Clam chowder is New England's soup, and a cold late-season lot in Foxborough is where it earns its keep: clams, potatoes, bacon and onion in a creamy broth, made at home and carried hot in a jug. At Gillette, fires go only in a movable grill, so the chowder needs no fire at all, unless you want to hold the pot on the grill.
At the lot: Carry it in preheated food jugs, or hold the pot on low on your movable grill. Homegating: Keep the pot on the stove on low and serve it in mugs with oyster crackers.
Home gear: a heavy 8-quart pot, a ladle, an instant-read thermometer and insulated food jugs that hold about 5 quarts in all, or an empty cooler and 2 old bath towels if you're carrying the pot
1 HR 15 MIN
At home, cooking and filling jugs
5 MIN
At the lot
12
Serves
Ingredients
Base
- 8 oz thick-cut bacon, diced
- 4 tbsp butter
- 2 large yellow onions, diced
- 4 ribs celery, diced
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- ½ cup all-purpose flour
Chowder
- 6 cans (6.5 oz each) chopped clams, drained, juice saved
- 3 bottles (8 oz each) clam juice
- 3 lb Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and cut into ½-inch cubes
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 tsp dried thyme
- 4 cups whole milk
- 2 cups heavy cream
- 1 tsp kosher salt, plus more to taste
- 1 tsp black pepper
Serve
- 2 bags (9 oz each) oyster crackers
- 1 bunch chives or parsley, chopped
- Hot sauce
Steps
At home
- Cook the bacon in the pot over medium heat until crisp, about 8 minutes. Lift it out with a slotted spoon and set it aside, leaving the fat in the pot.
- Add the butter, onions and celery. Cook, stirring, until soft, about 8 minutes. Add the garlic for the last minute.
- Sprinkle in the flour and stir for 2 minutes so it loses its raw taste.
- Slowly whisk in the bottled clam juice and the juice saved from the cans until smooth. Add the potatoes, bay leaves and thyme. Bring it to a simmer, cover and cook until the potatoes are tender, 15 to 20 minutes.
- Turn the heat to low. Stir in the milk and cream and heat it gently, without boiling, so the dairy doesn't split. Add the clams and half the bacon and simmer 5 minutes. Fish out the bay leaves and season with salt and pepper.
- While it simmers, fill the food jugs with boiling water and let them sit 10 minutes to preheat. Pour the water out.
- Bring the chowder up to 165°F, then ladle it into the hot jugs and close them tight. Carrying the pot instead? Lid it, set it in an empty cooler lined with a towel, cover it with the second towel and close the cooler.
- Pack the rest of the bacon, the chives and the crackers separately so they stay crisp.
At the lot
- Check the chowder before you serve: it should read 140°F or above. Pour or ladle it into cups and top with crackers, bacon and chives.
- Holding the pot on your grill? Set it over low heat, stir often so the bottom doesn't scorch, and keep it at 140°F or above.
Pack for the lot
Lot notes
- No repacking: it's a dairy soup, so don't pour leftovers back into the jugs.
- Rinse the jugs: at the lot if you have water. Dried chowder is hard to scrub out.
Can you make clam chowder ahead?
Yes. Make it the day before, cool it fast in shallow containers and refrigerate it. On game morning, reheat it gently on the stove, stirring often and without boiling, until it reads 165°F, then fill the hot jugs.
How do you keep clam chowder hot at a tailgate?
Fill preheated insulated food jugs and keep them closed until you pour, or hold the pot over low heat on your grill. Kept closed, the jugs hold it hot for a few hours. The holding rules for a dairy soup are in how to keep food hot at a tailgate.
How much clam chowder for 20 people?
Make 1⅔ batches: 10 cans of clams, 5 bottles of clam juice, 5 lb of potatoes, about 6⅔ cups of milk and 3⅓ cups of cream. That's about 8 quarts, so use a 12-quart pot or cook 2 batches, and bring jugs that hold about 8 quarts in all.
Can you use fresh clams?
Yes. Steam about 6 lb of littlenecks or quahogs until they open, chop the meat and strain the cooking liquid to use in place of some of the bottled juice. Toss any clams that don't open.
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