Clam Chowder (Boston Style)
You'll need: Large pot, Second pot (for the clams), Cheesecloth or fine strainer, Small bowl (for the butter and flour mixture). Adapted for home kitchens by Halite from the U.S. War Department's Army Recipes (TM 10-412, 1946): scaled down from 100 servings, 1946 ingredients swapped for ones sold today, and the method rewritten. The recipe as printed is the Original version in this recipe's history.
Ingredients
- 68g (2 ½ oz) Celery, diced
- 68g (7 tbsp) Onions, chopped
- 95g (3 ¼ oz) Potatoes, cubed
- 3.4g (½ tsp) Salt
- 397ml (1 ⅔ cups) Water, boiling
- 218g (7 ¾ oz) Clams, in the shell
- Water, boiling (for clams), as needed
- 574ml (2 ½ cups) Evaporated milk
- 2.6g (½ tsp) Salt
- Pepper, a pinch
- 27g (2 tbsp) Butter, melted, or vegetable oil or meat drippings
- 27g (3 ½ tbsp) Flour, sifted
Instructions
- 1
Combine the celery, onions, potatoes, salt, and boiling water in a large pot.
- 2
Cover and bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer about 1 hour, or until the vegetables are tender.
- 3
Scrub the clams with a brush and wash under running water to remove sand and salt. Cover with the boiling water for the clams. Cover and bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer about 12 to 15 minutes, or until the shells open.
- 4
Remove the clams from their shells and drain, reserving the liquid. Strain the clam liquor through cheesecloth. Chop the clams.
- 5
Combine the vegetable mixture, chopped clams, the reserved clam liquor, evaporated milk, salt, and pepper. Heat slowly to a boil.
- 6
Mix the melted butter and flour together; stir until smooth. Add slowly to the hot soup and mix thoroughly. Heat to boiling, then reduce the heat and simmer about 15 minutes, or until the soup is slightly thick, stirring constantly.
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Clam Chowder (Boston Style)
Ingredients
- 2 ½ pounds (2½ No. 56 dippers) Celery, diced
- 2 ½ pounds (2½ No. 56 dippers) Onions, chopped
- 3 ½ pounds (2¼ No. 56 dippers) Potatoes, cubed
- 2 ounces (4 mess kit spoons) Salt
- 1 ¾ gallons (7 No. 56 dippers) Water, boiling
- 8 pounds Clams
- As needed Water, boiling (for clams)
- 24—14½-ounce cans Milk, evaporated
- 1 ½ ounces (3 mess kit spoons) Salt
- ⅓ mess kit spoon (⅓ mess kit spoon) Pepper
- 1 pound (½ No. 56 dipper) Fat, melted
- 1 pound (1 No. 56 dipper) Flour, sifted
Instructions
- 1
Combine celery, onions, potatoes, salt and boiling water.
- 2
Cover and heat to boiling point ; reduce heat and simmer about 1 hour or until vegetables are tender.
- 3
Scrub clams with brush; wash under running water to remove salt; cover with boiling water. Cover and heat to boiling ; reduce heat and simmer about 12 to 15 minutes or until shells open.
- 4
Remove from shells ; drain. Strain clam liquor through cheesecloth. Measure and reserve 3 quarts (3 No. 56 dippers) liquid. Chop clams.
- 5
Combine vegetable mixture, chopped clams, the 3 quarts (3 No. 56 dippers) clam liquor, milk, salt, and pepper. Heat slowly to boiling point.
- 6
Mix melted fat and flour ; stir until smooth. Add slowly to hot soup ; mix thoroughly. Heat to boiling; reduce heat and simmer about '15 minutes or until soup is slightly thick, stirring constantly.
Typed from the page scan above. If the two disagree, go with the scan.
What we changed
- Cut from the book’s 100 servings to 6 servings.
- Swapped “Fat, melted” for “Butter, melted” (or vegetable oil or meat drippings).
- Scaled 12 amounts and rounded each to a kitchen measure, like ½ cup.
- Fixed 4 fractions the scan of the 1946 page misread.
- Tidied 2 ingredient names.
- AI rewrote the method for a home kitchen. Tap As printed at the top to compare.
Taken from the log we keep of every edit to this recipe. We left out the line-by-line unit conversions.
Where this recipe comes from
It’s from Army Recipes (TM 10-412), the cookbook the U.S. War Department printed in 1946 for Army mess halls. As a U.S. government work, it’s in the public domain.
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