Manhattan Clam Chowder - Better than New England? - Food Wishes

While not nearly as popular as New England style, Manhattan Clam Chowder can be every bit as rich, satisfying, and delicious, just as long as you use this recipe. By the way, if you love watery soups full of flavorless chucks of canned tomatoes, then you might not like this. You’ve been warned. Enjoy!

[raedwulf]

When I was a kid, we would go to Jones Beach on summer evenings, walk the boardwalk, play shuffle board, shoot arrows at the archery range, and then top it off with a bowl of Manhattan clam chowder at the cafeteria. Good memories brought back watching this video. I will make a pot, and think of the Atlantic.

UPDATE: I made Chef John's Chowder. It was great. A big hit with the family. Highly recommend!

[Burboss]

Well, I made it. It was the best "red" clam chowder I ever tried anywhere. Thank you, John!

[maryellenboudria]

I come from New England. We never put our clams in a chowder and cook them for 15 to 20 minutes! They become extremely tough! The clam broth we use to steam the clams goes in and we add the chopped clams just BEFORE service.
I will try this recipe, but add clams at the end.

[andopynyn]

Hmm. You've identified exactly what I've never liked about the Manhattan style, which is that it's basically watered down tomato soup with a few clams in it. So I'm going to have to for real try this one soon, it looks delicious.

[chipskylark]

It’s funny You mentioned Billy Joel cause once I saw how good this looked I almost had a heart attack-ack-ack-ack

[manmeals]

I just happen to have baby clams AND potatoes:) Martha - stoke the fire!!

[janlynnwald]

My mom always made this kind, she was famous for it, her secret was to cook the potatoes carrots and celery in with the onions, and then tomato and broth, fantastic never better so much more interesting than creamed clam chowder

[christinemayer]

Never had Manhattan Clam Chowder in my life being a traditionalist but I made this and its awesome. Hubby is getting lactose intolerant so this is going to be made more often. Super satisfying and dang delicious! Big fan Chef 👩‍🍳

[raedwulf]

I made this last night. Big hit with the family. Best comment "This doesn't taste like the canned stuff!" Used red potatoes as I could not find Yukon Gold. Also forgot the oyster crackers (sob!). This one goes into the recipe box. Thanks, Chef John!

[jeffralston]

"The bacon is optional here." Lol. Good one, Chef John, bacon is never optional.

[iole]

I just made this, with a few changes because i didn't want to go to the store for celery and whole clams, just had chopped. Wow! It is delicious! I credit the tomato paste in the roux. That is a great tip. It goes so well with the bacon flavor and is amazing.

[melissadunton]

Made this last night. Tweaked it a bit. Doubled the recipe, used leeks instead of onions …just because I prefer them. Also used 1/2 clam juice and half veggie stock instead of chicken stock.
It’s delicious! Will be making it many more times in the future. Thank you for sharing. ✌🏻🥰😊

[superintelligentapefromthe]

You are the brave Powhatan of your clam chowder from Manhattan.

[mattrc]

This is literally one of my favorite dishes period. I absolutely love the tomato paste and flour to give it extra flavor and thickness. 💯

[Nick.Knows.Nothing]

Rhode Island clam chowder is still my favorite. It's not as well known as Manhattan or NE. But it's light, fresh, yet hearty and satisfying.

[lilliputlittle]

My parents had the Manhattan vs New England disagreements during my childhood. I didn't try chowder as kid (I begged for Delmarva chicken and dumplings instead) but starting to enjoy chowders at restaurants when I grew older. It was *always* New England style being served and I grew to really like it. It was creamy, rich and warming.

But, a decade ago, my in-laws took me to a famous Seattle "Chowder House". I ordered their chowder sampler for dinner. The best of all of them was the red chowder (Manhattan style). It blew the rest out of the water. A year or so later my husband and I went out to a lovely Italian restaurant for dinner. Someone ordered the cioppino. I was in love after I tasted it. MMMM. I realized that Manhattan-style chowder was so very similar to Italian cioppino.

So while I love the creamy goodness of the New England style chowder on chilly and soggy days but I truly enjoy the flavor of the Manhattan style more when I just want to enjoy a delicious, tangy soup.

[yannsaint-germain]

It looks good indeed. Quite similar to a minestrone soup, but you replace the pasta with diced potatoes & clams. Interesting! Have a great weekend, Chef!

[dankramer]

I made this recipe exactly as written and found the resulting chowder to be delicious and very satisfying. This was exactly what I was looking for.

[harbinger_]

Ugh THANK YOU!! Been wanting this for YEARS

[woofljh]

I’ve always despised Manhattan clam chowder for exactly the reasons you stated. Now, I’m going to have to give this a try again. The older I get the more I realize I should try things again that I once did not like.