Boston Soup Recipes, 1910s

New England Clam Chowder

1 quart clams
4 cups potatoes cut in 3/4 inch cubes
1 1/2 inch cube fat salt pork
1 sliced onion
1 tablespoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
4 tablespoons butter
4  cups scalded milk
8 common crackers

Clean and pick over clams, using one cup of cold water; drain, reserve liquor, heat to boiling point, and strain. Chop finely the hard parts of clam; cut pork in small pieces and try out [melt]; add onion, fry five minutes, and strain into a stew pan. Parboil potatoes for five minutes in boiling water to cover; drain, and put a layer in bottom of stew pan; add chopped clams, sprinkle with salt and pepper, dredge generously with flour; add remaining potatoes, again sprinkle with salt and pepper, dredge with flour, and add two and one-half cups of boiling water. Cook for ten minutes, add milk, soft part of clams, and butter; boil three minutes, and then add crackers split and soaked in enough cold milk to moisten. Reheat clam water to boiling-point, and thicken with one tablespoon butter and flour cooked together. Add to chowder just before serving.

The clam water has a tendency to cause the milk to separate, hence is added at the last.

Related Recipes
Clam Chowder #2
Fish Chowder

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