Rocky Point Clam Chowder

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deejaydebi

Legendary Pitmaster
Original poster
Nov 18, 2006
7,996
25
Connecticut
This one's especially for Go Fish ...

This Chowder was Servered at an amusment park for many many years in the dining hall and my personal favorite. It's a RI style clear broth and really good!

Rocky Point Clam Chowder

1/2 pound ground or finely diced salt pork
1 pound onions
1 gallon clam juice
1 pound potatoes, diced
1 tablespoon paprika
2 cups canned tomato puree
1 1/2 quarts chopped quahogs (large clams)
water as needed
salt and pepper to taste
Pilot crackers, crumbled

In a large dutch oven, heat the salt pork until the fat melts. Add the
onions. Cook ocher gentle heat until very soft. Add the clam juice,
potatoes, seasonings, tomato puree and a little water. Simmer until the
potatoes are soft, then add the quahogs. Heat and taste for seasoning. Add
water if needed. It is best to use old, not new, potatoes, because they
thicken the chowder with their starch. Crush some pilot crackers and stir
them into the chowder to thicken it further, near the end of the cooking.
This recipe makes about 20 8oz servings.


Fritters to come ...
 
Fried Clam Frtters

2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
milk
2 eggs, beaten
1 tablespoon melted butter or margarine
oil for deep frying
2 lbs of steamed chopped quahogs
or 1 can (10 ounces) minced clams

Sift together flour, baking powder, salt and pepper. Drain clam broth into a 1 cup measuring cup; add enough milk to make 3/4 cup. Add broth mixture to beaten eggs; stir into sifted flour mixture and beat well.

Add clams and melted butter or margarine. Drop by spoonfuls into deep fat heated to 370° and fry until golden brown. Serve with chili sauce.
Serves 4.
 
THANK YOU DEBI!

As the weather starts to chill out a little here in MD, I will try this myself. I have had both at the Park myself.

I used to 'rake' for Clams in Narraganset Bay with my Grandfather and his friends. We needed 300 lbs for a good days wages for those guys, then we could eat all wanted and start fishing for flounder. I understand that Bay is a little polluted now and you need to be careful......... Thanks again Deb.
 
Pasta With Fresh Clam Sauce

You can save money by using large, inexpensive quahogs, which provide plenty of liquid for a briny, brothy dish, for about half the price of littlenecks. Because quahogs are so cheap, discard the steamed meat without guilt and dine on the sweet, tender littlenecks with the pasta.

24 littleneck clams (the smaller the better), scrubbed thoroughly
6 quahog or chowder clams (the larger the better), scrubbed thoroughly
1/2 cup dry white wine
Pinch cayenne
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 medium garlic cloves, minced
1 large or 2 small plum tomatoes, peeled, seeded, and minced
Salt
1 pound spaghetti, linguine, or other long-strand pasta
3/4 cup chopped fresh parsley leaves


1. Bring 4 quarts water to a boil in a large pot for cooking pasta.

2. Bring clams, wine, and cayenne to boil in deep, 10- to 12-inch covered skillet over high heat. Boil, shaking pan occasionally, until littlenecks begin to open, 3 to 5 minutes. Transfer littlenecks with slotted spoon to medium bowl; set aside. Re-cover pan and continue cooking quahogs until their liquid is released, about 5 minutes longer. Discard quahogs; strain liquid in pan through paper towel—lined sieve into large measuring cup. Add enough water to make 1 cup; set aside.

3. Heat oil and garlic in cleaned skillet over medium-low heat until garlic turns pale gold, about 5 minutes. Add tomatoes, raise heat to high and saute until tomatoes soften, about 2 minutes longer. Add littlenecks and cover; cook until all clams open completely, 1 to 2 minutes longer.

4. Meanwhile, add 1 tablespoon salt and pasta to boiling water; cook until al dente, 7 to 9 minutes. Drain pasta; transfer to skillet and toss. Add reserved clam liquid and cook until flavors meld, about 30 seconds. Stir in parsley, adjust seasonings, and serve immediately.
 
Your welcome!

Alas the park is long since closed but I did get their recipes before they did. These are the only recipes I know about making clams. We may not have the clams much longer though something is killing them off - maybe pollution. I don't know if it's the memories or what but I love this chowder and clam fritters!
 
