Clam Chowder

Ingredients

• Bacon
• 2 tablespoons Butter
• 1 Onion
• 3 Garlic cloves
• 1/3 cup Flour
• 3 cups Half and half
• 1 cup Chicken broth
• 1 cup Clam juice or dashi stock
• Chopped clams
• Potatoes, diced

Method

Render the bacon until the fat turns translucent and the meat crisps at the edges — about 8 minutes over medium heat. This fat is your base; don't discard it. Remove the bacon, chop it, and set aside. Pour off all but two tablespoons of fat, then add the butter. The combination gives you both flavour depth and a stable emulsion base for the cream-based-sauces|roux that follows.

Dice the onion fine and add it to the hot fat. Cook until it softens and turns translucent at the edges — roughly 5 minutes — then add the garlic. Stir constantly for 30 seconds; garlic burns fast and turns acrid. Now add the flour all at once, stirring to coat every particle in fat. This is your broth-based thickening agent working through a stovetop-cooking|roux, and you must cook it for a full 2 minutes, stirring, to eliminate the raw flour taste. The mixture will smell toasted and slightly nutty when it's ready.

Pour in the chicken broth first, breaking up any lumps with a wooden spoon as you stir. The liquid will seize briefly; keep stirring until smooth. Add the clam juice or dashi next — this is where your umami lives — then the half and half in a slow stream, whisking to prevent lumps from forming. Bring the pot to a gentle boil, then reduce to a simmer. The heat must be low enough that bubbles break the surface languidly, not violently. Simmer for 20 minutes; this time allows the flour to fully hydrate and thicken the broth properly, and prevents the cream from breaking or separating under prolonged high heat.

Add the diced potatoes and return to a simmer. They need 20 to 25 minutes to become tender enough to break with a wooden spoon but still hold their shape. About 5 minutes before the potatoes finish, add the chopped clams. Clams are already cooked — overcooking toughens them — so brief contact with heat is all you need. Taste and season with salt and black pepper. Stir through the reserved bacon, ladle into bowls, and serve hot.