You may also like
Categories:Viewed: 52 - Published at: 5 years ago
Ingredients
- 1 lb. peppered bacon, sliced in 1/4-inch slices (regular bacon is okay, but remember to add pepper to taste at the end)
- 2 lg. white onions, diced
- 6 stalks celery, with leaves, and some inner core leaves
- 3 sm. red potatoes, scrubbed and quartered
- Water
- 2 lb. clams with juice (or one qt. of fresh clams)
- 1/2 tube of Ritz crackers, crushed to a fine powder (other crackers are also okay)
- 8 tbsp. butter
- 1 qt. half-and-half
- Hot pepper sauce, to taste
- Serve with oyster crackers.
Method
- In a large, heavy pot, fry the bacon over medium heat until crisp.
- Remove the bacon and drain on paper towels, leaving the fat in the pan.
- Add the chopped onion and celery to the fat, and saute over medium heat until they are translucent.
- Add the potatoes, then pour in enough water to keep the potatoes from sticking, about a quarter inch up the sides of the pot.
- Bring to a simmer, then reduce the heat, partially cover and let the potatoes steam to fork tenderness, stirring occasionally and adding water as necessary--this will take about 15 minutes.
- When the potatoes are tender, add the powdered crackers and the butter and stir carefully.
- When the butter is melted and the crackers moistened, add the half-and-half and any juice from the clams.
- Bring to a simmer and let cook until the broth is thickened by the cracker crumbs.
- Season with salt (and pepper if it needs it) and also with hot pepper sauce, to taste.
- Thin with milk as needed.
- Last (so the clams don't toughen), stir in the clams and crumbled bacon, cover, and let simmer for a few minutes.
- When ready to serve, ladle into bowls and pass the oyster crackers.