Debi,

Thanks whole big bunches for these recipes. With the weather chilling fast here (possibility for snow Friday night) those pots of goodness will certainly go over well when my hunting friends arrive! It will be a change from the usual fare!

Cheers!
 
hey deb

thanks for the recipes i will try them out over here on the left coast our razor clam season opens on the 25th of oct i cant wait i have been thinking about clam chowder for about a month now this will be great
huey
 
Oh sure Debi, when I needed a clam chowder recipe, you was fresh outta ideas, now your over flowing with them. Well...... I'm gonna teach you.... I 'm gonna.... make it and enjoy the heck outta it.
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fooled ya, didn't I!!
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Terry
 
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Well Monty, if its gonna snow, you are gonna have to cancel the hunting trip. The public safety comes first ya know. You better go get the plow truck ready, three railers on the front axle, singles on the back. 8 yards of sand, 4 yards of salt for the sander, (got to help GM sell new cars) If ya grovel and whimper alot, I might feel sorry for ya and send some homemade snak sticks.
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haha, Our season starts in 2 weeks. Just bought tags for me and my youngest, almost $90.
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I think its cheaper to buy a whole beef than hunt for deer and elk? Just kiddin ya tonite, have a good time.
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Terry
 
Huey:

I can never remember if it is the 'left' coast and the 'right' coast. The 'east' coast and the 'west' coast. Or, the 'right' coast and the 'wrong' coast. Ok, OK everyone. Just joking !!

Huey and I are actually both on the 'west' coast. He is just a little north and me a little south. Being in Washington State, Huey endures tight seasons on both 'dungie' crab and razor clams. Being in Oregon, I enjoy a much more relaxed set of regulations. I am just goverened by weather and red tide, when it should occure.

We are going to 'batten down the hatches' and get ready for winter out here. I know that both Huey and I will pop up and share some Q-view with you, when ever we can.

Bye the way, Huey, it looks like I will be up your way on the weekend of 11/10. You ready for Hoods Canal?

Skip
 
Rich

I's closer to Manhatan than New England style but without the tomatoes. It's really good!
 
I'd do it exactly as the recipe says. If you want tomatoes you can add them but this is RI style clear broth chower and it is excelent just the way it is.

When you add tomatoes is becomes Manhattan style. Try it plain first you'll be surprised. You can always add the tomatoes if you must.

Also if you can get them fresh clams are best but canned ones are good in a pinch.
 
I'm wondering how it'd be with smoked clams? Never smoked clams. My pork fat is smoked though. Hmmmmmmmm
 
Deejay:

Your recipe sounds fantastic. Will tryi t for sure. We don't have any 'Hogs' here but we do have the big Horse Necks and also Gapers. Big and cheap, when you think of what you get for the price. Lucky for me, the price is just running down the river to the bay and arm wrestling the suckers. Winner takes the other guy home!!
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I have made several different chowder recipies with smoked clams. Seems to always turn out darn good, either way. If you do smoke some, be sure to either cold smoke or at least not go very high on the temp. Clams will tend to toughen if they get too warm, like if you try to steam them open or get them too hot in the smoking process.

Just a suggestion, but that is what I have found.

Thanks again for the recipe.

Skip
 
Hi Debi:
Some shellfish stands up to steaming. Like, as their name implies, 'steamer clams'. Oysters do too. But most don't. In other words, the steaming actually, completely cooks some shellfish and at least partially cooks, almost all the rest. You are therefore in the awkward position of trying to smoke something that is already, either partially or totally cooked. (If that makes any sense). There are exceptions to this rule, but for the mostpart, that is how it goes.

The way around this is to shuck the clams while they are alive and smoke them while they are raw. This approach, and using either the 'cold 'smoke technique, or at least the cooler temps, when 'hot' smoking, will avoid the clams getting tough. This way they will be able to take on whatever texture they normally would take on, from your chosen cooking method, if they were unsmoked.

Wow, Debi, I just reread this. I know what I mean, but am not sure it is coming through. I hope I explained it OK. If not, then write to me and I will try to do better.

Skip
 
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