This is done in “Hatteras style.” I cook this twice a week at the restaurant I work at near the coast of North Carolina. For domestic use, I reduced the batch size. It is incredibly easy. The bacon grease can also be used to sauté vegetables.
| Prep Time: | 20 mins |
| Cook Time: | 30 mins |
| Total Time: | 50 mins |
| Servings: | 8 |
| Yield: | 8 servings |
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 1 large onion, chopped
- 5 stalks celery, sliced
- 4 carrots, sliced
- 4 cups peeled, cubed white potatoes
- 2 (16 ounce) cans minced clams, with juice
- 3 quarts clam juice
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 8 slices crisp cooked bacon, crumbled
Instructions
- In a large pot over medium heat, cook onion, celery and carrots in oil until they begin to soften. Stir in potatoes, clams, clam juice, thyme, pepper and bacon. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer 20 minutes, or until potatoes are tender.
Nutrition Facts
| Calories | 265 kcal |
| Carbohydrate | 24 g |
| Cholesterol | 86 mg |
| Dietary Fiber | 4 g |
| Protein | 32 g |
| Saturated Fat | 1 g |
| Sodium | 941 mg |
| Sugars | 3 g |
| Fat | 4 g |
| Unsaturated Fat | 0 g |
Reviews
Tried it this week. I love the carrots in this I have a recipe that is very similar but never thought of adding carrots, I will next time. I use a 51 Oz. can of chopped clams and no additional clam juice. I make up the difference with chicken broth, I can’t always find clam juice. I add 10-12 bay leaves to mine and include the celery greens with the chopped celery.
Just like what you get here on the south east coast. Perfect.
My favorite soup from this whole site that I’ve tried. I make it again and again. I made it exactly as the recipe said.
Brings my thoughts to eating at Sam and Omies in Nags Head on a cool fall day after fishing at the peir or being on a drum hunt. Excellent!
This is a wonderful recipe! Being from coastal Virginia this is the style of clam chowder I grew up eating. As suggested I used half chicken broth & half clam juice and it was great. I was fortunate enough to have access to fresh clams so I chopped/minced 12 large clams & used the juice from them. I’ve made it several times just this summer!
I used fresh clams that we harvested ourselves. I purged the clams for 2 whole days, changing the water a couple times. We ended up adding more pepper, lemon juice, and even though hatteras chowder never ever in a million years would have it, a can of Italian diced tomatoes. And it still tasted muddy.
This is very similar to the clear broth Rhode Island chowder I’m used to having. The only difference – no carrots & celery & we use salt pork instead of bacon, but it’s hard to find in the south.
This is a great recipe as is, I have prepared it many times. I personally like to start by frying the bacon and rather than using vegetable oil, I saute the vegetables in the rendered bacon fat. Perhaps not the healthiest way to go but it adds a nice smoky flavor and also a great mouth-feel to the final product. I haven’t been able to personally justify the expense of the large quantities of clam juice, I add about a small bottle of juice along with chicken broth, the juice from the canned clams to make up the difference. I also tend to use a couple of cans of the baby clams along with the minced clams at the very end in order to retain the tenderness. One addition that I made the last time I prepared this soup is to add a bit (probably a teaspoon) of smoked paprika, it adds an incredible aroma and doesn’t overpower the chowder. I was never a clam chowder fan before trying this particular version but I have found I love it!
My New England born & bred husband prefers Manhattan style, I’m a native New Yorker who prefers New England style and this is one we both really liked – might have something to do with the OBX being our all time favorite vacation spot. Thanks for sharing!
Adjusted to me liking…3 small cans of clam(chick of sea),no thyme,little less bacon,4cups of potatoes…..the secret is 2-3 days out,IT Rocks!!!
This was wonderful!! I use canned clams often and when I drain the juice, I freeze it for future use. this was the recipe I’ve been waiting for!!!
5 stars despite the fact I changed the recipe, becaus if I could rationalize spending so much money on clam juice (it comes in a bottle people, dont hate) then I would. I just use homemade chicken stock and all the juice from the clams. Love love love it!! So good for you too! (I also omit the bacon, because I usually forget it!)
Really good Hatteras Style Clam Chowder! However, I did make a few substitutions: I used baby red-skin potatoes instead of plain white potatoes, I cut back on the amount of clam juice to whatever was in the cans of clams plus a small bottle of plain clam juice, and then added vegetable broth.
Awesome, I have had this many times on the Outer Banks, as I have a second home in Nags Head. I have also enjoyed it where I live in Va. Beach, but I never new how to make it until now. This chowder rocks and blows away both Manhatten and New England chowders……….Thank you so much for sharing!
This is a very tasty clam chowder 🙂 My family can eat three bowls each in one sitting! I like to add extra bacon and clams.
I went to a country-style buffet in Gloucester, Va. where this was served. I had never had anything other than the New England or Manhattan styles. I loved this different style and went searching for a recipe, and Allrecipes did not let me down. Thank you so much for posting this recipe, ODella! I used mostly clam juice but did supplement with some chicken broth. Because I like a thick chowder, I did reduce the clam juice/broth by probably one quart. I first fried the bacon til done, then removed it and sauteed the onion, celery and carrots in the bacon grease, then proceeded according to the recipe. The restaurant I went to had what appeared to be a strip of fat-back floating in the chowder (bacon grease and fat back are a southern thing!) but I didn’t use the fat back. Tastes even better the next day.
This was so easy!!! My husband loves clear chowder and having grown up in New England I have had some good clear chowder and this was really good!!! Even better the next day after the clam taste has some time to really get into the flavor of the soup!!!
I made this for my son because he likes clams, but he wasn’t fond of the soup. I thought it was really good, though.
absolutely amazing. added a bit of old bay with the rest of the seasonings but i don’t know if it made a difference. i love that it’s filling and light. MUST TRY!
Love this recipe because it’s the alternative to the creamy version (I’m lactose intolerant). It’s hard to find so much clam juice in the store, however. I just top it up with chicken broth!
This wonderful clam chowder, just like my sister Kathleen used to make. She was from Mathews Co., VA, right on the Chesapeake Bay. Cook the vegtables with the bacon. I used fresh clams, finely ground. Thanks for setting us straight on what real clam chowder is.