eBirdseed.com Wild Bird Feeding Blog

Hi,

Time for a bird break...

Well, I was going to take the NovaBird motion-actuated camera and stick it on a stick in one of the mud flats of Chatham MA, (pay no attention to the boss' screams) to spy crab movements, and then go quahogging. But it turned out that my shellfishing license for Chatham had expired. Not to worry, the wife snapped a few pictures of the cute hermits some time ago.



But I'm drifting off topic... As the title suggests, this post is concerned with clam chowder. (Though in spirit, it could be addressing the native mud-bug foods of Louisiana, or the farm-grown shrimp dishes of Arizona.) Regardless, here's the specific philosophy/recipe for my local dish, clam chowder:

1. If you can't get your hands on fresh, clean, scrubbed, stock (preferably clams you dig yourself in this case), oh well.
2. Take all recipes that use the words "canned" and/or the word "Manhattan" down to the firing range and shoot them with a 12 gauge shotgun.
3. Alrighty then, let's get started...
4. Dice two medium-sized "skinned" potatoes and chuck them in a small pot along with a quart of milk and cook slowly. Watch it to make sure that the milk doesn't burn or curdle.
5. While the potatoes are getting to the "half-way-to-fork-tender" point, use an iron skillet primed with a 2" cube of salt pork (or bacon) to brown some diced onions.
6. Now to the heart of the matter... Use only "littlenecks" - the smallest, most tender, and yet still-legal quahog. A couple of dozen will do ya'. Open the littlenecks in another pot wisely... That is to say, gently steam them open in a fine 2-can broth of "Pinot Budweiser" along with a dab of garlic and a dash of pepper. (Hey, if you want, stop the cooking here, extricate the mollusks now, and break out the Italian bread for mop up! You can always find another use for the milk and potatoes...)
7. Coming down the home stretch... Once the potatoes feel "15-minutes" away from being cooked, dump the entire mess including the "Pinot Budweiser" together and cook over mild heat until the potatoes are done... (Shuck and dice the clams first if you must.)
8. Briefly nuke ceramic bowls until warm.
9. Serve up the "chowdah" with a healthy dollop of your favorite cream.

Ok, so that's the basic recipe... But aside from fresh ingredients, what are the secrets? Why, here they are now!

• Use a decent light beer... (And no, I'm not referring to that swill with the title "Light" tacked onto the back of the brand name. No... Simply avoid the amber and darker beers.)
• Timing is everything... Getting the potatoes to reach that "just-right" texture at the same time as the clam liquor reaches that "just-right" flavor is an art.
• Striking the balance of cooking beer (or even white wine) in combination with garlic, clams, pepper, and the "coup de creme" takes time.
• Serve with fresh oyster crackers.

There... Now you have some real food to savor as you watch your birds!

See you by the feeders, and bring a spoon...

CapeCodAlan