender, 15-20 minutes., In a small bowl, combine flour and 1 cup half-and-half until smooth. Gradually stir into soup. Bring to a boil; cook and stir until thickened, 1-2 minutes., Stir in clams and remaining half-and-half; heat through (do not boil). Crumble the cooked bacon; sprinkle over each serving.

POTATO AND HAM CHOWDER

Steps:

• Cook and stir bacon and ham together in a large pot over medium-high heat until some of the bacon fat renders, 7 to 10 minutes. Add the onion and continue cooking until the bacon and ham are browned and the onion translucent, 5 to 7 minutes more.
• Pour milk and potato soup into the pot; add potatoes, garlic salt, and pepper. Reduce heat to medium-low and cook mixture at a simmer, stirring frequently, until heated through and slightly thickened, about 20 minutes.
• Ladle soup into bowls and top with Cheddar cheese and green onions.

BEST SEAFOOD CHOWDER

Steps:

• In a large soup kettle or Dutch oven, cook bacon over medium heat until crisp. Remove with a slotted spoon to paper towels; reserve drippings. Saute onions in drippings until tender. Add potatoes and water; bring to a boil. Cook for 10 minutes., Add the scallops, lobster, shrimp, cod and haddock. Cook for 10 minutes or until scallops are opaque, shrimp turn pink and fish flakes easily with a fork. Add the butter, salt, parsley and curry powder. Stir in milk and evaporated milk; heat through. Garnish with bacon, additional parsley, and oyster crackers, if desired.

NEWEST NEW ENGLAND HAM & CLAM CHOWDER FOR THE FAMILY

Steps:

• In a soup pot, brown the bacon; set aside when crisp.
• Add chopped onion (add the butter if you don't have a lot of bacon grease--otherwise save the butter for *later*--as noted below); saute onion for 2-3 minutes, then add potatoes, saute a few more minutes.
• Add green pepper to the pot, saute for about 1 minute.
• Mix veggies, then add ham and about 1/3 of the clam juice (don't bother measuring, just make sure the potatoes are covered).
• Simmer until the potatoes are just starting to get soft (20 minutes?).
• Add another shot of clam juice and 1 1/2°C of cream (or milk); return to a low simmer.
• Add remainder of clam juice from the big can and reserved from smaller cans; bring to a simmer again, stirring the pot occasionally to prevent sticking.
• ****If you'd like to have a more "rich" chowder, add the butter now.****.
• Mix remaining cream/milk with cornstarch, add gradually to simmering pot until slightly thickened (not goopy, please).
• Add salt and pepper to taste along with pinch (or two) of parsley.
• Remove from heat and add the clams; stir. Allow to rest for two - three minutes.
• Crumble crisp bacon over top of soup; stir.
• Serve immediately along with some hearty home-made croutons (1/2 loaf of French bread, cubed & toasted) and grated Cheddar cheese.
• VARIATIONS: Skip the ham and add 1-2 cups sweet corn kernels.
• ***NOTE*** When the store has a special on peppers, I buy a bunch, clean them up and chop into preparation-size bits, then quick-freeze them on cookie sheets (one-layer deep), then pour them into one-gallon zipper bags to store in the freezer. I keep a smaller container in my kitchen freezer for ready-access (and doesn't take up so much space).