When the days get shorter and the nights turn cold, I often think about winters in Swansboro!  Quite often, a bone-chilling wind blew off the water, penetrating all layers of clothing and leaving a fine, icy dampness on my face and hair. I’m sure I’ve been in much colder places, but in my memory, there was no other cold like it! But alas, we had the perfect remedy for that relentless cold…. Capt. Charlie’s clam chowder!

Capt. Charlie’s clam chowder was one of the restaurant’s signature dishes back in the day. For me, it was the ultimate comfort food— steaming hot, mildly fragrant but full of flavor, and thick with tender clams, onions, potatoes, and broth.  That chowder could cure a cold, improve my spirits, and restore my sanity!  In a spoonful of  chowder I experienced the essence of the ocean, warming body, heart, and soul all at once!

Inevitably, when I bump into longtime Capt. Charlie’s customers, they will say, “I would love to have the recipe for Capt. Charlie’s clam chowder!”  I am always happy to share it as my father did very often.  In fact, he submitted the recipe for publication in the Swansboro United Methodist Women’s cook book, Collard Greens, Watermelons and “Miss” Charlotte’s Pie, published in 1993.   It’s there, on page 344, titled “Clam Chowder for a Crowd.”  And here it is for you….

Clam Chowder for a Crowd

    2 gallons clams, chopped                3 gallons potatoes, cubed

    2 ribs celery, chopped                      salt to taste

    2 bunches green onions, chopped   pepper to taste

    2 gallons onions, chopped               Old Bay Seasoning to taste

    1/2 pound side meat, fried out         cornmeal, to thicken

    2 cups Chablis wine

Cover clams with four inches of water; add side meat renderings, wine, and spices. Cook until tender.  Add celery, onions, and potatoes.  Cook until potatoes are tender. Thicken with three handfuls of yellow cornmeal, which has been dissolved in a quart of water, being careful not to leave lumps.

Just in case you’re not in the mood to entertain a “crowd” just to get to the chowder, I have scaled this recipe down a bit to more reasonable proportions that will easily serve two to four….

Clam Chowder for a Few

      6 slices bacon                              1 pint clams, chopped & undrained

      2 ribs celery, chopped                  6 medium potatoes, cubed

      1 large sweet onion, chopped      sea salt to taste

      1 bunch green onions, chopped   fresh ground pepper to taste

       1/2 to 1 cup dry white wine          1 to 2 tsp. Old Bay seasoning

       4   8-oz. bottles clam juice            1/2 cup yellow cornmeal

       Water– about 4 cups, reserving 1 cup

Fry bacon and set aside to drain. Saute celery and onions in bacon drippings until tender.  Add wine to deglaze the pan.  Transfer mixture to a soup pot.  Add clam juice, potatoes, and 3 cups of water and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat and simmer for about 10 minutes.  Add clams and seasonings and simmer for another 15 minutes.  Combine cornmeal with 1 cup of water and mix until smooth.  Pour through a strainer into the soup mixture.  Bring soup to a boil and reduce heat.  Simmer until ready to serve. Ladle into soup bowls and top with crumbled bacon.  Serve with hot hushpuppies.  Enjoy!

Post a comment to let me know how you like it!