Chowder & soup
New England Clear-Broth Chowder
The old-school Maine style — no cream, no tomato
- 35 min
- Easy
- Serves 4
Ingredients
- 12 razor clams, chopped, all juice reserved
- 3 tbsp butter
- 1 onion, diced, 3 potatoes, cubed
- 3 cups clam juice + water
- Thyme, black pepper
- Common crackers or oyster crackers
Method
- Sweat the onion in butter until translucent.
- Add potatoes and clam juice; simmer until just tender.
- Add clams, 2–3 minutes, off the boil.
- Big grind of pepper, more butter swirled in.
- Serve — broth thin, flavor huge.
Tip. This style lives or dies on real clam juice — save every drop from cleaning.
Start with how to clean a razor clam if your clams are still in the shell. Washington's daily limit is the first 15 you dig, so most recipes here are sized for one limit or less.
Dig them first.
DigTide tells you the minute a dig is approved, then shows the window to be on the sand.